Why You’re Practicing More Than Ever… And Getting Worse at Guitar

Let me start with a confession.

I practice guitar less now than I did ten years ago.

But I play better.

That sounds backwards — especially in a world where we’ve never had more:

• lessons

• exercises

• tabs

• videos

• “ultimate guides”

So why are so many guitar players stuck?

Why do so many people know scales… but can’t use them?

And why does practice feel harder than it used to?

The Invisible Enemy of Guitar Progress

It’s not lack of motivation.
It’s not talent.
It’s not even bad instruction.

It’s distraction.

Modern guitar practice looks like this:

You sit down with your guitar.
You open YouTube “just to warm up.”
You watch a video on pentatonics.
Then another one.
Then another.

Suddenly, 45 minutes are gone.

You feel productive…
But you haven’t actually practiced.

YouTube wasn’t built to help you learn guitar.

It was built to keep you watching.

And those two goals are not the same.

More Information Is Not the Answer

Most guitar products respond to this problem by adding more:

• More lessons

• More exercises

• More content

• More choices

But here’s the uncomfortable truth:

The biggest enemy of practice is deciding what to practice.

Every extra option increases friction.

And friction kills momentum.

You don’t need more ideas.

You need a starting point.

The Moment Everything Changed for Me

At some point, I stopped asking:

“What should I practice today?”

And started asking:

“What’s the smallest focused thing I can play right now?”

That shift changed everything.

Instead of planning practice sessions,
I removed planning altogether.

No playlists.
No watching.
No tabs.

Just a single prompt.

Why Analog Still Wins in a Digital World

Think about this:

You don’t read about swimming to get better at swimming.
You don’t watch workout videos to get strong.

You do the thing.

Guitar is no different.

Skill comes from:

• attention

• repetition

• constraint

Not from feeds, autoplay, or recommendations.

That’s why analog tools still work.

They don’t distract you.
They don’t suggest the next thing.
They don’t pull you away from the instrument.

They point… and then get out of the way.

The Simple Practice System I Use Now

Instead of courses or videos, I practice using prompts.

Here’s how it works:

1. I sit down with my guitar

2. I pull one prompt

3. I practice for 10–15 minutes

4. I stop

That’s it.

No decision fatigue.
No scrolling.
No guilt.

Just focused playing.

Over time, those short, intentional sessions compound.

That’s how real progress happens.

Why This Works When Everything Else Fails

This approach works because:

• It removes choice

• It lowers the activation energy

• It respects attention as the scarce resource

You’re not trying to learn everything.

You’re just playing one thing well — today.

If You’re Ready to Try a Quieter Way to Practice

If YouTube keeps hijacking your practice time…

If you’re tired of knowing more but playing better…

If you want a way to practice that works with your attention instead of against it…

I put together a small digital deck of 52 guitar practice prompts.

It’s not a course.
It’s not a system you have to finish.

It’s simply a way to answer the question:

“What should I practice right now?”

You can check it out here:
Get Practice Prompts
Pull one prompt.

Practice for 15 minutes.
Close the browser — and play.

Final Thought

Progress doesn’t come from consuming more.

It comes from focused action, repeated consistently.

In a distracted world,
the guitarist who can protect their attention wins.