What to Do When You Don’t Feel Like Practicing

When I was a freshman in high school, I told my drum line instructor, “I didn’t practice this week.  I just didn’t feel like practicing.”  He replied, “What do you mean you didn’t feel like practicing!?  The only way to get better is to practice when you don’t feel like it!”

 

What Does It Mean “to Feel”?

My instructor’s mini-beratement led to an important shift in my thinking.  As I looked around the world, he was obviously correct.  If you examine the top experts in any field—whether music, sports, science, business, literature, or anything else—those who reach the top must have some source of deeper motivation that enables them to work more than just “whenever they feel like it.”

Most adults go to work each day even when they don’t feel like it, but they aren’t always as disciplined in other areas of their lives.  A large percentage of people watch TV because they feel like it in the moment.  Or they eat simply because they feel like it.  Or they surf on social media because they feel like it.

On the flipside, many students don’t do their homework when they don’t feel like it.  Or many musicians don’t practice when they don’t feel like it.  Or most people don’t exercise when they don’t feel like it.  In short, we often “feel” like doing things that are easy, but we struggle to find consistent motivation on the things that take more discipline.

Recognizing this inherent lethargy, some people take a rationalistic approach to such things.  They ignore their feelings, and say, “You should do _________ anyway, whether you feel like it or not.”  While that attitude does often help to get things done in the short term, it rarely produces the intrinsic motivation to keep pushing for months and years at a time.  What this attitude fails to acknowledge is that everything we do is based on our feelings and emotions.  (Note:  Some people distinguish between feelings and emotions.  In this article, I am using the terms interchangeably.)

The key factor is long-term feelings vs. short-term feelings.  Many people go to work each day whether they feel like it or not because they care about their long-term success.  They want to get a paycheck at the end of the month; they want to be able to afford certain necessities and luxuries; they want to save for their retirement.  The fact is:  people go to work because they do feel like it.  They “feel” like they want a certain amount of income and security in their lives, so they are willing to push past their short-term feelings and focus on their long-term desires.

 

Having a Vision

To be a master musician, you have to have a vision of where you want to be at a certain point in time.  Do you want to accomplish a certain skill over the next month?  Do you want to perform a certain piece of music in public?  Do you want to make a certain audition?  Do you want to win a certain competition?

In order to be successful, you have to visualize what success will look like and tap into those feelings of accomplishment.  I don’t mean this in a nebulous, mystical “just visualize it, and it will happen” type of way.  I mean it in the sense of being a responsible human being who plans for the future.

For example, if a drummer wants to be able to play all 40 of the Percussive Arts Society International Drum Rudiments, he or she must tap into that desire—that “feeling”—of what it would mean to accomplish that goal.  Learning all 40 rudiments is definitely a rite of passage for all percussionists.  How much more music could you learn if you knew these rudiments well?  What wider vocabulary would you now have for writing your own music?  How much of a sense of accomplishment would you feel from such an achievement?  What framework would now exist in order to learn even more rudimental patterns?

Those who will excel at any craft must ultimately decide that they “feel” like being great at what they do.  All other temporary feelings and emotions will be subordinate to the overarching “feeling” of greatness.

 

What to Do When You Don’t Feel Like Practicing

So what should you do when you don’t feel like practicing?  The short answer is:  Practice anyway.  But in order for that advice to resonate in a meaningful way, you have to be clear on your long-term goals.  Do I “feel” like being a great player?  Do I “feel” like having my chops in top-level shape?  Do I “feel” like being able to perform a certain solo in three months?  If I truly want these things, then I do “feel” like practicing on a regular basis, and that keeps me on track.

I have learned to embrace the times when I have no motivation to practice.  I may say to myself, “I don’t feel like practicing right now.”  But I’ll reply, “But I do feel like I want to develop new skills and perform well.”  Without fail, when I go ahead and start practicing, I find that I am getting better, and I enjoy myself.  Usually, I end up practicing longer than I originally intended.  I find a greater sense of accomplishment when I feel like I am investing in something for the long-term.

In conclusion, don’t ignore your feelings.  Take time to understand them.  If you have no desire to be a quality musician, then just “pushing through it” will never produce satisfying results.  However, if you are clear about your long-term goals, this is a feeling you can tap into when you’re tempted to veer away.  When you have those moments of “I don’t feel like practicing,” just remember that working through those moments is the only way you will ever get better.  Less disciplined people will give up when they experience lethargy.  But you know better.  You have a long-term goal.  You “feel” like being great at what you do.  Tap into those long-term feelings, and you will experience long-term success.

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What do you think?  How do you get through periods where you are unmotivated to practice?  What have you accomplished when you’ve worked through those feelings?  Have you received any good advice you’d care to share?  Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.