My first six months were all over the place. Some weeks I practiced an hour daily. Some weeks I didn't touch the keyboard. No structure, no consistency, lots of guilt.
Then I built an actual routine. Not a rigid schedule – a flexible structure that worked with my life. Progress accelerated dramatically.
Here's what works.
Start with the 10-minute rule. Commit to exactly 10 minutes per day, non-negotiable. This is your floor. Most days you'll do more, but 10 minutes is always achievable. Missing days is what kills habits.
Attach practice to something you already do. After morning coffee. After getting home from work. Right before bed. The trigger should be consistent. Decision fatigue kills practice habits – remove the decision.
Structure your session: warmup, work, reward.
Warmup (2-5 minutes): Scales, finger exercises, something easy to get blood flowing and fingers moving. Don't skip this – cold fingers make more mistakes.
Work (bulk of practice): Pick ONE thing. Not three things. One tricky passage. One chord transition. Four measures of a new piece. Work on it deliberately. Slow practice. Hands separate first. If it's hard, slow down until it's not hard.
Reward (last few minutes): Something you already know and enjoy. End on a high note. This makes you want to come back.
Use a metronome during work sections. I resisted this for months and my timing suffered. Don't repeat my mistake.
Quality over quantity. 20 focused minutes beats 60 distracted minutes. If your mind wanders, take a break. Mindless repetition doesn't help.
Track your practice. Simple log – date, what you worked on, how it went. This creates accountability and shows progress over weeks that you can't see day-to-day.
Expect bad days. Some days nothing works. That's normal. Show up, do your 10 minutes, don't beat yourself up. Consistency over perfection.
When you hit plateaus, switch what you practice. Sometimes your brain needs different input to break through.
My current routine: 5 min warmup (scales both hands, one octave, different key each day). 15-20 min focused work on current piece. 5 min something fun I already know. Total: 25-30 min most days. Sometimes longer, rarely shorter than 15.