The Mind Over Finger Podcast - 137 How to Plan for Efficient Practice - Gear Up for Fall 22 Part 2

Episode Date: August 31, 2022

Welcome to Gear Up for Fall 22, a special series of five episodes that brings you everything you need to gear up for an amazing new season of music-making! We cover everything from setting goals to getting you set up for success by helping build your amazing practice regimen.   PART 2 - Efficient Practice Planning This episode is all about planning and scheduling efficiently for better results.  I share strategies on how to plan for productive practice and how to schedule it in a way that maximizes your time so you can operate at the highest level possible.   >> DOWNLOAD THE RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE HERE

You're listening to the Mind Over Finger podcast. This episode is part of Gear Up for Fall 22, a special five-episode series that brings you everything you need to gear up for an amazing new season of music making. Let's go. Welcome to the Mind Over Finger podcast, discussions on mindful music-making, efficient practice, and building a purposeful career. And now, your host, violinist, teacher, and high-performance coach for musicians, Dr. Renée Paul Gaultier. Hi everyone! I hope that this episode finds you doing amazingly well. welcome to gear up for fall 22 a special series of five episodes to help you gear up for an amazing new season of music making it's hard to believe but it's already september and that means that

season five of the mind over finger podcast is starting soon i'm so excited we begin september 9th and i have so much great content ahead for you this season wonderful guests lots of tips and tricks and tools to help you with everything related to your music making experience and a special workshop on October 14th. It's going to be an incredible journey together. So thank you for being here. And as I prepare for the 22-23 season as a podcast host, as a coach, and as a performer, I'm setting goals and getting organized. And I'm guessing that you might be in the same boat. You're getting ready to tackle all sorts of new projects and dreaming big for the months ahead. So I thought it would be great for us to revisit some of your favorite past episodes of

the podcast, where I discuss important foundational concepts, and I give you everything you need to get ready for an awesome season. So I've selected five episodes from the spring of 2021 that cover everything from setting goals to getting you set up for success by helping you build your amazing practice regimen. In the first episode of this Gear Up for Fall 22 series, we're going to get epically aligned for the months ahead. You're going to walk away with a renewed vision for the future, clear goals and specific strategies to implement, and the motivation to get started, and most importantly, to keep going. The second episode is all about planning and scheduling efficiently for better results. I share strategies on how to plan for productive practice and how to

schedule it in a way that maximizes your time so you can operate at the highest level possible. In the third episode, I share my favorite tips about a powerful ritual that can transform the results you get in the practice room priming. In the fourth episode, I share my favorite tips on how to create an effective warm-up regimen. And in the fifth and last episode of this series, I teach you how to create an efficient practice session breakdown. You're going to hear about the three basic qualities you want in a practice session, the mindsets to nurture to be productive in your work and the general sections to include in a solid musical progression. So get comfortable, grab what you need to take some notes, and make sure to visit mindoverfinger.com

slash resources to download the various resources that come with the episodes, grab the episode transcripts, and to join the waitlist for the free fall workshop. All those links are also going to be in the show notes. All right, are you ready? Let's gear up for Fall 22. Today is all about planning and scheduling. Some people might hate those words, but for me, planning and scheduling put me at ease because I don't have to worry about things getting done because I've planned them. And it's not just about planning what has to be done, but planning my whole life. Planning for me is about self-care. It's about building into my life the things that are the most important to me and the things that help me function at the highest

level. By planning ahead, you can really build the life that you want. Let's start with planning our practice. And we're going to go at the micro level in the next episode in this series. But for today, we keep things at the macro level. If you're listening to this, I'm hoping you've also listened to episode 86, Gear Up 2021. If you haven't, I actually recommend that you pause this one and start with Gear Up 2021. Because this is where this whole process starts. You can also listen to episode 73, Performance Reboot, which has a lot of similar concepts. These are the episodes where we imagine our future, establish our vision, we reverse engineer the process, and create our ideal optimal context. So with my vision in mind and on paper, I like to start

drafting my practice plan for the months ahead. I like to put it in a table in a Word document. I put the months of the year on the left and I have several columns for the different information I find helpful to keep track of and plan. I usually have a column that lists all the firm deadlines, the performances, and what repertoire I'll be playing for those. Then I have another column where I put the elements I already outlined in my reverse engineering from episode 86 with even more details and broken down into weekly assignments within the month. In another column I keep track of the pieces I need to keep on the back burner and the ones that I need to slowly start learning but that are projects in the distant future. And finally I have one for my

long-term personal goals, like for example, working on finger doctives or if there's something I want to work on for fun. I put this in a word doc because I can edit it constantly and easily, but any format will do. It doesn't matter if it's pen to paper, a Trello board, or an Excel sheet. whatever fits you best is perfect but the one place I strongly advise keeping this plan in is a vague space in your brain write it down and it will happen now I hear from so many of you that it's difficult to find the time to practice that you don't have the time or you don't have enough time to practice. So let's talk about a way to organize things that will help you find time, save time, become more effective, and channel your energy towards achieving your goals. Let's get

