The last consideration in goal setting is to understand that your strategies, tactics, and goals need to be flexible. We all know that nothing is consistent except for change itself. Staying on course and going down the right road requires us to adapt to changing circumstances.
This requires you to periodically review your goals, especially your long range goals. Work, parenthood, homework, sports, and everyday life are going to throw a wrench in your plans.
For me it’s the endless amount of travel I have to do with my primary job. There’s the prep time, the actual travel, and the recovery time. Talk about delays. I have to regroup on my goals every few weeks and redefine time lines and objectives.
Some goals don’t get much flexibility. If your performance objective is for the next concert you don’t get to put things off. You may need to just shuffle priorities so that rather than spending the 30 minutes a day you had set aside you may need to add a couple of extra sessions over the weekend to make it up.
Always remember that your practice time needs to be quality time and not quantity time. 3 short sessions will likely produce more results than one long 3 hour session. Be flexible as long as you are making progress you’re in good shape.
Music Goal Contingency Plans
Having some contingency plans in place for dealing with the unexpected life issues is necessary for staying the course. Don’t fall into the all-or-nothing thinking that lets you just let it go by.
In the Music Theory Course we try to keep you on a consistent track which allows a little flexibly, skipping a day or two and easily catching up on a weekend to be ready for the next lesson. Practicing rhythms is a continuous effort and can be picked up at any time.
Remember, meeting your goals is mostly like (80 to 90%) attitude. No one is perfect at completing their goals, most of us are just plain bad at it. You’re going to have days where you just don’t end up doing anything you were supposed to get done.
Make sure you allow yourself to let it go today, but put forth the effort in your next effort. If you let things side to much, regroup, reevaluate and regain your motivation.
Your Turn
Take some time to look at your goals and reevaluate them around the idea of “What if I can spend time for the next couple of days working on this, how would I plan to make it up?” Or maybe your specific steps allow you to pick up at anytime without having to worry about a short delay here and there.
Bottom line:
Those that fail to plan, plan to fail. Those that plan poorly, execute poorly. This series on music goal setting is only about giving you some tools to better achieve your goals. I hope it’s given you some insight and motivation to sit down and work up a successful path to your own fulfillment.
Recommended Resources:
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Some reference books for your consideration as well.
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