creating practice routines & “atomic habits”
Are you a busy family and dedicating time out of your day for you or your child to practice feels impossible? Do you have a child that dislikes practicing and getting them to sit down at the piano is like pulling teeth?
Piano lessons are an investment and creating good practice habits are crucial so you don’t feel like you are wasting your money. Some people think that they need to practice for long periods of time in order to improve as a pianist, but that is simply not the case.
James Clear’s Atomic Habits (2018) discusses “the aggregation of marginal gains” (13). The aggregation of marginal gains is the idea that if you get one percent better every day that by the end of the year you will have improved your skill by 37 percent (15). In order to improve slightly, systems need to be in place to create good practice habits.
Clear suggests that instead of focusing on outcome-based habits (what you want to accomplish) people should focus on identity-based habits (who you want to become) (31). He states that “the ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes a part of your identity. It’s one thing to say ‘I’m the type of person who wants this’. It’s very different to say ‘I’m the type of person who is this’” (31). When you practice piano every day, you epitomize a pianist. One of my favorite quotes of Clear’s is “every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become” (38).
Maybe your child is not at that stage of intrinsic motivation to practice yet. Maybe you need to utilize extrinsic motivation through bribery in order to convince them to practice, which is not a bad thing. Clear discusses how to put systems in place to help create good habits through the four laws of behavior changes.
Four Laws of behavior changes (p. #)
How can I make it obvious? (Cue)
How can I make it attractive? (Craving)
How can I make it easy? (Response)
How can I make it satisfying? (Reward)
In order to make the habit obvious, Clear suggests that you create an implementation intention which tells you how you are going to implement the habit. Clear’s equation for this is “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]” (71). An example could be “I will practice piano before school in the living room”. Another way to make it obvious is through a process called habit stacking. Clear suggests that you create a habit score card by jotting down all of the current habits that you have and use a current habit as a trigger to initiate the new habit. Clear’s equation for this is “After I [CURRENT HABIT] I will [NEW HABIT]” (74). An example could be “After I brush my teeth I will practice piano.” Clear also stresses that an important factor in making a habit obvious is the environment. He states that “a stable environment where everything has a place a purpose is an environment where habits can easily form” (90). Place the piano in a room where it will be dedicated to practicing piano only, away from distractions such as the tv, electronics, or toys.
Clear explains that “We need to make our habits attractive because it is the expectation of a rewarding experience that motivates us to act in the first place” (108). In order to make our habits attractive, we can utilize temptation bundling. The formula for temptation bundling is “After I [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED]. After {HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT]” (110). An example of temptation bunding is “After I finish my homework, I will practice piano. After I practice piano, I can play on my tablet.” James also highlights the importance of the role of family when it comes to making habits attractive. He explains, “we pick up habits from the people around us” (116) and a way that parents/guardians can help their pianist is to incorporate a new habit of their own and hold each other accountable.
Make it easy is not referring to choosing an easy habit. It is referring to making it easy to incorporate into your own life. Clear explains, “Habits are easier to build when they fit into the flow of your life” (153). He also says that when incorporating a new habit into your life, it should take less than two minutes to complete (162). Don’t expect your child (or yourself) to sit down at the piano for long periods of time when they first start out. At the start of this habit, praise them for sitting down at the piano, even if they don’t practice. Praise them for opening their books and looking through them, even if they don’t practice. Praise them if they practice one song for five minutes and then walk away. “The point is to master the habit of showing up. The truth is, a habit must be established before it can be improved” (163). Clear also suggests incorporating commitment devices to make the habits easy. In this situation, you can give your child a timer and let them decide how long they are going to practice instead of you telling them “You need to practice for x-amount of time”. In order to create good practice habits, the goal is to make practicing piano enjoyable, not a chore.
Lastly, it is important to make the new habit satisfying because when it is satisfying, the behavior is more likely to be repeated (185). Clear explains that “With our bad habits, the immediate outcome usually feels good, but the ultimate outcome feels bad. With good habits, it is the reverse; the immediate outcome is unenjoyable, but the ultimate outcome feels good” (189). Although not practicing and watching tv may be more satisfying, performing badly at a studio recital in front of family, friends, and strangers can be embarrassing. On the other hand, performing well at a studio recital and receiving compliments from others can reinforce their identity as a pianist and start to shift away from extrinsic motivators and lead into intrinsic motivators while practicing from then on. “Eventually, as intrinsic rewards like a better mood, more energy, and reduced stress kick in, you’ll become less concerned with chasing the secondary reward. The identity itself becomes the reinforcer. You do it because it’s who you are and it feels good to be you… Incentives can start a habit. Identity sustains a habit” (192).
Don’t be discouraged if you/your child aren’t at the stage of intrinsic motivation. Another strategy you can incorporate is a habit tracker. Setting up a habit tracker either by the piano or in a high traffic area in your home can utilize the four laws of behavior changes through extrinsic motivation. Maybe you and/or your child love stickers and using a sticker to track every day that you practice makes the habit attractive and satisfying. When they notice that they did not pick out a sticker that day that cues them to practice. As a last resort, if they need more than stickers to feel motivated to practice, you can use a reward system where if they receive x-number of stickers that they can cash it in for a prize (i.e. a piece of candy). Each time they cash in the stickers for a prize, extend the goal. If your child is still struggling to practice, talk with their piano teacher about other strategies that they may have to encourage practice and talk with your child to see what would motivate them.
Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Penguin.
https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits
