granular guitar habits
Chapter 1
Guitar Playing Habits – Atomic Habits Applied to Guitar
* Small, consistent improvements in your playing stack up over time. Getting just 1% better each day might not feel like much, but over months and years, it turns into massive progress.
* Habits work both ways—they either push you forward or hold you back. Pay attention to the details of your guitar routines and shape them into positive, productive habits instead of ones that slow you down.
* Progress isn’t linear. Some days, it’ll feel like nothing’s changing, but that’s normal. Plateaus happen. The trick is to keep showing up, keep playing, keep pushing through. Growth happens in the background.
* Forget about big goals—focus on systems. Goals don’t make you better; good habits do. If you keep waiting for motivation or inspiration, you’ll get nowhere. Play your guitar like it owes you money.
* Small habits make a big difference. Simple, repeatable actions—like warming up properly, practicing transitions, or spending 10 minutes on a tricky riff—layer on top of each other. Over time, they fuel big improvements.
* You don’t rise to the level of your goals—you fall to the level of your systems. If your practice routine is sloppy, no amount of wishful thinking will make you better. But if your system is solid, improvement is inevitable.
* The joy is in the process, not the outcome. Some days will feel amazing, others will feel like a grind, but every day you play is a day you’re growing. Stick with it. It’s always worth it.
Guitar progress is compound interest—it rewards consistency. Play every day, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. Over time, it all adds up.
This chapter hit home straight away. The idea of 1% progress every day just made sense — of course that’s going to stack up over time. Whilst I would like giant jumps in progress experience has shown this just doesn’t happen, it is slow and steady.
Working on the detail confirmed specific points noted in my 7 points in Get A Guitar Habit: the 2-minute rule per exercise, using a metronome that slowly increased BPM and having a set practice routine.
Plateaus are a motivation killer. But I’ve learned to trick myself into not caring about them. Just picking up the guitar every day — no matter what — has gradually made me stop thinking about wanting progress altogether. Then, every now and then, I’ll suddenly realise I’ve improved at something. That’s a great feeling. But honestly, it doesn’t beat the satisfaction of just knowing I showed up.
I used to chase big, lofty goals. Now, I find comfort in the system — especially when it's structured like the 7 points in the Get a Guitar Habit overview. There’s something almost therapeutic about that consistency. Also, I do quite enjoy playing guitar aggressively, the damn thing definitely owes me money.
The real shift came when I started loving the practice itself (point 7 in Get A Guitar Habit). Not the outcome. Some mornings, getting out of bed feels like a grind. But the thought that today’s another chance to get better at guitar? That’s enough for me to keep on, keeping on.
Chapter 2
Developing Guitar Playing Habits – Identity Over Outcomes
* Who you are as a guitarist matters more than what you achieve. Don’t just chase goals like learning a song or mastering a scale—focus on becoming the kind of guitarist who plays effortlessly, learns quickly, and improves consistently.
* Your guitar identity is built through action. The more you play, practice, and immerse yourself in guitar, the more you become a guitarist in the truest sense. It’s not about talent or natural ability—it’s about showing up every day.
* Your identity as a player should evolve. Keep expanding your skills, knowledge, and belief in yourself. If you’re stuck thinking, “I’m just an average guitarist,” you’ll stay average. Upgrade your playing identity by upgrading your habits.
* Every small win is proof of who you are becoming. Each time you nail a tricky transition, figure out a riff by ear, or get tighter rhythmically, you’re stacking evidence that you are exactly the kind of guitarist you want to be.
* Your habits shape your beliefs about yourself. If you make daily practice a priority, you start seeing yourself as a guitarist who plays daily. If you make excuses, you reinforce the belief that you’re inconsistent.
* Don’t just aim to learn a song—become the kind of guitarist who can learn any song. Goals are short-term, but who you are as a player is for life. Build the identity that makes your goals inevitable.
Your habits aren’t just about getting better at guitar—they’re about becoming the kind of guitarist you’ve always wanted to be. Keep showing up, and the transformation happens naturally.
Chapter 3
It has taken me a long time to confidently identify myself as a guitarist - I felt I could only do so when I was considered good enough by others. I think this identity progressed faster once I had developed a consistent routine and started showing up every day, if it is something I do everyday it is then really a part of who I am (with my main approach being outlined in these 7 points).
