Now that we’ve got some goals clearly defined, it’s time to translate those goals into an easy-to-follow practice regimen.

Your practice regimen will act as a guide during your future practice sessions, allowing you to confidently focus on the appropriate skill-building tasks as you steadily move toward achieving your stated goals.

However, before you build your practice schedule, we should get clear on just how much and how often you need to be practicing.

What do you think is the ideal amount of days per week that you should practice?

What do you think is the ideal amount of time to practice each day?    

Before you read on, take a moment to answer these two questions. Once you’ve settled on your answers, write them down.

I’m happy to report that there are no specific right answers to either of these questions. I’m not here to dictate to you exactly how many minutes a day and exactly how many days a week you should be practicing.

I’d rather empower you to make this decision for yourself. What I will do is offer you some guidelines to follow:

A Minimum of 5 Days a Week

From my years of experience (both practicing and teaching), I’ve come to believe that five practice days a week is ideal.

A five-day-a-week schedule is a safe bet for ensuring steady results from your efforts. If you’re practicing at least five days a week, you’ll never have more than two days in a row away from your banjo studies.

For most folks, this level of consistency is the ‘sweet spot’ when it comes to cultivating healthy practice habits and seeing noticeable gains from your study sessions.

Of course, we are all individuals and, likewise, we all have distinct lifestyles, work schedules, etc.

This is why there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to the problem of practice frequency. You need to take an honest and hard look at your own weekly, ‘real world’ obligations and decide for yourself just how many days of the week have a little space within them that you can set aside for the purpose of fulfilling your banjo dreams.

If you’re confident that you can commit to practicing more than five days a week, that’s fine but, be aware, you may be setting yourself up to feel like a failure:

I prefer to feel better about myself whenever possible which is why I officially commit myself to a five day a week schedule and then pat myself on the back whenever I manage to log six or seven.

Again, it’s really up to you but, if you don’t think you can commit to at least five days, you’ll have to settle for a scenario in which you will likely progress a little more slowly than you’d like.

 

Dedicating thirty minutes of practice time, five days a week, only commits you to two and a half hours a week. That’s the same amount of time you might spend, say, watching a single Harry Potter movie…and the payoff will, in my opinion, be much more satisfying and long lasting.

You’ve got a lot of leeway when it comes to choosing a standard length for your practice sessions.

A thirty minute session is what I suggest as a minimum but feel free to schedule longer sessions if your motivation and your daily schedule allow for them.

My personal practice schedule commits me to:

 

If you haven’t done so already, decide right now:

 

Picking a specific time of day and a specific practice location can go a long way toward keeping you locked into your practice schedule.

Practicing in the same space and at the same time of day ritualizes the act, allowing your mind to more quickly settle into the flow of the work you have set out before you.

While deciding when and where to practice, be honest with yourself. I you’re easily distracted, maybe you should practice in a room that doesn’t have a TV or a computer, etc.

If you’re a morning person, perhaps working your practice sessions into your pre-work routine is a good idea.

If you’re a night owl, maybe it’s best to plan your sessions in the evening, when the cares of the day are behind you.

It’s up to you to decide what makes the most sense for your particular situation and, again, there are no correct times and/or places to practice.

However, if you can manage to plan some consistency into your study sessions, you’ll be well on your way to forming some fruitful practice habits.