A question that comes to me from guitarists surprisingly often is about how to consistently finish what you start. It’s a common problem that many guitarists run into that has far greater consequences than most of them realize. 

It’s also a lot easier to solve than most of them realize… and being that it’s such common question, I figured it’s time to organize my thoughts on it and share them with you.

While this problem has a whole other side to it in the sphere of creativity, that’s not the side we’re going to be discussing today. This is all about guitar and how it applies to things like learning an entire song, a solo, a technique or even working through to the end of a video lesson. At a more “macro” level, this directly affects whether and how you follow through and achieve your overarching goals.

First and foremost, let me point out that every time you allow yourself to get into a situation where you don’t finish what you start, you run the risk of destroying your momentum and doing major damage to your personal confidence and core motivation.

If you can imagine the degree of self-confidence you earn from successfully following a challenging task to its completion, then you can easily see how the opposite effect would take hold by failing to do so.

The reason this comes up so often has very little to do with what a person is capable of and is almost exclusively the result of ignorance of one of a few key principles.

For example, it’s easy to get yourself into a situation where you’ve started something before realizing just how much work it will take to get to the end. Perhaps a great deal more work than it would take had you attempted smaller achievements first.

It may be that your interest in the particular song or technique just wasn’t strong enough to get you through to the end – but, most likely, it’s that you started on something a little too long or advanced for your current level.

By learning how to set yourself up to finish just about everything you start, you will learn how to build incredible momentum that will actually be difficult to stop once it gets going.

At this point, you will see your rate of progress grow so fast you won’t believe it.

Let’s break it down into some basic principles.

1. Choosing your battles

As the name suggests, one of the most important aspects of finishing what you start is to never start on something that you won’t be able to finish.

This may seem obvious or even ridiculous, but really take a moment to think about it.

If you start yourself out on easier to achieve goals to begin with, you won’t only be building momentum, you will be increasing your skill level at a far quicker and more consistent rate in the long run.

This in itself will allow you to take on more and more difficult challenges over time. The process will also be far more enjoyable and rewarding which will cause you to want to take on a new challenge the moment the last one is completed.

Think about that “alright, it’s finished!” moment.

After that moment, you immediately want to take on the next challenge. It feels great and reinforces the idea in your mind that you can take on anything thrown your way.

It always leaves you wanting more.

To contrast that, imagine that moment where you decide to give up on something. Maybe you simply “put it off” while knowing deep down that you’re not going to pick it up again.

Does that moment get you excited for the next challenge?

Not even close. 

In fact, it’s one of the most discouraging types of moments we can have while working on the guitar. You might even take a break from playing altogether for awhile after a moment like that. That’s hardly a way to increase your momentum.

If you consistently take on challenges that are too far beyond your current level, you will either burn yourself out or consistently quit before completing them.

While the key to momentum for guitar practice is finding the right level of challenge (as we discussed in a previous article), it’s actually a good idea to make it pretty easy on yourself at first. That way you can build momentum more freely and build certainty in your ability to stick with something to the end.

For starters, you can always set yourself to a task that you know you can complete. If you have any doubts, you can do something smaller or easier and work your way up.

Setting your own finish lines

So how do you choose the right level of challenge out of all the material you want to work with?

If there’s a song you’d like to learn or a video guitar lesson you’d like to study, you don’t have to commit yourself to getting through the entire thing right away. If your goal is to become a better player, then all of these things can be seen as tools to get you there. The trick is to use these tools in a way that makes sense for you at the time.

It won’t be the same for everyone.

Just because a song was written at a certain length or in a certain order does not mean that you have to learn it that way. The same is true of a video guitar lesson.

It’s important to figure out the best approach to take to set yourself up for success from the beginning.  It’s also equally important to start with this in mind so you don’t have to keep changing your approach.

You want to be able to follow through on exactly what you set out to do because that’s how you build both confidence in your abilities and momentum.

One way of achieving this is by breaking things up into smaller and more easily digestible sections. This can be applied to a guitar solo, an entire song or even with how you approach a video lesson.

Instead of committing yourself to learning an entire song all at once, take the first page or even just the first four bars. Make that your finish line for today: a place to get where you can stop and revel in an achievement, even if it’s just something small at first.

On the other side of the coin, you absolutely want to avoid any situation where you have to “move the finish line closer to the starting line” after you’ve already started. Even though this seems like a clever workaround, your unconscious will still see this as a failure.

If you’re unsure of where to put the “finish line” for now, just start it somewhere that is absurdly easy. You can always work your way out from there.

Once you reach one finish line, set the next one and so on. Before you know it, you’ll have an intuitive understanding of where and how to break things up and approach them.

