http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/pre-performance-apathy-or-the-importance-of-mentally-disengaging-from-work-and-practice/
I really like the phrase "intentionally disengaging" from work, as opposed to impulsively disengaging or not disengaging at all and then burning out from exhaustion.
I've noticed over this year that there are several different kinds of practice breaks, some better and some worse than others.
At the beginning of first semester, I took very frequent "I don't want to practice" breaks. I made myself get up early in the morning, and instead of practicing, I would much rather sleep (because I hadn't made provisions to get a good night's sleep the night before, only to wake up early). Or when I was awake, my breaks were more of the "I'd rather scroll through Facebook than practice" sort. Or "I'd rather talk to people" sort. The forced aspect of my practicing meant that I didn't have any ideas for what to practice or motivation to figure out hard parts-- I just wanted to log practice time, and I would take a break if I ran out of ideas or came to a trouble spot.
Then there are unpreventable breaks: bathroom breaks, snack breaks, someone pops their head into your practice room to change a rehearsal time or just to say hi (hopefully not to chat for too long) causing you to pause... these are necessary but often distracting, so if I end up taking one of these sorts of breaks, I try to remember where I left off and continue from there.
The best kinds of breaks are the ones where you "intentionally disengage." Maybe your arm/embouchure/entire body is a little weary or tight. Maybe you just can't figure out how to fix a problem. Maybe you don't know what to do next because you've run out of ideas. Or maybe you've just been practicing or will practice for a long time, in which case, you need to take a break to recharge and keep your mental and physical energy up to go for a longer stretch of time. I love these kinds of breaks because they give you a rest to regain energy and be capable of (and hopefully eager to) continue practicing. Lately I've been "intentionally disengaging" more, and I've found that I've been a lot more focused, relaxed, and productive while practicing.
What do you all think about taking breaks?
I thought this article was exceptionally interesting - especially since we just got back from spring break. Many of my friends in the liberal arts school took home their study materials for homework and papers they had to do over break, however, I took a break from all of my work. I decided that I would rest my voice and take a break from practicing and translating my pieces. I find that it helped an extraordinary amount and that I'm doing much better than I did when I was exhausted the week of midterms. I think breaks are important, as long as they don't last for too long.
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