We're diving deep into the world of PRACTICE this week! 🎻 In preparation for the Practice Design Seminar starting on Jan 22, we're gearing up to share a series of 5 insightful emails this week, all about the art of practicing. If you'd rather not receive these, click here to be taken off this series!

Flashback to 1998. I'm in a practice room at USC, staring at a list of audition excerpts for the Santa Barbara Symphony. Instead of having a plan, I was lost (where do I even start?), suffering from imposter syndrome (who am I kidding?), and contemplating this path in music with a mix of fear and confusion that had me wondering if I'd accidentally stumbled into the wrong career.

This memory sounds similar to one of the participants in last week's goal-setting workshop (missed it? watch the replay here) who was so overwhelmed by everything on her list that she was paralyzed!

At a time of year when we're looking at our goals, we're often scratching our heads/pounding our heads against the wall at a) how to begin, but more importantly, b) how to have a strategy that keeps us moving beyond the initial burst of motivation we get when starting something new.

3 ways to get unstuck

If you're in a practice room pickle, here are 3 keys to breaking free from the slump:

1. Achieving your goals starts with the consistent execution of small, manageable steps. Side note: The secret sauce to consistency is setting goals that hit the sweet spot - achievable goals that challenge, not crush.
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2. Allow your mind to wander! Take a break and give yourself 5 minutes to get creatively distracted.
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3. Believe it or not, there's more to perfectionism than meets the eye. And it's not all bad! So stop beating yourself up about your perfectionist tendencies! Get the scoop on the different shades of perfectionism in Zoe's blog post here.

Are you struggling to find the practice strategy that works for you?

Overwhelmed by repertoire? Want a solid plan and confidence? You're not alone! Questions like procrastination, "enough" practice, structure, and mindset are common. We get questions all the time, like:

How do you…

• practice when you have A LOT of rep?
• avoid procrastination in practice?
• know when you've done “enough”?
• structure your practice?
• keep a positive mindset?

What's your biggest hurdle? Does any/ all of the above resonate with you? If so...

The Practice Design Seminar is your solution! It's a 5-week program with actionable lessons, expert insights, and more! It starts on Jan 22 and by the end, you'll:

💙 Master your practice structure
💙 Implement new techniques
💙 Learn from experts (like Noa Kageyama & Carolyn Christie)
💙 Boost consistency and joy
💙 Bridge practice and performance
💙 Join a performance challenge
💙 Get feedback on your practice design + goals

Build a practice toolkit filled with JOY, IDEAS, and STRATEGIES tailored to YOU!

You've reached the end! Now, go practice! 😉

Much love,

Ixi

p.s. Practice Design Seminar: Jan 22-Feb 26. Dive into transformative learning – Get all the details.
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