{"id":37086,"date":"2021-12-30T00:00:13","date_gmt":"2021-12-30T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/~classll0\/?p=37086"},"modified":"2022-08-02T04:07:45","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T11:07:45","slug":"review-assess-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/review-assess-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Review the Last Year: How to Assess Your Guitar Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As we look back over a year of guitar practice, how should we gauge success?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s tempting to discount all our work. We may have meant to do more, or be further along. So we may feel like we\u2019ve let ourself down.<\/p>\n<p>But this isn\u2019t productive. Instead, we can make a positive review of the last year. We can notice what worked and what didn\u2019t. Then we can adjust going forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"centerc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/19lFY7jaB7A?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;autohide=1\" width=\"700&quot;\" height=\"393&quot;\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Rule #1: Avoid \u201cThe Gap\u201d<\/h2>\n<p>Business coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pEoycpyyWP0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dan Sullivan<\/a> calls the space between where we are and where we want to be \u201cThe Gap\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>We always look ahead and want to be better than we are. But our goals are like the horizon &#8211; always moving into the distance. As we approach, they get further away.<\/p>\n<p>We can avoid the dismay that comes with comparing ourselves to our ideals. Instead, we can measure success looking back at where we\u2019ve come from.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Celebrate Wins<\/h2>\n<p>For the first step of reviewing the last year, we can celebrate our wins. We can pat ourselves on the back for what we did and what worked.<\/p>\n<p>These can be specific or general. Examples of specific wins are: \u201c<em>I learned how to play a C chord.<\/em>\u201d and &#8220;<em>I got brave and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/change-classical-guitar-strings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">changed my strings<\/a>!<\/em>&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>An example of a more general win is: \u201c<em>I practiced most of the time, only taking a couple of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/quote-banksy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">breaks<\/a> from regular practice this year.<\/em> \u201d<\/p>\n<p>When we celebrate our wins, we\u2019re more likely to feel good about our progress. And feeling good can motivate us to continue.<\/p>\n<p>As we acknowledge our successes, we should avoid the temptation to add \u201c..But\u2026\u201d. For this step of our review, only successes matter. <strong>No \u201cbuts\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">If We\u2019re Still in the Game, We\u2019re Moving Forward<\/h2>\n<p>If we did anything at all over the last year (even just listening to music), we\u2019re ahead of where we were.<\/p>\n<p>Even if there were times when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/classical-guitar-technique-exercises-travel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">little or no practice<\/a> happened, we still move forward.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, we would have gotten further if we had practiced five hours every day like a conservatory student. But for most of us, this isn\u2019t reasonable or possible (even if we do have the time).<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ve also gained skills in other areas of life that will directly or indirectly help our guitar-playing. We\u2019ve had experiences. We\u2019ve overcome adversity and made things happen.<\/p>\n<p>And if we\u2019re still in the game, we can make adjustments and improve going forward.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Notice What Worked and What Didn\u2019t<\/h2>\n<p>Once we\u2019ve acknowledged our success, we can take a sober look at what worked and what didn\u2019t. And we can do this with <strong>no shame or blame. Just the facts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We can later use what we find to make the next year even better.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few areas we can evaluate:<\/p>\n<h3>Expectations for Guitar Practice<\/h3>\n<p>Often, how we feel about our practice and progress is related to our expectations.<\/p>\n<p>If we set the bar to success very high, we\u2019ll fail more often. If success equals 30 hours of practice every week, then 5 hours each week feels like a massive failure.<\/p>\n<p>If we instead make success equal 15 minutes, 4 times a week, we\u2019re much more likely to be proud of ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, if we\u2019re a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/classical-guitar-lessons-beginners\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">beginner<\/a>, expecting to play large concert pieces is unrealistic.<\/p>\n<p>So we can move our targets depending on our current schedules and situations.<\/p>\n<p>We can take a close look at our expectations of all areas of our musical life. We can notice which serve us, and which to adjust.<\/p>\n<h3>Timing<\/h3>\n<p>Most of us have different energy and focus-levels at different times of the day and week. We can consider when we practice, and how this timing affects our work.<\/p>\n<p>We may enjoy guitar more in the morning or the evening. Some small changes (like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/split-practices\/\">splitting our practice<\/a> into two smaller sessions) may bring more joy and fulfillment to our practice.<\/p>\n<h3>Practice Planning and Organization<\/h3>\n<p>We can examine what we do when we sit down to practice. And we can notice how our organization and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/guitar-practice-schedule\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">practice-planning<\/a>\u00a0affects our progress.<\/p>\n<p>If we tightly schedule other areas of life, we may enjoy guitar more if we keep it largely unstructured.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, if we have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/short-guitar-practices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">limited time<\/a> and want to know we\u2019re moving ahead, a detailed practice plan may be more helpful.<\/p>\n<p>We can take an honest look to decide what elements to keep and which to change in the year ahead.<\/p>\n<h3>Self-Talk and Attitude<\/h3>\n<p>We can also review how we thought about guitar and practice. How we <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/quiet-inner-dialog-performance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">talk to ourselves<\/a> &#8211; the stories we tell, the tone we take &#8211; makes a big impact on our experience.<\/p>\n<p>We can list frequent thoughts and decide which help and which hinder.<\/p>\n<p>Scolding, admonishing, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/reality-guilt-inner-game\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">blaming<\/a> or berating is not helpful. It is demotivating and associates negative feelings with our guitar practice.<\/p>\n<p>On the flip side, kudos, compassion, and encouragement get us excited and motivate us to do more.<\/p>\n<p>Our attitudes both on the guitar and off are worth examining.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Classical Guitar is a Long Game<\/h2>\n<p>Classical guitar is hard. It\u2019s complex and takes time. While short-term goals are useful, classical guitar is a \u201clong-game\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Ideally, we\u2019ll be playing for years or even decades. The most important ingredient in our progress is attendance. If we keep showing up and practicing, good things will happen.<\/p>\n<p>We can best insure our long-term enjoyment by creating habits and routines that let us feel good. When we celebrate daily successes and make <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/one-percent-improvements\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">small improvements<\/a>, we move ahead, step by step.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we look back over a year of guitar practice, how should we gauge success? It\u2019s tempting to discount all our work. We may have meant to do more, or be further along. So we may feel like we\u2019ve let ourself down. But this isn\u2019t productive. Instead, we can make a positive review of the last year. We can notice &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/review-assess-plan\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2973,"featured_media":37087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,434,20],"tags":[378,372],"class_list":["post-37086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-main-content-parent","category-practicing","tag-practice-organization","tag-practice-planning"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Worked and What Didn&#039;t? Looking Back to Move Forward<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Look back at your guitar practice and review what worked and what didn&#039;t. 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