I have reluctantly realised I won’t be able to play shred guitar like some of my guitar hero’s but by the benefit of playing everyday turns me into the guitarist I want to be - one who is always seeking to get better and that is the guitarist I want to be.
Building Effective Guitar Playing Habits – Making Practice Automatic
* Good guitar habits form through repetition. The more you practice, the more automatic it becomes—freeing up your mind to focus on feel, expression, and playing instinctively rather than overthinking.
* Habits run in a loop:
1. Cue – Something triggers the habit (seeing your guitar, a set practice time).
2. Craving – You feel the urge to pick up the guitar.
3. Response – You actually start playing.
4. Reward – You get the satisfaction of improving, nailing a riff, or just enjoying the sound.
* Make practice obvious. Keep your guitar out where you see it, ready to grab. If it’s locked away in a case under the bed, you’re less likely to play.
* Make practice attractive. Play music you actually enjoy—don’t just grind through scales if they bore you. Mix in songs, riffs, and exercises that keep you engaged.
* Make practice easy. Remove barriers—keep your guitar tuned up, have a simple practice space, and eliminate distractions so you can just pick up and play.
* Make practice satisfying. End each session on a win, whether it’s nailing a tricky passage or just getting a great sound out of the guitar. Feeling progress makes you want to come back tomorrow.
* To break bad habits, flip the system: Hide distractions, make unproductive practice less accessible, and design your routine so good habits happen naturally.
Your goal isn’t to force practice—it’s to create a pull towards the guitar. Get the cue, craving, response, and reward loop working in your favor, and playing will become second nature.
My guitar habit loop is to play at least 30 minutes every day. My cue is that it is a new day and understanding when I can do my minimum 30 minutes practice, I have the craving to do this because I have woken up knowing it is something I must do that day, it starts to feel instinctive after a while but this can take time. The response is obviously that I start playing and the reward is generally that I play more than 30 minutes and I always feel better about myself for having done so.
I have certain places in my house that I can play, I use the same metronome app that is on my phone and iPad (so it is set and ready to go). Whilst a number of my warm up exercises are quite straight forward and could be consider boring I am constantly looking to refine them or find new ones, this keeps me engaged. As per the breakfast, lunch and dinner analogy I always end my practice on something I enjoy, this is currently blues jams or playing my own songs - I always feel better in myself for having completed the practice and ending on something I specifically enjoy heightens this.
The last paragraph above notes ‘create a pull towards the guitar’. I think this is hugely beneficial, mentally for me it has now further developed into a daily ‘pull towards my guitar and complete my practice routine’
Chapter 4
Developing Awareness of Guitar Playing Habits – Noticing What Moves You Forward
* Your brain constantly picks up on cues that trigger your guitar habits. Just seeing your guitar in the corner of the room can be enough to make you want to play.
* Once habits become automatic, you stop noticing them. This is both a blessing and a curse—you can play instinctively, but you can also overlook bad habits creeping in.
* To improve, start by paying attention. Observe how you practice, how often you pick up your guitar, and what actually happens when you do. No judgment—just awareness.
* Try "pointing and calling." Say your guitar actions out loud:
"I'm picking up my guitar to start practice now."
This sounds silly, but hearing yourself say it makes the action feel intentional, rather than just something you do on autopilot.
* Track your guitar habits. Make a guitar habit scorecard—list the things you do every time you play and mark them as:
✅ Positive (things that make you better: focused practice, learning new material).
❌ Negative (things that hold you back: mindless noodling, avoiding technique work).
➖ Neutral (things that don’t help or hurt: tuning up, setting up gear).
* Awareness is the first step to improvement. You can’t fix bad habits if you don’t recognize what triggers them.
* Saying actions aloud makes them more real. It shifts you from autopilot to conscious control, helping you refine what actually serves your progress.
Ultimately, your habits should move you in the right direction—toward becoming the guitarist you want to be. Pay attention first, then make the changes that matter.
I am constantly thinking about new guitar exercises, songs to learn, theory to practice / better understand. I don’t want to fall into a bad habit of just practising the same things over and over.
I don’t think I have ever needed to ‘point and call’ but I have definitely said out loud that I need to practice to help keep momentum and not lose my daily playing streak.
My main guitar habit is linked to daily playing through a structured routine (outline here). The main habit I want to always have is utilising these 7 points on a daily basis to help me progress and become an always improving guitarist.