Why it’s important to practice a boring instrument every day

Let’s face it: there always comes a point in our life where we just get bored of playing our instruments and practicing them every day. We start by skipping a day, then maybe two, and ultimately we just stop practicing, and soon we lose our interest and stop playing the instrument altogether. This has happened to me and to so many people I know, and because I got back out of this phase and continued playing, I realized how important it is to continue playing…and that’s what today’s article is going to be about. 

Why does this happen? 

We’re humans, and we get really bored of doing the same thing every single day. Even if we love music, if we keep practicing every single day, there comes a time when we just don’t feel like doing it anymore. So we think “okay, nothing happens if we skip one day”. While that stands true in a way, what happens is you start thinking that it’s okay to skip a day in between sometimes. Therefore, you start doing it more regularly and easily. The next time you think “oh I skipped a day but I still don’t feel like practicing today, so I think two days doesn’t harm anyone” and you go ahead and skip your second day. Continuing this pattern, a lot of people stop practicing altogether. 

Why is it important to practice the boring instrument?

Assuming you’re already skipping days, you now find your instrument pretty boring to practice. However, it’s important that you stay disciplined and push yourself to practice even when you don’t feel like.

It is acceptable, to play for a lesser amount of time, say 15 minutes, on a day when you don’t feel like practicing. Everyone can spare 15 minutes a day, and it’s pure laziness if you can’t do that much. Agreed, it might be really annoying to do it when you don’t want to, but that’s what makes all the difference…doing it when you don’t feel like. 

Practicing the instrument when it’s boring to you will be the difference between you and someone who listens to his mind and skips a day. Trust me on that one, I’m talking with experience. 

I really don’t feel like it, so how do I go about it when my mind gets the better of me?

When your mind gets the better of you, you’ve already lost. However, for those who are willing to put in the effort to ignore the mind, here’s how you do it:

1. Thank you for sharing!
   That’s what you tell your mind when it tells you to skip a day of music. You don’t fight your mind, you simply thank it for sharing what it feels like, and then you go ahead and do what you have to: practice. 
   
2. Break the PatternBreaking the pattern is really important. Let’s say you’re lying on the bed and your mind is getting the better of you, before you can think much about it, stand up and shout “GOOD MORNING” no matter what time of the day it is. Sounds funny, right? Trust me, it works. It breaks your pattern of laziness, disturbs your mind’s pattern, and now you have your options open, so go practice!
   
   
3. Think about the effectsAfter reading this article, you already know how skipping one day can lead to the end of your music skills. Think about that. Make yourself aware that practicing today will be what makes all the difference. Talk to yourself about discipline and how important that is…all you need is 15 minutes. Is that too much to ask of your day? It’s not. So what’s stopping you other than your own mind? 

The three ways of getting yourself to practice are some of the most effective ways of getting yourself to practice. More than anything else, you need to believe that you can do it.