Tell me, if this sounds familiar, you're preparing for big performance. Maybe it's an audition or recital, and you're putting in the hours, you're putting in the work, but you're just not happy with the results you're getting in your practice. Does that ring a bell? It's frustrating, I know. And today I
have a solution for you. I'm sharing a simple three step process that's going to help you focus, boost your productivity, and actually see the progress you've been working for so hard, and none of this involves practicing more and working harder. You're listening to the mind over finger podcast, and this is episode 214 Welcome to the mind over finger podcast where we dive into the world of mindful music, making peak performance and crafting a
Purpose Driven Life and career. I'm your host, violinist, certified performance and life coach for musicians and your guide to unlocking your full potential. Dr Renee Paul Gauthier, so today I'm popping in with a short but powerful episode that I truly believe is going to boost your results in the practice room. Maybe you're practicing over and over again and you're hoping it's going to stick, or maybe you're pushing through fatigue exhaustion and you're thinking more hours is
going to equal better results. But here's the thing, and I know you've heard this before, more practice isn't always better practice. You need more than that, and if you're not approaching it the right way, you might just be reinforcing bad habits and wasting precious time. I had a conversation yesterday with someone who has back to back auditions coming up very soon, and we were talking about how what is needed for her to do right now is not practice more or work harder. She's doing
all of that work already. She's a great player. She can play all of that stuff. So how can she keep progressing as she's preparing for these auditions, when she's already doing everything that she can everything that she can think of, and I was telling her about what I've been doing to maximize every second of practice. It's what I do to be really focused, to give myself what I need to problem solve efficiently and
learn faster. And that's how I make sure I absorb all the information I can extract from my work and anchor it fully when the session is over. And all of that is not about working harder. It's a simple three step process, and if you implement it, believe me, you're going to see more focus, more clarity,
and most importantly, more results in your work. If you're like most musicians, it's possible that you might focus on repetition and sheer effort, but the real key to faster progress is leveraging how your brain naturally learns, and these three steps do just that. It's going to help you retain more in less time. Sounds pretty good, right? So I would love for you to try it. I would love for you to share with your friends, your colleagues and your students, of course, and please let me know
how it goes, Okay, let's jump right in. So step number one is to prime. You could create an elaborate priming ritual, and I talk about all of this in episode 138 but what I'm talking about today is something very simple. It's so easy you have no excuse not to do it, and it's simply to take a few seconds at the beginning of the practice session to channel presence and set clear intentions for your work. Only a few seconds, maybe
a minute, but that one minute can make a huge difference. So as you're sitting or standing with your instrument, you're ready to go, close your eyes, take several deep breaths and set your intentions for the work ahead. Think about what you want to accomplish and how you want to show up and feel during your practice. Channel feelings of excitement, channel feelings of gratitude. Let Joy fill you as you imagine what's possible.
