I read Atomic Habits by James Clear in fall 2022 and my instant thought was, “How can we help piano students form atomic habits?”

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Once you understand the importance of atomic habits (small, actionable steps that are easy to accomplish and therefore assists in developing habits that stick), you realize the importance of encouraging piano students to nurture atomic habits.

Before I share 5 ways to help piano students form atomic habits, Amie Webster from Motif Music Studios and I did a live YouTube chat that I’d love for you to watch.

We discussed Atomic Habits and how it helped us as musicians and how it’s helping us as teachers.

We share favorite quotes, important takeaways, and how you can apply atomic habits to your piano studio even if you’ve never read the book.

Watch Nurturing Atomic Practice Habits in Your Piano Students

Of course, I do highly recommend you read Atomic Habits or listen to the audiobook.

It’s a #1 best seller for a reason.

But even if you don’t have time to read it, here are 5 things you can implement to help piano students form atomic habits.

1) The 2-Minute Rule

Of all the practical and useful tips from Atomic Habits, this one mindset is what got me into developing new habits: start with the easiest 2 minutes.

A new habit should not feel like a challenge. The actions that follow can be challenging, but the first two minutes should be easy.
– James Clear

I remember being a piano student and having so many pieces to practice.

It can be intimidating.

Some students are naturally good at breaking assignments down into manageable pieces.

Some students freeze and never touch the piano because it feels too hard.

So as teachers, we can help our students by encouraging them to get those first two easy minutes of practice in.

Maybe it’s reviewing a fun piece, playing a scale they know well, sight reading, or playing a music game.

The goal is to get the student on the bench, started.

If they get at least five minutes of practice in, that’s better than nothing.

Because I remember as a teen, the worst part about practicing was starting.

If I could just sit down to practice five minutes, I’d practice an hour.

But I had to sit down.

So when you encourage your piano students to practice, remind them that a little is better than nothing.

… one push-up is better than not exercising. One minute of guitar practice is better than none at all. One minute of reading is better than never picking up a book. It’s better to do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all.
– James Clear

2) Never Skip Twice

Missing once is an accident. Missing twice is the start of a new habit.
– James Clear

This mindset has really transformed my habits.

I am an overachiever who wants to give all and then some.

I don’t like messing up.

You probably have a few piano students like that.

They don’t do well with practice charts because it is so discouraging when they skip a day because they feel like they failed.

But with the mindset that missing once is an accident, you can help your students develop more consistent habits.

Busy days happen, sickness occurs.

So it’s okay to skip an occasional day.

It’s even better to skip every other day than to give up and skip five days in a row.

3) Redefine Their Identity

One of the main themes in Atomic Habits is identity.

The psychological reason we fail at setting better habits is because of how we view ourselves.

The key to mitigating these losses of identity is to redefine yourself such that you get to keep important aspects of your identity even if your particular role changes. “I’m an athlete” becomes “I’m the type of person who is mentally tough and loves a physical challenge.” “I’m a great soldier” transforms into “I’m the type of person who is disciplined, reliable, and great on a team.” “I’m the CEO” translates to “I’m the type of person who builds and creates things.”
– James Clear

So instead of “I’m a pianist,” we can nurture in our students the mindset, “I’m the type of person who is determined, creative, and patient.”

We can encourage this mindset shift in our students. 

Many music students today suffer from identity crises.

As piano teachers, I believe we have such a special and important role to encourage our students to grow beyond their narrow identity.

Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.
– James Clear

I can’t tell you how many times a student has messed up and instantly follows it with a negative statement like, “I’m a terrible pianist” or “I will never play this right” or “I just can’t get this.”

All of those comments are a reflection of their identity.

Yes, it takes patience to help a student who is down on themselves, but we have the beautiful opportunity to help the student see that they’re the type of person who does not give up easily.

They’re the type of person who finds enjoyment in small things.

They’re the type of person who creates something beautiful.

You have the power to change your beliefs about yourself. Your identity is not set in stone. You have a choice in every moment. You can choose the identity you want to reinforce today with the habits you choose today.
– James Clear

One way I’m trying to encourage an identity shift in my students is to ask them to tell me two positive things about what they just did.

I know how hard that is because my teacher did it to me. It is easier to list all the negative aspects that need work than the positive things.

By asking my students to focus on the positive, I’m helping them realize that they are accomplishing something in music.

You can also point out the character growth a student has exhibited in lessons (diligence, tenacity, patience, perseverance, etc.).

4) Make It Easy

Much of the battle of building better habits comes down to finding ways to reduce the friction associated with our good habits and increase the friction associated with our bad ones.
– James Clear

Probably the biggest asset to help students form atomic habits is to make it easy. 

Do we make piano practice unnecessarily difficult for our students?

Ways we might make it difficult could be assigning too many pieces without specific clarity on what to focus on, holding them to a standard that intimidates them, or overwhelming them with difficult assignments.

How else do you think we unintentionally make piano difficult for our students? (Comment and share!)

If we realize the answer to that question, then we will be able to figure out how to reduce the “friction” for our students.

As Amie discussed in our chat, there are many ways to make piano practice easier or reduce friction.

These ideas do need to be discussed with the student and family, which is so worth doing!

• Have the instrument easily accessible
• Have books open on the piano
• Have sticky notes on the pieces they’re supposed to work on
• Have the piano bench already pulled out

Any other ideas? Add them in the comments below.

Whether we are approaching behavior change as an individual, a parent, a coach, or a leader, we should ask ourselves the same question: “How can we design a world where it’s easy to do what’s right?” Redesign your life so the actions that matter most are also the actions that are easiest to do.
– James Clear

5) Help Piano Students Form Atomic Habits With Four Laws

How to Create a Good Habit: The 1st law (Cue): Make it obvious. The 2nd law (Craving): Make it attractive. The 3rd law (Response): Make it easy. The 4th law (Reward): Make it satisfying.
– James Clear

I love this breakdown of creating good habits.

As piano teachers, how can we make piano practice obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying?

The answer will be different for different students.

What is attractive and satisfying to one student is not attractive or satisfying for another student.

This is where we must consider the four stages for each student and maybe even bring the student into brainstorming ways that will help them establish the four steps of a good habit.

Eliminate the cue and your habit will never start. Reduce the craving and you won’t experience enough motivation to act. Make the behavior difficult and you won’t be able to do it. And if the reward fails to satisfy your desire, then you’ll have no reason to do it again in the future. Without the first three steps, a behavior will not occur. Without all four, a behavior will not be repeated.
– James Clear

This is why reward systems work amazingly well for some students and fail for others.

This is why practice charts inspire some students and discourage others.

This is why the same method doesn’t work for all students.

Yes, it takes time and effort, but analyzing what the cue, craving, response, and reward are for each student will help them establish those good habits.

Final Thoughts on How to Help Piano Students Form Atomic Habits

As you take these thoughts to lessons next week and as you and your students start recognizing places to shift habits, remember…

Success is not a goal to reach or a finish line to cross. It is a system to improve, an endless process to refine.
– James Clear

Your turn!

Have you read Atomic Habits? If so, I’d love to hear how you think it applies to helping piano students form good habits. What concepts have helped you? Comment and share!

Other blog posts to inspire & motivate you in piano teaching:

• How to Teach Piano Students to Practice Effectively
• 8 Teaching Ideas When Your Piano Student is Stuck
• Setting Goals with your Piano Students in 2023

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