If you're like me, you probably hate it when people change the rules in the middle of the game. I don't necessarily mean in an actual game; that's clearly wrong. But there are always new and better ways of doing things that require us to make a total change in what we do. Brush your teeth up and down, or side to side or in a circular motion. Drink 6 glasses of water a day, or 8 glasses or 4. Eggs are bad for you; eggs are good for you. It's hard to keep up.

Of course, these aren't really rules at all. They're just conventions, best practices which change in order to keep up with advances or new discoveries.

Your practice is the same way. The habits and strategies that worked so well for you at an earlier stage of your harp life may not be as effective for you now that you have more experience. If you cling to those habits, you will likely slow down your learning speed, spending unnecessary time and energy.

Today I will show you five habits, good ones, that may no longer be helping you. I am sure that you are committed to at least one of these five, and I want to help you move on to a new stage in your harp life. We won't just talk about the habits you should abandon, but we'll talk about what new habits you should consider adopting to replace them.

Remember, a habit should be a helper, an aid to doing what we need or want to do. But a habit is only a hindrance when we are ready for a better way. That's what I want to help you discover today, a better way.

Don't think your practice habits need updating? If you've ever thought you could be learning music faster, or sight reading better or wished you had a stronger technique, then you're ready for a refresh.

Links to things I think you might be interested in that were mentioned in the podcast episode:

• Register for my Learn It Tonight Webinar on Wednesday, September 25.

• Related resource 4 Harp Rules You Can Break blog post

• Harpmastery.com

Get involved in the show! Send your questions and suggestions for future podcast episodes to me at [email protected]

LINKS NOT WORKING FOR YOU? FInd all the show resources here: https://www.harpmastery.com/blog/Episode-174