Finding The Time For Music
 

Hey folks,

I've thought of an idea for a new blog post, so this is especially aimed at parents, but all comments are much appreciated. Whilst juggling the responsibilities of raising kids, managing the housework, and employment, how do you manage to find the time to play the guitar? What are your best life hacks for this one?

Many thanks!

In my experience time isn't found, it's made. For me, 7:30 in the evening is "guitar time." I retire to my office, take on of my guitars off its stand, and go through my practice routine - Skill review, rehearsal of my regular sets, and learning new material.

COVID-19.

Just kidding. Sort of. What I mean is that the continued lockdowns and work-from-home mandates have enabled me to keep a couple of guitars uncased and within arm's reach. I frequently take a break and can pick one up and play for a few minutes.

Making lemonade out of lemons. I haven't been bitten by the bug, but the Law of Unintended Consequences has allowed me to improve my playing by an order of magnitude now that I don't have to commute to an office every day.

+1. As each year goes by, I find that if I don't schedule it, it doesn't happen.

True for all definitions of 'it.'

Sunday, Monday and Thursday are duo rehearsals at the same time every week.

Tuesday and Friday evenings are the times for me to work on my own playing.

This is spot on.

Our kids are all adults now with kids of their own. we have 4 grandkids, ranging from 21, to 5 yrs.

Looking back to when they were younger, it wasn't always easy to keep up with the family/work scheduled while maintaining a pretty aggressive gig schedule and keeping the chops up and learning new material.

I have to give most of the credit to my wife for her faith in me, her never ending support and extreme patience during those years.

But getting back to the question.

you don't find the time, you make the time.

My experience as a parent to a toddler, business owner and with a wife who likes us to watch tv / movies in the evenings;

I can go some periods of time with little time to play - I just make sure when I can play I do (as said above - making the time)
I don’t currently have a lot of time for any other hobbies. I used to fish, golf, catch up with buddies etc but I can’t at this stage of life…
Playing guitar is the one thing I can easily
do whenever I have 5-10 minutes or an hour free.

Kill your television.

Actually, you only need to wound it. Google says the average American spends 3.1 hours a day watching TV. Half of that time is quite a bit of practice for someone who also works and has family.

The deeper I have gotten into guitar the less my desire to sit in front of the television. I used to be a spectator sports addict, now it is only my favorite teams, and not every game. I never channel surf anymore.

This is exactly what I do. I can't imagine anything else working for me.

Recently I've also been doing "micro-sessions" periodically during the day if I can find 5 or 10 minutes. I'm fortunate that I work from home to make this possible.

Someone once told me the definition of a passion is something you do even when you don't have the time to do it.

Like money, it's easy to waste time in the pursuit of ease, economy or short term happiness.

I think about things I used to spend (waste) time on - TV, surfing the web, low value projects, etc. I found I had no passion for these things, so I stopped doing them (and don't miss them).

It helps to honestly assess what matters, and seek to invest your time and resources there. When my kids were small, they so badly wanted my time and attention. I knew there would come a time when they would rather spend time with their peers, and eventually they'd move out and live independent of me. I consciously cut back on my musical pursuits then to be more present for my family.

My kids are grown and on their own now, and I have lots of time to devote to music.

If I ever feel that I dont have enough time for everything, the first thing I cut out is... COMPUTER TIME. The second is TV TIME, second only because I dont watch much TV to begin with. Generally works like a charm, I'd imagine for gamers, youtubers, and facebook nuts it would work even better.

I remember reading ages ago that if you have a spouse, a family, and a full time job, then you have time in your life for ONE other thing. For me it’s guitar, and that’s it.

This is coming from a guitar player of 36 years who has raised two kids while maintaining a successful full time career, household (yes, I cook and clean and do yard work and maintenance, etc.) and marriage:

Break your TV habit (special moments with your spouse or kids notwithstanding), eliminate other time consuming pastimes and hobbies, and set respectful boundaries with your family and others around your personal time each day to make music. Don't forget to share your music with your spouse and kids too. This is especially important if you want your spouse and kids to support you in this.

Beyond being a good spouse and parent, make music the thing that defines you. Ask yourself: how do I want my spouse and kids to remember me? Sitting in front of the TV or making music?

I work 10-14 hours a day, and when I get home, I usually have other things to do so that leaves very little me-time. I try my best to give music at least an hour a day, but sometimes days go by and I don’t pick up my guitar.

That is a pretty grueling work schedule, I bet when you do find the time, you don't have a lot of gas left in the tank.

Yeah I have to make the energy, otherwise I’ll stop playing altogether. I got sick leading to the new year so I’ve been staying at home, and with that came lots of more guitar time, and guitar maintenance. Just yesterday I installed a set of pickups I had laying around in one of my guitars and it was quite rewarding.