Short sessions beat skipped days
Fifteen focused minutes most days outperforms a heroic Saturday that never happens. The key is deciding the job of the session before you pick up the guitar.
Educational practice advice only. Pain is a stop signal.
The 15-minute template
Minutes 0–2: Tune, shake out hands, play one easy shape slowly. Minutes 2–8: One technique focus (chord changes, a scale fragment, a strum pattern). Use a timer. Stay below the tempo where form breaks. Minutes 8–13: One song fragment — eight bars you can almost play. Loop it. Do not restart the whole song from the intro every time. Minutes 13–15: Play something easy you like, then stop while it still feels good.
What to cut when time is short
Skip gear rabbit holes, new song downloads, and “just one more take” spirals that push you into sloppy reps. Capture a phone video once a week instead of daily self-criticism.
Weekly shape
Three technique-leaning days, two song-leaning days, one lighter review day. Rest if tendons complain. Consistency includes recovery.
Tracking without obsession
Write the date, the focus, and one sentence: what improved or what broke. That log prevents random restart syndrome.
Bottom line
Decide the job, keep the tempo honest, and stop on time. Short practice is a skill, not a compromise.