After college and before having two children I would spend my day practicing. My afternoon/evenings were dedicated to teaching and I did allocate time to call venues to book gigs, but overall, practice was my priority.
It sounds like a perfect setup! Hours of practice is exactly what we need to further our development, or at least I do. However, I encountered a problem. Although I was making progress, I still had a nagging feeling that I wasn't getting much done and I knew I was capable of accomplishing more.
The main issue was a lack of direction. Whatever crossed my mind gained my attention, at least until the next idea came trampling in. I would make a practice routine only to wake up the next day and make a new one. Some routines would have a list of twenty topics and others five. I couldn't seem to decide on where to aim my focus.
Part of this I attribute back to college. Those of us that have or continue to study guitar/music at the university level encounter a very similar situation. We are bombarded with information that takes a lifetime to process while having to show some form of understanding so we can pass the class. Not only are we presented with a multitude of information, but we are also seeking to find more outside of class. I can't even imagine starting college today with all of the sources of information that pulls us in all directions.
Am I saying college is the main culprit? NO!
All of the material presented in college is to be taken in and digested over years. And as the years go by you start to focus on those materials/topics that peak your interest and therefore create your musical personality. You just have to be willing to set parameters in order to focus!
One more thought: Artificial Deadlines
If you do not have any gigs in the near future, or musical commitments, then set deadlines in order to gain the most of your practice. Noodling around on the guitar all day may be fun, but to call that practice is misleading and may lead you to a mindset of failure. If this is your hobby, then no harm done. If this is your profession, then take notice and discipline yourself so as not to waste minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years!
