Many musical passages and songs require that you be mentally invested and concentrating on the song and interpretation of music to practice effectively. However, many other guitar techniques and finger exercises that are designed to build up speed and muscle memory are more about logging playing hours, and simply take mindless repetition that is mind-numbingly boring and hard to keep concentration on for long stretches of time.
My favorite solution: TV work! Watch a show that you enjoy, or even a series you are binge watching, and practice the exercise while you are watching the show to distract your brain from getting too bored while your fingers do the mindless repetition work. This will create a real "value-add" bonus to your show-watching, and turns your vegging-out time into a rewarding practice session! This trick works great for things like scales, finger exercises, licks, fingerpicking and strum patterns, and on and on. However, this doesn't work very well with active internet surfing for short videos and memes, so make sure you choose fairly long-play shows, videos, and podcasts when you browse so you can really go long on your practice sessions.
Some variations on this theme:
*If the show is too good not to watch with your whole attention and includes commercial breaks, watch your show, then practice intensely and with focus during the commercials, then put your guitar aside when your show is back on.
*If you are binge watching a series or show, change up to a new exercise you want to work on for each episode.
*This hack works best when you are alone in front of the TV, but if your playing is distracting to others, put a rag or sock between your strings and the guitar body to muffle the sound a little.
*Use your imagination - come up with your own games and challenges, like every time a common name, word, or phrase is said on your show, play a particular exercise again! Or even one word = play a major scale, and another word = play a minor scale, etc.
I'd love to hear about other little practice hacks you know, whether you picked them up from other players or made them up yourself. It's all about what works for you and keeps you invested and excited in playing your instrument!
