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How to Practice When You Only Have 30 Minutes

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How to Practice When You Only Have 30 Minutes

If you’re a music student, you probably have anywhere from 2-6 hours a day to practice your instrument. Maybe more. Though certainly an intense time with many early mornings and late nights, most music professionals see that kind of practice time as a luxury.

Once you begin your music career, you may find your days otherwise occupied with gigs, teaching, traveling to gigs or lessons, writing, emailing, coordinating, marketing, networking, and other miscellaneous admin tasks.

When is there time to practice?

The secret is in the margins—those pockets of time you have in your schedule in between things, even if it’s only 30 minutes.

2023: A Year in Review

2023: A Year in Review

Happy New Year's Eve!

It’s my tradition here on the blog to share a year-in-review post on December 31—a look back on the highlights and the things we learned, made, and experienced during the year.

2023 was a challenging year in a lot of ways, but also a year of personal and professional growth. We are grateful for all that we have, all that we learned, and all that we carry with us into 2024.

Here's a look back on our year:

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23 Books to Read in 2020 (2020 Book List)

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23 Books to Read in 2020 (2020 Book List)

If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that I like to start each year with a book list—a collection of books that I’d like to read (knowing that I usually discover other books throughout the year that I’ll add in).

I used to be a strict one-book-at-a-time reader, but last year, I found that I enjoyed reading two at a time—a nonfiction/business/health book for mornings or pockets of free time during the day and a novel/memoir for reading at night.

I always try to choose books from a few different categories:

Business
Health & Lifestyle
Spiritual
Relationships
Fiction
Personal/Intellectual
Nonfiction/Memoir

This helps me be intentional about the books I choose to read and ensure some diversity (so I don’t end up reading only one type of book!).

Without further ado, here is my book list for 2020:

2019: A Year in Review

2019: A Year in Review

Happy New Year's Eve, friends!

This year-in-review post is one of my favorites to write each year. Sometimes it feels like the year passes by so quickly, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to look back to this time last year and celebrate all that’s happened and how much we’ve learned along the way. Here's a look back on our year:

Top 10 Posts of 2019

Top 10 Posts of 2019

It’s that time of the year! Here’s a look at 2019, by the numbers:

Life Lately: Summer Edition

Life Lately: Summer Edition

Summer has been sweet and full. We’ve traveled to new and familiar places, stretched our creative muscles in new ways, and reaped the rewards of gardening and old house projects. We’ve tried new recipes, read new books, and took time to rest and unwind.

This is life lately:

Follow along with my creative work and daily adventures: @ashleydanyew

In honor of #smallbusinesssaturday2024, here are my ✨2025 predictions✨ for musicians and creative entrepreneurs: 1️⃣ Pivoting will still be essential: Flexibility and adaptability will define success—embrace change and be willing to evolve.
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