Motivation to Practice

Traditional practice methods often have us beginning a practice session with very boring exercises. Studies show that people learn best when they are motivated to do so, in other words, when the thing they are learning is interesting or fun. You can do this in different ways:
Easy: Begin with something that plays easily for you and gets your musical mind awake and happy. Then use this awake mind and body to direct your attention to another piece that you want to learn.
Simple: Start with a task that you know is simple to carry out, like writing out the words of a song, or playing long bows to find the string. Make it something that you can achieve in a given amount of time with success. Then let your practicing evolve from this simple act. Starting intense and undirected is the opposite of fun!
Curious: Become curious about a small section of a new piece to create a spark, then work on it for a while to savor it. Only then go on to look at more.
Sensations: Enjoy beginning your practice by stretching, then noticing how your body moves or reacts to musical impulse as you begin to sing or play.

People worry about if their practice is going well or not. Constantly testing yourself is not good practicing, as your brain and body need time to explore without the practicing police getting in the way. Spending some time exploring a piece is already a successful practice. And you may learn something you did not expect or only find out later what you have learned!