[darrwhit]

I saw that saying on the wall of my gym once and thought it was actually pretty insightful.

For me, keeping a log of my practice has helped me analyze and improve upon the time I spend with the guitar. I keep a practice log on a white board right next to my exercise log. If "what gets measured gets improved" then we have to be careful about what exactly we measure. So I don't log time spent practicing. I create specific rules for myself about what constitutes a measurable learning unit. If you want to get good at shooting free throws, practice making 100 free throws instead of just shooting 100 free throws.

Every year, I tend to journal about my guitar goals around my New Years resolutions. But my practice log is simple. I use a shorthand to record what I do every day. Every month or so my white board gets wiped clean, but it helps me stay focused on the goals that I've set for myself, and modify things if necessary. If I miss a day or two, the board doesn't lie. After twenty years of relative stasis in my ability on guitar, this has really helped me in the last few years.