scheduling. Ultimately, of course, you want to find a way to organize your schedule that works best for you, but let me offer some suggestions that have worked well for me. I like to take some time at the beginning of each week, usually on Sunday evening, to plan the upcoming days. I plan everything. Practice time, appointments, lessons, cooking, working, studying, cleaning, leisure time, etc. And in normal time, of course, rehearsals and concerts. I try to be as precise and detailed as possible and also I leave some open time for the unexpected. Doing that allows me to maximize my time and prevent unpleasant surprises. Knowing how to build a well-organized schedule can be an instrumental element in becoming efficient and in reaching your goals. Personally, I feel that when

I schedule something, it's almost just as good as done. And if I don't, if it stays on a list somewhere, or if it stays in my head, instead of making its way on my calendar, it most likely won't happen. Operating this way is what allowed me to complete a doctorate while raising a newborn and a toddler, dealing with a daily heavy commute in Chicago traffic, and a busy concert schedule. This is what allows me to create this podcast for you while juggling, in normal times, a heavy performance schedule, teaching schedule, and spending time with my family. And I would like to specify that I'm not some special unicorn. If I can do it, anyone can do it. Not a hundred percent of what I plan gets done, but I'm 100% more efficient by planning ahead of time. So here's

how I do it. Throughout the week, I use the memo app on my phone and my Trello boards to keep track of any ideas that pops in for things I need to do. And by the way, if you are someone who likes organization and you don't know about Trello boards, I strongly recommend you check it out. And like I said, I set aside some time at the beginning of each week, usually on Sunday, to organize my schedule. I use Google Calendar because I can easily plan things from my computer and access them through all of my devices. Also, it's easy to edit, to create recurring events, and I love that I can use colors to identify the different events and areas of my life. The first things going in my schedule are what I call the firm commitments or the non-negotiables. Those are the activities that I am committed to at a specific time and place.

That includes lessons, meetings, appointments, family activities, etc. And during a normal year, rehearsals and concerts. My work and family obligations are usually entered as soon as an engagement is confirmed, so they're already in the calendar when I sit down to build my week. The next thing going in will usually be the chunks of time necessary to commute to all the different activities. This does not apply for me these days, of course, but life will go back to normal, so let's talk about it for a second. planning for commute is something people forget to do all the time and that's a big one that can derail your schedule real quick if you drive to work this can save you so much time because planning commuting ahead of time helps you work around traffic hours and increases your chances

of being punctual you can notice that by leaving an hour earlier you could escape rush hour so you can schedule to leave early and get 30 minutes of practicing done at the hall instead of sitting in the car in a tailgate. And when you do this, you realize how much time you spend going from place to place and you can figure out ways to make that work for you. I like to listen to audiobooks and podcasts, which transforms my long commuting time into a learning opportunity or an entertaining ride. Planning for my commute also helps me notice where I go and when, and that allows me to combine errands and commitments, which saves me time. Once the non-negotiables are in, the firm commitments, I add what I call the variables. The variables are all the other

activities which have no specific set time. Sleeping, practicing, studying, cooking and eating, reading with the kids, exercising, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. I love this quote from former NASA rocket designer Peter Turla who says, managing your time without setting priorities is like shooting randomly and calling whatever you hit the target. Prioritizing is the guiding light when scheduling the variables. As a human being, I need to eat, sleep, take care of myself and do things that are fun. As a spouse, parent and homeowner, I need to make sure that I save blocks for family time, grocery shopping, meal preparation, and home maintenance. As a musician, teacher, and coach, I have several tasks which must get done dutifully and mindfully. If you're

a student, you'll have classes, homework, studying, exams, and social activities. So from week to week, the order of priority and the use of my time will change according to my to-do list or might be affected by unforeseen circumstances one week a sick child will consume a great amount of time another week preparation for a big concert will take precedence over getting all the laundry done it's all about flexibility but with careful planning everything important and necessary can get scheduled and accomplished. So let's talk about planning for practice, right? This is a podcast about music. We are what I would call musician athletes. So to stay in shape, practicing needs to stay close to the top of the priority list. We have a daily minimum of time required

to maintain form, which is different for all of us. And then we'll have a variety of deadlines or performances to plan for. So when looking at your schedule, go back to your practice plan. Schedule your practice sessions early in the scheduling building process. If practicing is a priority for you, don't squeeze it in when you've put all of your other to-dos on the calendar and there's hardly any time left. You want to carve time out for your priorities. So consider scheduling your practice sessions first thing after your non-negotiables. As you put your practice sessions in your calendar, also include what you plan on practicing in that session. For example, don't write practice. Write things like warm-up plus Bach first movement,

