Practicing during the holidays can always be a challenge at any time of year, but particularly during the Christmas season. All that lovely yummy Christmas food around, the mulled wine flowing and all the Christmas movies on the TV! So how exactly can you keep your practice momentum during the festive season with all of these distractions around? Here are my 5 top tips to keep your practice going during the festive season!
1. Schedule it in
Be organised and set a time each day to do your practice. Getting into the habit will make it a lot easier to get up and get on with your practice! I always set a time each day and will often put this in my calendar so I ensure I stick to a routine. Find the best time of day to do your practice. For me it’s always in the morning when I’m fresh and during the babies nap time which is currently 9-11! Having this regular schedule makes it much easier to continue your practice throughout the festive period!
2. Set yourself specific goals
To keep you on track during your practice sessions make sure you set yourself specific goals! Perhaps you want to master that chromatic scale, make your way through that etude book or want to perfect that Hue Fantasie! Whatever your goal, decide what it is, set the time limit you want to put on this and stick to it! Having this motivation will ensure that you keep your practice going!
3. break your practice up
Make sure that you break your practice up into shorter chunks. There is no need to spend hours practicing, you can divide it up into 20 minute or even 10 minute chunks! This makes the practice much more manageable but most importantly it also makes it far less daunting to get started! I sometimes set an egg timer to the length of time I want to practice and then make myself stop as soon as it goes off… often I’m not ready to stop and this makes me look forward to my next practice session.
4. Be Mindful
Keep your practice mindful by switching your phone to air plane mode! Reducing your distractions will ensure that you stay focused in your practice sessions. The more focused you are the more you will achieve, meaning you don’t have to practice for as long to complete your goals.
5. Make time for christmas songs!
Most importantly make sure you play Christmas songs! This will keep your practice sessions fresh and fun and will continue your festive spirit even if you do need to do some much needed practice!
What are your tips for practicing during the festive season? Let me know in the comments!
Don’t forget to read my other blog posts here!
