The January Practice Cure

There is something about the New Year that gets us excited about the idea of a fresh start.  For us musicians, the fact that January is like a concert graveyard–especially compared to the craziness of the previous few months means that there’s no better time to reassess our goals and make some plans. And…because I am slightly obsessed with the topic, I thought it would be a great time to give our practice habits a little refresh as well!

Imagine this: You wake up in the morning and you can’t wait to get into your studio.  It’s your safe haven, set up exactly how you want it, with easy access to the tools and resources you need.  Your music is organized, and you have a great plan set out to tackle your musical goals for the year.  You know what you need to work on, when you need to have it ready, and how you’re going to tackle it.

How is this magic going to occur? Are little unicorns going to arrive at your house and take care of it all? Nope!  You’re going to do it.  Well, WE’RE going to do it. Bit by bit, each day throughout the month of January.

Ladies and Gentlemen, students, colleagues, music aficionados, I introduce to you…

The January Practice Cure

When you register (it’s all free, btw) via the link below, you’ll get one email a day sent to you first thing in the morning each Monday–Saturday during the month of January (starting on Monday, January 6th).

Each day will have an easy-to-achieve task for you to do.  Some examples might be to deal with your pencil situation, or Windex and clean the mirror and windows in your practice room/space. The weekends will have slightly larger tasks like “organize your music collection” etc, with some tips and tricks to help you get it done. Some tasks will be focused on your space, and some will be focused on your own specific practice habits.

The idea is that each day’s task is too easy not to do, and will only take 10-20 minutes.  Adding them all up through the entire month, however, will completely transform both your practice space and your practice habits.  You’ll be on the right track for the rest of the year.

Besides, it’s going to be a blast to see the before and after photos that people post to Instagram! #januarypracticecure

For those of you who will be away on vacation at the beginning of January? not to worry!  We’ll be kicking things off with the first email on Monday, January 6th, but there will be a handy pdf calendar with all of the tasks emailed to those who have registered. You can join us at any point in the month, and make up the tasks as you have time.