How do busy people find the time to play and practice their guitar? How can you make sure your guitar stays present in your life, even as the “to-do” lists pile up around you?
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Guitar Life 
I will be very interested in other guitarists input on this topic. I’m having limited success in setting aside a regular practice-playing time every day. My goal is to have a set time in my day for my guitar. I find I’m better able to concentrate and I am more focused earlier in the day rather than later in the evening with most of my day behind me.
Hi Jim Greene,
An concept I’ve had success with…
setting smaller and more concrete (chunkable) and achievable goals…just think small…one little lick or passage to conquer……..since I know my practice time will inevitably get reduced by things that always seem to happen beyond my control, instead of trying to mentally carve out an hour or more each day to work on learning a whole bunch of stuff….I break up my approach, and just focus on one small tiny piece…..something I can practice whenever I get the chance, five minutes here, 10 minutes there….and stay focused on that one little piece….and make sure I get it down before moving on….in the end it seems I am able to aquire more useable skills doing it this way than maybe sitting for a whole hour and getting distracted by a hundred licks I think I want to learn….just always have that one little small thing at a time you are working on…..saves a lot of frustration knowing that you are still progressing even if you only have 5 minutes here or ten minutes there to practice….hope this helps.
Tom
For me, personally, even if I jut pick it up and go through a few chords and scales, I feel better, like I’m still committing. It’s not often that I don’t have the time, but on rare occasions, time is limited.
Hi Norm,
Somehow, I think the guitar likes that too. It likes to be picked up, even if only for a few minutes.
A symbiotic relationship?
What I find as a mother of a small child, a busy work day and everything else is I don’t have as much time as I would like or even need.
So I pick up the guitar every chance I get if I know I won’t be able to commit to a whole practice time. Usually on those days I just run through the scale, learning and memorizing the notes on the strings, or just doing some finger warm up exercises for 5 or 10 minutes. I don’t need to be as focused if I am doing finger exercises and I noticed the difference in only a few weeks. My fingers are stronger and I am able to change chords quicker.
Last night was a perfect example, as I got finished with my day I realized it was late so instead of my normal routine of plugging in the electric, I just picked up the acoustic, sat on the couch and strummed away for about 10 minutes while my birds danced. A good time for all and I felt good because even though my brain felt fried I know my fingers got a good workout.
Jaime,
That’s great! That’s the best way to stay connected to your music even with a busy life.