It's tempting at times to skip practice for one reason or another. Life gets busy, schedules get changed, and sometimes things get difficult, making practice seem unimportant. But you should not do this. Practice is important and you must do what you can to make sure you do practice.
If you are sick, you can miss practice. Get lots of rest and recuperate. But otherwise, as a musician, you should take responsibility for your actions and never excuse yourself from practice.
I'm going to list a bunch of reasons given for not practicing, and I'm going to debunk all of them. None of them actually keep you from practicing.
Reason #1: "I'm too busy"
I have honestly heard this excuse on more than one occasion, and I always have to laugh. I am currently studying 4 languages, teaching 58 students a week, recording an album, planning several books, writing monthly articles for a local newsletter, and helping to maintain a neighbourhood orchard. Despite all of this, and despite having a wife and three kids, I still somehow find time to practice four different instruments (acoustic/electric guitar, ukelele, bass, and piano) and work on my singing voice.
If I can make time for practice, so can you. Even on busy days you probably have five minutes to spare, if you want to practice badly enough. Sometimes I get two minutes on the piano before something interrupts my busy life, but that doesn't stop me. I still practice when I can. So should you!
Reason #2: "I don't understand what I'm working on"
It is true that sometimes you may not understand the song(s) you're working on. But why let that stop you from practicing? Rehearse your old material, practice your scales, jump on YouTube and try to figure out how to play a song, memorize your scale notes or string names. There is always something else you can practice if you think creatively.
Reason #3: "Practice isn't fun"
Most people don't like doing things that are hard, and sometimes practice seems difficult. All it takes is a little change in perspective to make practice fun again. Make a game of practice. Challenge yourself to practice something as many times as you can in one sitting, then try to beat that record tomorrow (this kind of mindset tends to work well with athletes and very competitive students). Break your practice up into smaller sessions over the same day so it doesn't feel as difficult. Take the occasional break from the hard material and play something easy. Then go back to the harder stuff. Do whatever it takes to get motivated and stay motivated.
Practice is always fun for me. I do get a little discouraged from time to time, but I have enough variety with what I'm working on that there's always something interesting to do.
Reason #4: "I have too much to practice"
This is an easy reason to rebuke. Practice what you can, and then don't worry about the rest!
Reason #5: "I don't have enough stuff to practice"
Most students stop practicing sooner if they feel they don't have enough material to work on. The same students also never come back and play their songs perfectly. If you don't have enough to practice, why haven't you finished the stuff we're working on?
Spend more time practicing the songs you have, and if you still really feel like you need more material, you can either have your teacher give you more, or you can go online and try to find something new to work on. I don't think a lot of the stuff you find online is all that good, but you'll still learn a lot from it (more than you would from not practicing!).
Practice!
There are probably other good-sounding "reasons" for not practicing. But trust me, with the possible exception of being ill, there really are no legitimate reasons not to be practicing on a regular basis. Don't beat yourself up for having missed practice in the past, but don't let your past habits define your future. Keep practicing!
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