‘Visualization works like this: Forget about what your practice space looks like right now and the resources you may or may not have available, Close ‘your eyes and begin to envision the ultimate practice environment of your dreams, in as much detail as possible. In a perfect world, what would your practice space look and feel like? Try to shush the monkey chattering on your shoulder, “But this isnt possible, and isn this a bit over the top? We cant afford this, we don't need this, you donit deserve this,” and so fon, Ignore that. This is just a mind exercise, where you are totally free to imagine a space that is as elaborate or as spartan as you wish, It can be helpful to choose a name to describe this place, something that captures the essence of what this space means to you—something that ‘encourages you to dream big. And please have fun with this! Example: The first time I did chis exercise, for some reason the phrase “workspace of a world-class musician” came to mind. Ie made me laugh, because I certainly didn’ fel like a world-class musician—but that wasn't the point. The point was: Could I benefit from a workspace that was designed to a world-class standard? Yes! For me, this was fitting because my practice space felt like an accumulation of compromises—something 2 world-class musician wouldnt tolerate! ‘What elements would he require, and what would he change? I allowed ‘myself co play around with this idea in my head, and my creative juices started flowing. I thought it would be great to have water over there, and why not a small fridge in the corner? The lighting would need to be sufficient and also pleasant, The instrument would be miked up and ready to go atall times, ready to play to backing tracks witha set of headphones and clean sheets of paper. What about a flip chart where T could make notes, lst the tasks of the day, or jot down a song form that had started co take shape while the band was songwriting? And on and on, NI: THE ULTIMATE PRACTICE BOOM M evaluating; just write them all down and allow yourself to dream big. ‘After I finished my wish list, I fele very excited. I went to the practice room and opened the door. After registering a moment of shock, I had to burst out laughing. There's no other way co say it—it was a rat hole. The only light in the room was a single light bulb dangling from a cord. The instrument? There was no instrument! It wasnt even set up. There were cases lying around on the floor because I had gotten home late the night before and had just chrown everything in there. How's that for friction? In that moment, I realized just how much this had held me back in the past. | could easily recall many times when I'd thought, how about practicing? Oh well, first Pd have to set up the drum kit, and then I don't know if Thave this thing I need...” You get the picture, ‘The gulf berween my wish list and the sad reality of my curtent situation seemed enormous. But I found that by going through my list one item at a time, many of the things that had initially seemed over the top or straight-up impossible started coming together, and in less time than I thought. As for the changes that would require a bit of extra effort, ask yourself Is it worth it? So I upgraded my space. And the results were absolutely amazing! Was 1 able to make all of the changes on my list? No—but almost all, and this, was enough to completely transform how | felt when I was in the practice room, And even more important, it changed how I felt about practicing. “This is the power of visualization. ‘This approach starts with: Where do I wanna end up? What isthe distance between here and there? And then try to close the gap.