Using a Timer for Focus and Productivity
When you pick up your guitar, you want to take your eye off the clock and become immersed in the experience. But when you practice, it’s important to manage your time, so that you give sufficient attention to each skill or song that will help you advance. An easy and inexpensive way to accomplish both of these goals is to use a countdown timer.
The Timer
A timer can take over the job of time management and let you focus on your playing. Any kitchen timer or yoga timer will do, as long as it’s quiet. I like to use this Pomodoro timer because it’s easy to view, is silent while it’s counting down, and there’s no jarring ring when it’s done. It has a limited number of time settings, though, so it’s not ideal for every situation.
I use this timer for more than just guitar practice, so I have two of them. I set it to vibrate when it runs down, so it’s quiet. In addition to assisting my guitar practice, it can bring me gently out of meditation or remind me of an upcoming appointment. I love that I can carry it in my pocket to remind me to breathe on especially busy days!
You may choose to use your smartphone for your practice timer. Having a phone in the practice room can be a distraction though, so I prefer to keep a separate timer on the table next to me when I play.
Measuring Time
There are lots of different ways to use time effectively—and ineffectively—when you practice guitar. The first and most obvious consideration is logging in sufficient practice time to meet your learning and performance goals. If your goal is to increase the amount of time you practice, a timer can help you do that gradually, so that you don’t suffer from weekend warrior syndrome.
As important as it is to spend enough time practicing each day, success comes from more than just racking up hours. The hours you spend need to be productive, so you’ll want to create a structure that supports your progress. A timer provides a good way to adhere to that structure.
Structuring your practice
Start by deciding how much time you want to spend on each of the guitar skills or songs you’re working on. It helps to write down your plan—and be sure to reassess it regularly, so you don’t fall into a rut.
Set your countdown timer for the number of minutes you want to spend on each part of your practice. For example, in an hour-long practice session you might choose to spend 5 minutes on warm-up exercises,10 minutes on scales and arpeggios, 20 minutes on improvisation, 20 minutes on new songs, and 5 minutes reviewing old songs.
Of course, your guitar practice routine will vary according to your level and your specific goals. Just be sure your practice schedule enables you to spend enough time on the most important things on your list and discourages you from spending a lot of time on what you already know.
Breaks
It’s important to pause at regular intervals to breathe deeply, relax your neck and shoulders, and stretch your arms and hands. If you’re spending more studying than playing in a session, you’ll still want to take short mental breaks to get the most from your time spent.
Studies show that for optimal learning, you should break at 20-minute intervals and not go beyond 25 minutes. I’ve found that the most natural time for me to come up for air is every 17 – 18 minutes. I stop, take a couple of deep breaths, look around the room, shake out my arms and hands, and start again.
Use your timer to help you time your breaks and let me know how you do. I think you’ll be surprised at how long you can play without getting tired or sore and how much more productive your sessions become.ecome.
