Well due to my mental illness
I make one small cup of coffee and drink that through the day and no more than one cup so I don’t get the jiggers
My main goal each day:
I try very hard to learn a minim of one new things a day if I can do more then Awesome
But during that time I try to stay very focus if find myself where I cannot stay focus then I am done, and learning at this point is over so I will try again later
And when I get back I try to review and continue where I was which is not easy for a bipolar mind as it is all over the place not easy to control
but yes I agree Focus is very much Key
My old lecturer told us to only write something that you can play yourself on your instrument. This has really encouraged me as my practicing generally consists of teaching myself how to play some of the things I’ve written that I struggle to play (mainly o. Piano). This has helped me more than any book but I am still a huge believer that we all find our own ways of progressing
I practice around 3 times on average per week, by practice it means writing new songs or improving my mixing skills and finishing songs till the end. I use my keyboard (I like m-audio keyboards). I should think of it more as practice but I think keyboard is an extension of my arm. My goal is to practice if possible 4x/week piano playing using my intermediate piano lesson books, if I can do that than I’m a stronger composer for myself.
I practise piano around 2 hours per day (usually 1 hour but we’re staying at home) currently learning the Tristesse Etude but I wouldn’t say it helps me with composing. However when I practise classical or jazz improvisation it does help me to find new motives or chord progressions. During the practise time I also play previous pieces to not lose the muscle memory and also not get bored by the current piece I’m playing!
I hear that you are very experienced on piano, and I would like to say it does help for composing a lot. Because if I want to record a part I need to make looooots of retakes, and if you improve your piano skills you will become faster and improve your recording workflow!
What you say about focusing is so true! Sometimes 20 focused minutes can be more beneficial than 2 hours of playing without purpose, which to be honest I sometimes do…
Oh and also, it’s not in the subject but if I wanted to get feedback on my music do I create a new topic or is there already a topic, it’s to make sure.
The worst one is, “hey listen to my totally fire beat… btw it’s not finished”. And you think… then why are you posting it? It’s like a get out of jail card for some.
Obviously it’s different if someone’s posting an unfinished track for advice, I love those because it shows integrity, rather than pretending it’s something it’s not and then creating a backup plan just incase haha.
With the first scenario you see so many giving good advice and the replies are usually ignoring the advice, yet again making excuses.
but I am still a huge believer that we all find our own ways of progressing 
