Job/Practise

[charlie9]

Hi Everybody
I just wanted to know how everyone juggles a job and piano practise as I am struggling at the moment and my practise is not upto standards it used to be. I would not like to give up the piano after seventeen years of playing as i have worked very hard in passing exams and building up repetiore but I feel that the concentration is lacking. Any advice would be appreciated.

[dogperson]

I work full-time, with some work days 12+ hours, so:
-   I get up early to practice
-   I steal a few minutes while waiting for dinner to cook, or the washer.
-   A session before bedtime


The key to me is very efficient practice, not the time.   You don't mention in your post whether or not you have thought about how efficiently you use the time that you have. 
-   Define concrete goals for the practice session.
-   Work in chunks on the problem sections
Define the length of time you will have and what you want to accomplish before you start so that you mentally know you must be focused to get it done.  Do not extend the length of time to compensate for lack of focused practice.
-   Treat playing through from the beginning as a luxury, rather than an everyday occurrence.

[Bob]

I keep my technique up, but don't play much, if anything, for actual music anymore.