String enough of these “finish lines” in a row and you will have learned an entire song or made your way through an entire lesson. And that is a great feeling.

Do that once and you’ll be dying to do it again… and again.

Structured goals

As always, setting and keeping track of clear goals is essential to your progress on the guitar. But goals can also be broken down into hierarchies in a way that will both keep you feeling rewarded and push you forward each day.

This is a great example of a time where you can apply what we talked about in the previous article: setting small daily goals that progressively lead you to your larger goals.

If a song your working on has a couple sections that are a little beyond your current abilities, set those sections aside for now (or even indefinitely if need be). Restructure your goals to account for it.

As an example, your goals could look something like this:

Short-term daily goal 1: Memorize and master next 4 bars of Song X (minus sections with new technique) 

Mid-term goal 1: Memorize and master Song X without new technique sections

Short-term daily goal 2: Practice the new technique and increase the speed by at least 4 BPM a day

Mid-term goal 2: Master new technique found in Song X 

Long-term goal: Memorize and master Song X with new technique

This is assuming, of course, that the song and techniques are not too far beyond your current level of playing. If you were attempting to leap forward here, a goal like this could end up taking years to complete. To build real momentum, it’s critical to be able to achieve success in the relative short term.

As a side note, if you saw the way I wrote out the goals up there and asked yourself “wait a minute, should I be writing my goals out like that?”  Then the answer is absolutely!  

Writing out your goals clearly and in order is one of the most powerful ways you can keep yourself on track and hold yourself accountable.  

I personally create a calendar out of goals and use tally marks to indicate the work done that day. I also take advantage of to-do lists with boxes to check.  There are a million good ways to do it.  Find the way that works best for you and you can’t go wrong.  

Remember, we’re shooting for daily achievement and momentum. Structuring goals in such a way that guarantees daily achievement is a key aspect to getting into the habit of finishing what you start.

Even if the goals are short and relatively easy to achieve at first, they can still be greatly rewarding. The more you do this, the more confident you will be in your ability to finish what you started.  Before you know it, you’ll be in the habit of finishing everything that you set out on…

…and you will be amazed at how this affects your progress.

We’ve focused quite a bit on goals lately, so it may be time to get into another subject.  Stay tuned for next week where we will talk about just how fast you should play.

Ready for that next challenge?  Check out my massive catalog of guitar related products, covering everything from Metal versions of Classical pieces, Neo-Classical Shred technique, Sweep Picking, and more!   See what’s on sale today at the link below:

www.Sellfy.com/DanMumm

Dan Mumm

Here’s how you become a master of the guitar….

As promised, I’m here today to break down exactly how you can eliminate procrastination and turn yourself into a practice addict.  This information can fundamentally change your course and truly put you on the path of mastery.

Before we get into all of that, it’s important to point out that this is a follow up to a previous article.  If you haven’t read my article titled “The Greatest Enemy of Guitarists,” then I highly recommend going back and reading through that before continuing.

Okay, let’s get right down to brass tacks.  What are the fundamental ways in which you can conquer procrastination, keep yourself motivated and on track to achieving your long-term guitar goals?

Part 1: Realistic short-term goals

The first and foremost thing to look at are your short-term goals.  If you don’t have clearly defined daily goals to reach (that you can actually achieve on a daily basis), you are simply setting yourself up for failure.

One of the biggest causes of procrastination and overall discouragement is having unrealistic expectations.  And this has nothing to do with your long-term goals, unless you believe you will achieve them in an unrealistic amount of time (more on that later).

If you have seen a guitarist play something, you are almost certainly capable of mastering it and playing it yourself.  The questions that you have to keep in mind is “how long did it take that guitarist to master it?” and “what did they have to do to get there?”

It might seem disappointing to have to focus on small and more easily attainable goals at first.  But it’s important to remember that, if you stick with it, your rate of progress will increase exponentially over time.

Rushing your practice leads to only two things: frustration and sloppy technique

Learn to set a goal or two for each day’s practice routine.  Start out with something simple that you know you can accomplish in that day.  I know the feeling of getting super ambitious and wanting to do the impossible, but there will be plenty of time for that later.  For this to really be effective, you need to get into the habit of truly succeeding at something every day.  This will lead to a daily sense of accomplishment that will build momentum.

And momentum is one of the most critical methods of warding off procrastination

A quick example of setting short-term goals would be if you are trying to master sweep picking, consider that a long-term goal.  A short-term goal would be to simply memorize a simple sweep pattern with the correct fingering.  Another short-term goal would be to reach a slow BPM (with your metronome) with the fundamental sweep picking motion of the fretting hand.  I’m sure you can imagine how you can branch out with more short-term goals from there.

