Are you getting started on guitar and wonder how long it will take to get into a regular guitar practice habit?

Or, are you not practicing consistently and wonder how long it will take to create new and better practice habits?

During my research for my newest book The EDGE: Maximum Guitar Results in Minimum Time, I came across some interesting studies on creating new habits.

21 or 28 Days? How Long to Create a New Habit?

There is a big misconception out there on how long it takes to establish a new habit.

The often quoted 21 days, or 28 days has never been scientifically proven.  The only study that has actually looked into this was done in 2009.  The results of this study suggest that it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days to create a new habit that is automatic to you (Lally et al, 2009).

The amount of time it takes to create a habit that is automatic seems to depend on the complexity or difficulty of the desired habit.

The average time it took participants in this research study to establish a new habit was 66 days, which really isn’t too long at all.  So what you need to keep in mind is that it will most likely take you a little over 2 months to establish a new guitar practice habit.

A good idea is to set aside a specific time for your practice sessions.  Once you have practiced a few times at a specific time you will start to get used to it and feel like you are missing something if you don’t get your regular guitar workout in.