Did you set a reading goal for yourself? Did you make good progress to that goal? The original idea was to set a short term goal to read at least one tune each day.

I didn’t do as well as I would have liked. I didn’t get to read every day. And I fell well short of my goal. That happened for a number of reasons – the sort of reasons that often trip us up

• I didn’t have a real plan for what I was going to read
• I didn’t make sure I had the “bandwidth” to insert reading into my daily practice – some days I don’t have a lot of time to practice and I chose to spend the time I had on work that has a shorter horizon.
• I didn’t prioritize reading.

Now, to be fair, part of the reason I didn’t has as much time included that I worked to prepare to teach a workshop (ironically – on sight reading!). I also need to prepare for some upcoming events that required I spend time writing which meant I didn’t have the time to read.

And, of course, reading isn’t really a contest so I could slag it off – I only needed to read some ensemble arrangements. But I have to admit, I’m a tad disappointed. Not only because I didn’t make my goal but also because I set the goal but then didn’t do enough to make it happen. That’s how it goes when you make a wish rather than a goal.

How did you do?