Feel yourself being clear headed and see yourself. Problems easily, and maybe you don't believe me, but trust me, this works, because these priming signals indicate to your mind and your body that it's time to focus when you intentionally set your goals and your mindset at the start of the session, you're activating your conscious and subconscious mind to work in harmony, and like I shared in episode 138 priming this way is
going to sharpen your focus. It's going to maximize your time, and it's going to help you be in a state of flow more easily. Okay, that's one minute, and you're already going to make your work so much better with just that. It's pretty cool, right? So step two is micro rests. During that second step, you're going to use micro rests to enhance your work. I also have an entire episode about this, this episode 147 so check
it out for all of the details. But here's the gist. During your practice session, periodically, you're going to pause for 10 seconds, you're going to close your eyes and you're simply going to breathe and be. Simply breathe and be. Don't guide your thoughts. Don't process information. I don't want you to be thinking. I want you to let your mind rest. And this works because these micro rests help your brain consolidate what
you've just practiced. Research shows that during these pauses, these short breaks, your brain replays and reinforces what you've been working on. It's like hitting save on your progress. And these rests also are going to reset your focus. It's going to keep it sharp. It's going to prevent mental fatigue, and I promise you that this works really well. When I first shared it with my clients, one of them said it was magical, and I completely agree. That's how I experience it as well. So
how can you do that? Make it easy to do right and hard to go wrong. Do it simply. One thing that you could do is set a timer to go off maybe every two or three minutes. Another thing that you could do is to put a reminder somewhere to take these micro rests. You could even set a rule that you take a micro rest every time you've played in the same passage five times, or every time you transition to a new passage, or every time you look at the clock, whatever works for you, or every time you
pick up your pencil to mark something. For me, I have a post it at the top of my stand, and I do it every time my eyes land on it, and that's been working really well. So this is one of the most powerful and easiest technique you can implement to start boosting your results. Finally, step three is non sleep, deep rest or nsdr. That final step is to end your session with 10 minutes of non sleep, deep rest, nsdr, or yoga, knee draw, 10 minutes or more. This is something that I learned
from Andrew Huberman. He's a big fan, and I really feel the difference when I make the time for it. Nsdr is a guided relaxation exercise that helps your body and mind recover from the work and process the work. Basically, you lie down and you do a body scan, and you can find fantastic resources on this from from Andrew Huberman, who has great videos explaining what
nsdr is, why it works, and how to do it. And you can also explore yoga nidra, which is a similar guided relaxation technique, and I'm going to include links in the show notes for you. So why does nsdr and yoga nidra work so well, well, it helps your brain consolidate learning, and it's going to reduce stress and enhance focus. Again, we're all about enhancing the focus and consolidating the information that we've worked
on. It's a proven way to amplify the benefits of your practice session while promoting overall well being isn't that amazing, and don't let the word relaxation fool you. Nsdr, isn't about relaxing. Even though it is relaxing, what it does is it actively helps your brain store and organize new information. So it's easy. Easier to recall later. Think of it like giving your computer time to process everything you just downloaded. So next time you play that information is right at your
fingertip. So that's it, three small changes that make a massive impact without practicing more. Now let's pull it all together. Here's a summary of these three steps. Step number one is to prime. You take one minute to set an intention and channel positive energy and feelings. Step number two, throughout the practice, you're going to take micro rests, you're going to pause for 10 seconds, close your eyes, breathe and just pause. You breathe and you be, and you
let your brain do all of the work for you. That's the magic. Then step number three, you're going to spend 10 minutes or more on guided relaxation at the end of your session. So if you invest the equivalent of 15 minutes of your time to 10x the results you're going to get in the practice room, that's a really good ROI in my opinion. So personally, I love this approach, and I think it's a game changer. And yes, I know it's easy to feel like there's no time for that. I know your
schedule is busy. I know it's packed, but trust me, this protocol will save you time in the long run. It's going to 10x your results. And if you're serious about transforming your practice. Try these steps for just one week and notice the difference. And that's my challenge for you. Commit to it for one week, notice the changes and let me know how it works. And you can reach out on social or through my website. I would
love to hear your thoughts and experience. And you know that if you're ready for more personalized strategies to optimize your playing and your performance, let's talk. You can book your free discovery call with me at mindover finger.com and we can make sure that your practice is truly working for you. So that's what I have for you today. I wish you happy practicing and I say and there you have it. Thank you so much for spending this time with
me today. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it. If you'd share with your friends and colleagues, take a screenshot, post it on social media and tag me. I mind over finger everywhere. I always love hearing your favorite takeaways. And if you're ready to take your play and career to the next level, I'd love to invite you to join the music mastery
experience. This is my signature group coaching program where we're going to dive deep into building your confidence and mastery and set you up for success and fulfillment in your life and career. You can find all the details at mindover finger.com while you're there, check out the free downloads and online courses available to support your journey even further. And don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss an update or a tool to help you thrive again.
Thank you for being here until next time. Much love and aviator,