Good habits and playing piano

All habits are built on a cue - routine - reward structure, both good and bad. And it can be easy to start a good habit and break a bad habit as long as you understand the cues and rewards and replace them with something that aligns with your current desires.

I want to be known as a piano player, but that means I need to practice a lot more than I have been. I have a nice keyboard that I like playing, but I often forget that I have it because it's in the part of the living room that I rarely look at or go to. How do I change my environment so the cue is apparent and more desirable than watching TV on the couch? There are a few ways to accomplish that. First, I could move my piano closer to where I usually look in the living room, and I could also change the cue that I have for watching TV, making that routine harder to start if I have the cue.

If I move the piano closer to the couch and unplug my TV, will that be enough of a disruption to one habit and ease into another habit that will get me to practice more? The rewards of both still are the same - I really enjoy playing piano and learning a new song more than I like watching TV - even TV programs where I learn something.

That's got to be the next experiment. After all, it allows me to cement other habits I've started - eating at the dinner table instead of in front of the TV, and no longer watching or reading the news. I'm interested to see how this plays out.

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