Difficult problems are also Easier

Image by Spencer Stewart from Pixabay

Two months ago, I became a father for the third time. I have heard countless times that “when you become a parent, you will never have any more time of your own again” or something similar. Which is a big fat lie, of course. It just requires priorities and planning. A very good approach to a problem that seems too difficult is to realize that the reason you are stuck is because the problem is too easy. By increasing the difficulty level, you eliminate more of your options, until only a handful or preferably only one option remain. If you only have one choice, then the path forward becomes rather obvious.

I play and/or practice music for 15 minutes per day since over a decade. I have experimented a lot with the optimal time of the day to execute the routine, and they all have their benefits and drawbacks. But after my daughter came into the equation I can once again see clearly that the best time of the day to clock in those 15 practice minutes is as early as possible in the morning. The longer I wait in the day, the higher the probability that something, anything that will require my attention and time come up from nowhere. That is just a fact. And if you practice as soon as you wake up, the probability that you can play for 15 minutes is very high – if you get out of bed early enough.

Another benefit of early practice sessions is that your mind is a clean slate, whereas your mind will be exposed to many external stimuli and impressions throughout any given day. That makes it much harder to focus on a task. Personally, I find it a lot easier to focus and execute a daily routine in the morning. We now live in a world where attention-grabbing events are taking place constantly. So, we all struggle with this to some degree.

The weeks leading up to the final push before vacation and the last day on the 5th of July resulted in some serious time constraints. Deliveries of big projects at the same time as you do your best to take care of three kids and two dogs is a proper increase in the difficulty level of life in general. During these weeks, I have been seriously reminded about my daily 15 minutes practice session and how much more friction is introduced with every hour of procrastination I engage in. I do believe that the only way to keep my practice routine going for an indefinite time, is to get up and execute the routing ASAP in the morning while everyone else is sleeping.