Week 8: Days 49 to 55


Day 49: Monday, May 17th 2021

Practice Time – 25 mins

I don’t feel great knowing that I’ve missed three of the last four days of practice, so I’m determined to have a better week this week. My motivation dipped last week, but I see this week as a fresh start and am ready to go. 

My plan this week is to try to get over my motivation dip. I aim to do this by using consistency. So my aim is 5 mins a day, every day. 

I continued onwards today practising all of my open chords using the new method that I came up with on Saturday. I think I’m starting to see small improvements with my chord changing and strumming, which is motivating. 

Day 50: Tuesday, May 18th 2021

Practice Time – 10 mins

Just a quick 10-minute session today. 

I ran through the usual stuff, but I also tweaked and built upon my new method for practising my chord changes/strumming. This new method feels beneficial which improves my motivation.

Day 51: Wednesday, May 19th 2021

Practice Time – 45 mins

Today felt productive. I pretty worked on the G, Em, D and Cadd9 using my new strumming/changing practice method. 

I feel as though I’m getting closer to being able to jump to each chord more quickly whilst strumming. Again, this is motivating. Although I still feel a lack of motivation. I’m not sure why?

Progress update after 38 days of practice

Day 52: Thursday, May 20th 2021

Practice Time – 20 mins

Today’s session is an exact replica of yesterday’s session. Albeit just for 20 minutes. 

Definitely feeling small improvements. 

Day 53: Friday, May 21st 2021

Practice Time – 0 mins

No practice today. I’m not really sure why as I had time. It seems that I start most weeks pretty strong, but fade a little from Friday onwards.

Day 54: Saturday, May 22nd 2021

Practice Time – 20 mins

Nothing new to report other than more practice and a tiny bit of improvement.

My lack of motivation is starting to feel normal.

Day 55: Sunday, May 23rd 2021

Practice Time – 0 mins

No practice again today. We had a big family day out. 

Weekly Round-Up

Total Days Practiced: 5

Monday – 25 mins

Tuesday – 10 mins

Wednesday – 45 mins

Thursday – 20 mins

Friday – x

Saturday – 20 mins

Sunday – x

Total Weekly Minutes Practiced:

2 hours

End of Week Thoughts: 

Motivation

I’ve been thinking about my motivation dip this week. What’s causing it, and how do I get through it? 

I think the tricky thing for me is where my motivation lies. 

Motivation should always lie in learning and playing the music you love the most. As a beginner, it’s a wonderful feeling to hear yourself playing real songs. It’s both inspiring, motivating, and fun. 

This isn’t the case for me though, because I can already play all of the songs I’m learning left-handed when I play right-handed. And I can do it way better!

I don’t get the same spark from hearing myself play new music for the very first time. I don’t get the same spark for slight improvements towards each new song. I went through this phase when I learnt to play right-handed. When I was a true beginner. I’ve experienced it all already.

I just don’t have the same motivation as a true beginner does.

My motivation lies solely in experiencing the beginner process and discovering new ideas for learning that I can use to help others.

These are great motivators, but maybe not as great a motivator or as much fun as learning and playing new songs as a beginner, for the very first time. 

What to do about this? I’m not sure I can do anything other than just dig in, and accept my situation for what it is. 

I think I just need to remind myself why I’m doing this.

  1. To improve as a teacher. 
  2. To help others learn better. 

So I’m just going to keep on keeping on!