Jerry Seinfeld has a simple method of working that he calls "Don't break the chain." Jerry is a comedian and an author ... in other words, an artist. And just how does such a successful artist achieve his demanding goals? Does he look in a mirror and announce gravely, “I will write eight jokes by 5:00”? No, Jerry takes a more modest and less confrontational approach. On a simple drug-store calendar, he puts an X through each day that he has worked on his craft. His only goal is to see an unbroken chain of X's. And it doesn't matter if it was 3 hours or 3 minutes. It all counts.
I very much like Jerry's method as it makes it easier to commit to the program. Do something every day -- however small -- and you will move ever closer to your goal. This 'salami’ approach is easy to pull off. Just slice off a bit at a time. No time to practice? Really? Next time you plant yourself in front of the TV, get out the pad and sticks and do a few minutes of hand work*. It may seem almost pointless, but even two minutes done daily can reap significant rewards. The object is to build practice into your daily routine. Consider practice as basic as brushing your teeth.
Be sure you have a flexible schedule, one that lets you breath, one that won't make you feel guilty if you can only manage 5 minutes instead of the planned 20. As long as you don’t break the chain. And keep in mind that you’ll probably be ‘banking’ minutes from time to time.
A nice perk is that this system is much less stressful than setting fixed targets that you may have to miss. I used to beat myself up for not putting in 3 hours a day. Interestingly, when I decided to practice only when I felt like it , I actually ended up practicing more than I expected to. I didn’t feel obliged to put in a lot of time practicing, and the lack of pressure suited me just fine.
So your goal is to practice -- something, anything -- for whatever length of time is available, and to make it a daily commitment. And be sure to keep track on your drug-store calendar.
It’s in the cards URL
A practice program that works very well for me is a stack of 3x5 file cards. I write one exercise on a card along with the parameters I want to cover. You can find the full details here: Stay On Track With A Practice Matrix.
* Watching TV and playing a sticking are two completely different tasks. They require different skills from the brain and can co-exist quite nicely. My teacher always had a pad and sticks set up in his home theatre viewing position.