Achieve the short-term goals you set out for yourself each day and take the time to revel in your success.  It should feel good.

So what’s the moral of Part 1?

Set realistic daily short-term goals and achieve them daily

Part 2: Have a compelling reason to pursue the guitar… and know what it is

Now this one might seem absurd to have to bring up.

But it’s not.

The truth is, most of us already have a compelling reason to pursue the guitar.  The only trouble is, few of us really know or remember what it is.

Let me ask you a couple questions here.

1. Do you know the real reason why you pursue the guitar?

2. Do you have difficulty maintaining a solid and daily practice routine?

If you answered “yes” to both questions then there are only two potential reasons why.

Reason 1 – you think you know your true motivation, but you don’t

Reason 2 – you need better reasons for pursuing the guitar

Perhaps an easier way of determining whether you have strong enough reasons and you know what they are is to run a little mental exercise.

Try this: take a moment to concentrate on your reasons for pursuing the guitar.  Imagine what it will be like when your long-term goals are achieved and you get whatever it is that you’re trying to get out of it.

Okay, did you imagine it?  Take your time, I can wait.

So if you didn’t get an ecstatic and electrified feeling that forced you away from this article to go and practice right this very moment, you don’t have strong enough reasons.

Simple, right?

Do you know what’s the main difference between the average guitarist and a master guitarist?

Their reasons for playing the guitar.

Maybe you’re just a casual player who would simply like to keep up regular practice.  You’re not trying to conquer the world or bring the planets into alignment.  That’s totally fine.  You can still find stronger reasons to practice.

If guitar is a hobby for you, imagine how much better a hobby it will be when you can play anything you want.  You could get home from work and play exactly what you feel like playing.  No frustration.  No limitations.

Now that’s a pretty strong reason right there.

For those of you who are looking to change the world through Shred.  Start thinking about why you want that.  What was it about guitar that got you excited about it in the first place?  What could mastering guitar bring you that would get you excited about practicing every morning and keep you up late into the night?

I promise that there is something that will give you that feeling, it’s just up to you to find out what it is.

I can at least give you a hint: your deepest reasons have nothing to do with the guitar…

The moral of Part 2?

Find stronger reasons

Part 3: Setting and managing long-term goals

At first glance, this may seem like it was covered in lesson 2.

It wasn’t.

To really understand how this works, we need to discuss some basic psychology.  The reason that setting goals is such an effective way of motivating ourselves to do something is because it gives us purpose, something to work towards.  The process of seeing ourselves get closer and closer to a greater version of ourselves is both exciting and rewarding.  But there shouldn’t be a final version of ourselves in our imagination, save for maybe an intentionally unattainable higher ideal.

A great metaphor here would be to think of a tower with a ladder going up the center of it.  Each rung of the ladder is a short-term daily goal.  Each level of the tower is a long-term goal.  But the most important thing is that, while you are climbing your way up, the tower is being constructed higher and higher. 

The trick is that you want to always be climbing while never actually reaching the top.

To feel any degree of fulfillment, the mind must always be growing and moving towards something – endlessly.

The truth is, if you ever actually reached the top of the tower (achieving some final goal) all you will find there is disappointment.  Nobody actually wants the journey to end.  So it’s important to have a greater purpose to your goals that will continuously spawn new goals for as long as you live.

With that metaphor of the tower in mind, working towards long-term goals without regularly achieving short-term goals is like climbing a ladder without the rungs.  Without regular rewards and a regular feeling of accomplishment, you will lose all motivation and quickly give in to procrastination.

It is possible, for a level or two, to shimmy your way up that ladder without the rungs.  But the cost is far too high.  By the time you reach that first goal, you will have blown out your metaphorical muscles to get there and have no way of progressing any further.

You’ll associate only misery with the process.

On the other hand, with solid rungs in place at regular intervals, you will build muscle as you climb and your rate of climbing will increase exponentially over time.

The process will be rewarding – which should be the true overarching goal.

Once the process becomes consistently rewarding, you will be fulfilled and you’ll never want that to stop.

And that is the secret to becoming addicted to practicing.

The morals of Part 3?

Never stop building your tower and always put the rungs in first before trying to climb a ladder.

Stay tuned for next week’s article where I will discuss a different side to all of this: what it means to finish what you start, why it’s difficult and what to do about it.

Need some new material to practice?  Check out my massive catalog of guitar related products, covering everything from Metal versions of Classical pieces, Neo-Classical Shred technique, Sweep Picking, and more!   See what’s on sale today at the link below:

www.Sellfy.com/DanMumm

Dan Mumm