So you have decide to learn to play the piano and you understand that if you are going to make any progress you are going to have to practice. Sometimes though it can be hard to find the time to practice – even in retirement. Household chores still need to be done and bills still need to be paid. Sometimes helping out with family and looking after grandkids certainly take up time. Most people who I know that are retired, still have a very full and often busy life.
The trick with getting piano practice done is to build it into your routine. It is not optimal to just practice when you are in the mood to practice, or because you have taken care of all your responsibilities taken care of. Piano practice is seriously best done when it is a normal part of your everyday routine.
As an example, you could tack it on to the end of your morning routine, before something takes you out of the house for the day. This would probably be an ideal time if you were a morning person. If you were a night owl, I would recommend finding a space in your day to do your practice in the late afternoon or early evening.
The best part about making your piano practice a part of your everyday routine, is that it spares you from having to make a daily decision as to when you will be doing your piano practice. Once you get into a routine, you can find your self not even thinking about piano practice – instead you just go and do it, like on autopilot.
Another reason why making your piano practice a part of your everyday routine is that you will never have to consider when you are going to squeeze in practice on busy days, because it is already built into your schedule. I’ve often used the following analogy to demonstrate my point: Even on busy days, you still manage to clean your teeth – it might take you a few minutes in the morning and a few minutes of an evening, but regardless of the day, your teeth still get cleaned. If you think about it, no-one ever says that they are too busy to clean their teeth that day, but somehow they still get it done.
If you are considering learning to play the piano, or you have already made a start, but are finding it difficult to get your piano practice done, then I would strongly recommend that you get into a daily routine that is a part of your normal routines, so you will get your practice done regularly, and you won’t have to spend time organizing yourself.