or read Brahms symphony number three plus identify passages to practice or record run through concerto plus listen plus take notes. Of course you can always change things around as needed but being really specific with what you cover in the different sessions is going to be extremely effective in making sure you cover everything you have to and you won't find yourself with a forgotten item at the end of the week. Another thing about scheduling practice is to think carefully about which time of day you want to do it. I strongly recommend planning to practice when you know you will be in your most productive state. For me, it's early in the morning, but for others, I know it's late at night. So whether you're an early bird or a late night owl, keep that into

consideration and plan your practice sessions when you know your prefrontal cortex will be running at full speed. And the last thing I'll say about scheduling your practice sessions is to plan for enough breaks. We want you to stay healthy, fit, and on top of your physical game. So as long as you make sure you plan ahead and schedule enough time to get ready fully for performances and commitments, things should move in the right direction for you. So here's the order I might follow when I'm filling up my schedule. First, I put in the non-negotiables, the firm commitments, appointments, rehearsals, concerts. Then, in a normal year, all the commute necessary to get to those commitments. Then, because it's really important for me to feel like I operate at my

best, I'll schedule the elements that will support everything else. Sleep, family time and family activities, meditation, exercise, mealtimes, and yes, leisure activities. Then, my daily practice sessions. And if you're a student, this is also where I would schedule chunks of time for studying and for homework. Remember that if you don't schedule it in advance, it either won't happen or it will have to happen at a time that is not convenient for you. And this is where the difficult choice of what to give up comes in and you lose control of your life. So after practice and study time, I put all the rest. Podcast work, content creation, errands, etc. And then I'll go to the less fun stuff. Groceries, cleaning, laundry. Be careful to not overload your schedule and keep

enough time to transition between activities. Also, be realistic when scheduling how long something is going to take. But at the same time, challenge yourself to not allocate too much time to complete a task. You might have heard of Parkinson's law, which says that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. So make sure you allocate your prime time efficiently. And before I conclude this episode, I'd like to bring up flexibility again. And what I mean by flexibility is to be aware and adaptable to your changing priorities. So in the same way that your practice is going to be different two months before a performance versus two days before a performance, your schedule is going to be different from week to week

depending on what's coming up for you. In the weeks before a big audition, practicing is probably going to be at the very top of your list and you might spend less time exercising or going out with friends. This is the kind of flexibility you want to have with your schedule reflecting the needs you have in that moment. Having said that, I strongly recommend maintaining the activities that support you in the long term. It's about negotiating a fine balance and I would be careful about cutting out completely things that nurture you like sleeping, exercising, and meditating in favor of more work because the lack of balance will affect you negatively. For example, if you need to reduce exercise or social activities to work a little bit more when it's that last stretch,

so be it. But eliminating things completely could be counterproductive. Just use your best judgment and spend time pondering on what serves you best both short-term and long-term and how to reach the best balance for this week. There are a lot of things going into a schedule, so I'll reiterate these three important things in conclusion. Number one, make sure to keep your priorities in mind and remember that those might change from week to week. number two try to be as realistic as possible when deciding how long something is going to take

and number three be flexible and creative as you craft your schedule obviously everybody has a different way of going about things what matters is that you find a way that works for you this kind of nitty-gritty planning can appear to be really boring and not really elevated but it's doing this homework, building this strategic structure of your time that opens up time and mental space for the productive work, for the elevated work, for the mindful practice, for artistry. So give it a shot and keep tweaking, adapting, see what works and what doesn't work for you and try new things. I know that for me, through experimenting for years, I realized that I find freedom through planning because, as I said earlier, if it's in the schedule, it's

as good as done. And when things get done, I reach my goals, or at least more of them, and I have time to do the things I want to do without worrying. But if operating this way sounds like a living nightmare to you, that's perfectly okay. just make sure you find a system that works for you that makes you feel empowered and that brings efficiency and freedom to your life in the way that feels perfectly aligned with your way of doing things so i hope this was helpful now let's see those schedules sit down plan take a screenshot share it on social and tag me or drop me a comment to let me know that you found this info

useful. I'm Mind Over Finger on all platforms. Thank you guys so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Gear Up for Fall 22 series. If this content was helpful for you, please share with everyone you think could benefit from it. Catch all five episodes of this special series, take a screenshot, share on social media, and tag me so we can keep the conversation going. I'm Mind Over Finger everywhere. As always, I have all the information related to this episode in the show notes. You can find them via your podcast app or by visiting mindoverfinger.com where you can also find more free resources on efficient practice and performance preparation and information on how to work with me. Don't forget to sign up for my

newsletter to receive your free guide to a productive mindful practice using the metronome, transcripts from the Mind Over Finger podcast episodes delivered to your inbox, and much more. That's it for today. Again, thank you and à bientôt. Thank you.