Time is our most valuable resource, yet it often feels like there is never enough of it. As performers and music teachers, we juggle multiple responsibilities: teaching, practising, planning, and sometimes composing, performing, or running a business. With so much to do, how can we stay productive while still enjoying some well-earned free time?
In this article, we’ll explore effective time management techniques to help you make the most of your day. These proven strategies can transform the way you work, practice, and teach. But how can you apply these methods to your musical life? Read on!
The Pomodoro Technique: Work Smarter, Not Harder
The Pomodoro Technique involves setting a timer for focused work periods (usually 25 minutes), followed by a short 5-minute break. After four Pomodoros, take a longer break of 15–30 minutes.
For Performers: Use Pomodoros to structure your practice sessions. Focus intensely on one skill (e.g. dynamics, articulation, or phrasing) for 25 minutes, then take a short break before switching tasks.
For Music Teachers: Try using Pomodoros to streamline lesson planning or administrative tasks, to help maintain focus.
For Music Students: Encourage advanced students to practice in Pomodoro intervals to avoid fatigue and maximize retention.
The 2-Minute Rule: Stop Procrastinating Now
If a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately. If it takes longer, schedule it.
For Performers: Need to clean your instrument, warm up with a quick scale, or reply to a student’s question? If it’s a quick task, don’t put it off.
For Music Teachers: This rule can help with small but essential tasks—replying to an email, setting up the lesson plan for the next student, or tidying your teaching space before the next session.
For Music Students: Teach students to apply this rule to quick practice tasks, like tuning their instrument or sketching an overview of the dynamic structure of their piece.
Eat the Frog: Tackle the Toughest Task First
This strategy suggests tackling your hardest or most important task first thing in the day—while you are fresh and before distractions take over.
For Performers: If you struggle with a challenging passage or technique, make it the first thing you practice.
For Music Teachers: If lesson planning or grading feels overwhelming, start your day with it before diving into lessons.
For Music Students: Encourage students to begin practice with their most difficult piece or technique exercise (in small, manageable sections) to build confidence and progress faster.
Time Blocking: Design Your Ideal Schedule
Time blocking involves assigning specific time slots to different activities throughout your day. Instead of reacting to tasks as they arise, you proactively set aside time for essential activities, reducing distractions and boosting efficiency.
For Performers: Schedule dedicated practice times, ensuring a balance between technical work, repertoire, and rest. For example, block out 30 minutes for technique, 45 minutes for repertoire, and 15 minutes for sight-reading.
For Music Teachers: Set aside blocks of time for lesson planning, teaching, and personal practice to create a structured, productive day. You could also block out admin time to handle emails and lesson payments efficiently.
For Music Students: Help students structure their practice by creating time blocks for different aspects of playing, like warm-ups, technique, and repertoire. Encourage them to set specific goals for each block to maximize progress.
The ABCDE Method: Prioritize Like a Pro
This method helps prioritize tasks by labeling them:
A: Most important (must be done today)
B: Important but less urgent
C: Nice to do, but not critical
D: Delegate if possible
E: Eliminate unnecessary tasks
For Performers: Categorize practice goals—urgent recital prep might be an A, while sight-reading practice could be a C.
For Music Teachers: Apply this method to teaching tasks—lesson planning might be A, while reorganizing your music library might be a C.
For Music Students: Guide students in prioritizing their practice by labeling pieces and exercises according to importance.
The 80/20 Rule: Focus on What Matters Most
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. This means that focusing on the most impactful activities will yield the best outcomes.
For Performers: Identify the 20% of your practice that brings the most improvement and focus on it. This might be isolating difficult passages instead of playing a piece from start to finish.
For Music Teachers: What 20% of your lesson content delivers the most student progress? Prioritize that in your teaching. If certain exercises consistently help students improve, integrate them more frequently.
For Music Students: Show students how to identify the most impactful areas of their practice and dedicate time to those first. Maybe they only need to work on measures 8, 15 and 31-32 to really improve the whole piece. This helps maximize progress in a shorter amount of time.
Task Batching: Work More Efficiently
Task batching means grouping similar tasks together to improve efficiency.
For Performers: Warm-ups, technique exercises, and repertoire work can be done in batches rather than switching constantly.
For Music Teachers: Instead of planning lessons one at a time, batch-plan a week’s worth of lessons in one sitting. Similarly, grade assignments or respond to emails in dedicated blocks of time instead of sporadically throughout the day.
For Music Students: Encourage students to batch similar practice tasks together, such as working on scales, then etudes, then repertoire. This not only helps with focus but also makes it easier to manage their different music books without constantly switching between them.
Final Thoughts
Time management is not about doing more—it’s about doing what matters most. By applying these techniques, you can increase productivity, reduce stress, and free up more time for yourself. Whether you’re a performer trying to optimize your practice or a teacher looking for better workflow strategies, these methods can help you make the most of every day.
Which of these strategies will you try first? Let us know in the comments!
Karen North is a music teacher, mentor and book author. She is passionate about bringing music into the lives of children and adults and has enjoyed working in music education for over 40 years.
Karen is the author of the popular method books "The Young Flute Player" and has commissioned over 100 new works for intermediate flute repertoire in "Lyrical Flute Legends" , "Lyrical Flute Encores" and "Inspiring Flute Solos." as well as a new collection for beginner flutists, "Lyrical Flute Miniatures".
Karen has written two books of music games (with printable templates) "Fun & Games for Music Lessons", "More Fun & Games for Music Lessons 2" and has recently worked with specialist consultants on repertoire books for Violin, Clarinet and Saxophone.
Karen also organizes an international FLUTE CHAMPIONSHIP each year, to give students of all ages and abilities an opportunity to submit a video performance to an outstanding panel of judges. Her workshops for teachers are enthusiastically received and she also offers one-to-one coaching sessions.
Comments