Enough

I'm not sure it's possible to do enough piano practice.

Well. It might be possible to do too much of one thing and end up with tendonitis/RSI. 

I don't think there's much risk of me managing that. 

I do not mean this in a self critical way. I am not talking about the subconscious waggy fingered voice chiding oneself for not doing enough.

I have lists of things that I want to practice that I don't always manage to fit in (without diluting whatever else I'm working on). Like improvising round the three most common blues sequences in all the keys. Learning to comp and solo on some tunes that horn players commonly like to play so that I can go to jams and sit in. Doing every song I already know in all the keys. Doing every song I already know as if playing with bass and drums instead of the solo piano treatment. 

Weekdays my alarm goes off at 6 am so that I make sure I can do an hour every day before I go to work. Frequently if I'm 'in' of an evening I will also do more then. I am a time thief - pinching 40 minutes here while the rice is cooking or the washing machine is running to work on something. Using up the 10 empty minutes before I have to leave the house to go somewhere.

I don't see practice as "work". To me - practice is part of playing and playing part of practice. 

Practice is a particularly focussed, task orientated type of playing - the ultimate goal of which is to get better. I love and am fascinated by my body-mind's capacity to do new things. Going from not being able to do something to being able to do something is a thing of joy. I get deeply lost in doing exercises round a chord sequence or looping a independent handed groove or a tricky three bars of this or that. I love the process - the slow phasing in and out of a new musical skill until it solidifies and clicks. Like a baby learning to smile or clap - but over and over again. 

And playing is part of practice. When I play I am practising many things. Playing a tune through without stopping. Taking solos. Practising enjoying the simple pleasure of playing.

I set alarms on my phone to tell me when to stop. If I did't I'd get to where I have to go much less frequently.

And of course sometimes I don't use every minute that I could be practising. Sometimes I get home from work and fanny about too much on the internet. Or I watch repeats of The Great British Bake Off because my head is weary of the world and needs to rest. 

In my dream lottery winners life (I don't play) I'd do this all day every day.

There will always be things I could work on. Squeezing it in I have to make choices between practising different things - since I can't do it all. 

I could always find more time.

I can never do enough.

I am an addict.