This post, by Jody Hedlund, originally appeared on her blog on 4/29/11.
All five of my children have learned to play the piano (or are still in the process). While none of them are musical geniuses, I firmly believe learning to play the piano is a gift I’m offering my children. Not only are they getting a solid foundation in music, but even more valuable than that, they’re getting an important lesson in self-discipline.
According to Merriam-Webster, self-discipline is: correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement.
There’s just something about learning piano (or any instrument) that forces a person to correct and train oneself for the sake of improvement. It fosters self-discipline, which then carries over into other areas of our life.
Like my children, I also took many years of piano lessons (not that I play well anymore!). But in the process of learning piano (among other activities), I practiced self-discipline over and over. And now self-discipline is one character quality that has helped me enormously in my writing career.
Here are a few lessons I’ve learned about growing in self-discipline as a writer from piano lessons:
Concentrated increments can help us be more productive.
Rather than 5 minute practice sessions scattered throughout the day, my children practice piano in 20 to 30 increments (depending on their level). The larger chunk of time is more productive because they need a few minutes to warm up their fingers before the songs begin to flow.