The Guitar To-Do List

Getting More Badass With… a Notebook

Today you’re going to get considerably more badass. And you’re going to do it using an inexpensive, low-tech, old-school notebook.

Becoming a guitar badass isn’t a final exam that you cram for. It’s a long succession of small steps, the daily action of leaning outside your comfort zone, then reviewing the things that you’ve learned.

If you’re going to roll your own guitar education (instead of enrolling in the Fretboard Anatomy course), you’re going to need a way to keep track of which tasks you’ve completed, which things need reviewing, and what you need to be working on next.

Even if you are letting me create your schedule (by enrolling), you’ll still want to keep a list of what else you’re working towards.

That song you need to learn for an upcoming gig? It’s much less stressful & much more effective to do it in 20 minutes/day for a week than to do two-plus hours of practicing the day before.

Remember, guitar badassery is a marathon, not a sprint. Even if your end game is to be a killer guitarist, that shouldn’t be your “goal.” Why not? Because your goals need to be things you can execute on today.

Imagine writing “become amazing at guitar” on your to-do list. Is there anything you can do today that would let you cross that one off the list? Of course not!

But if your to-do list said:

• Bury the Click x 5m
• Cartoon Gravity drills x 30m
• review note names on 1^st & 2^nd strings x 5m
• learn Here Comes The Sun x 20m

See? Much more actionable. And if you did this everyday, continually adjusting the tasks so they stretch you just a little? You’d be BADASS in a few short years.

Your task for today…

…is to get a notebook that you’ll use exclusively for your Guitar To-Do List. Identify what you need to work on most (*cough* *time & feel* *cough*) and schedule it for tomorrow. Got something coming up that you need to practice for? Schedule some time for that thing too.

If it’s something completable (learn this intro or that solo), cross it off when you’re done.

If it’s an ongoing process (like working on time & feel), write how long you’re going to work on it that day. Cross it off once you’ve done it, and write it again for the next day.

My GTDL notebook doubles as my practice log. There’s something strangely amazing about seeing my practice time laid out in a tangible form. Makes me want to practice more. Makes me want to drill down a little deeper. Makes me feel like I’m accomplishing things. Makes me realize how much I’m progressing. And the best part? It’s almost free.