At the beginning of each year, there is a palatable energy in the air for establishing routines and committing to goals. It’s so key that we acknowledge and harness these good vibes to help us accomplish our goals (musical or otherwise).
So, here you are – ukulele in the corner and winter under your feet. Time to show that ukulele that you believe in yourself and your goals enough to make a real commitment (the kind that’s actually super fun 🙌).
Playing the ukulele (especially with the Populele) is fun! Once you get started, it’s hard to put down. Try these four ways to keep you accountable for picking it up in the first place, the rest will happen naturally.
Schedule it in your digital calendar. (easy)
Get a hold of that Google calendar (or any digital calendar) and schedule in practice sessions. Make the color of the events something that pops. A neon or bright red will naturally attract your eye when you are checking your meetings or appointments for the day. It makes it so that you have to stare that scheduled practice session in the face multiple times a day. However, this only works if you take that calendar seriously. If you are the sort who ignores calendar notifications, keep moving through this list.
Print this, fill it out and place it where you will see it at least twice a day. (easy)
The bathroom mirror or the wall opposite your bed are perfect places for this printable. During a busy day, it’s easy not to take a moment to breathe and really think about your personal goals. Often, if you just take that breather and stare your practice session in the face, it's enough to wake up your motivation.
Get a friend to keep you honest. (an awesome and slightly scary friend)
For this to work, you need to find a friend or family member who was a football coach in another lifetime. Create a digital calendar invite for the half hour after your scheduled practice session and share it with them. Then, commit to texting them a fun emoji after each practice session. You can also set a digital calendar invite once a week. You can agree that by this time, you need to have texted them confirming you practiced x number of hours. If you don’t send that text, they will call and they will come asking for what you promised them. And you need to take them seriously enough to be a little scared and motivated to have those hours or sessions done for them.
Hey, where’s your practice session? Did you do it? It’s not too late. You can still do it. Tell me when you finish.
Commit to posting 30 seconds of playing publicly each week. (takes guts)
If you commit to public posts, it will make you stick to your practice schedule out of totally natural and wholly human vanity. Why not leverage our own vanity to keep practicing? That’s probably the best use for it. Also, it’s so inspiring for other people to see someone work towards a goal – no matter their initial skill level. You may see your friends start to post their own progress.
We are nothing without the creativity of our community (you guys!). Let us know in the comments other ways you stay on track for those practice sessions, and we will update the blog post with your suggestions.
If you are like, “What’s a Populele?” Check out our site to learn more about the first smart ukulele.