But as I get older and wiser :) I come to realize the internet is not always as efficient or effective as it seems.

A lot of the tools on the internet like socialmedia, apps and cloudbased stuff that is supposed to make your life easier, (easier for you to communicate, network, save and share) will eventually leave you with just more work and more things to do. It doesn’t make your life easier, it makes it busier.

So I decided to quit facebook, quit twitter, quit saving my stuff online. Back to simplifying. And you know what? It feels great! Back to playing guitar and spending quality time with the family. That’s all there is to it.

Okay I could dive a little deeper and talk about those nice late morning cappuccinos, how I spend my days with coolest guitar workouts and that kind of stuff, but I’ll save that for later posts. Patience… please!

And then I also decided to give up goals. Meaning: Learning a certain skill or working on a project (how small it may be) with a deadline in mind. No more of that. Nowadays I wake up and just do whatever comes my way and do it passionately and mindfully. With the emphasis on “mindfully”.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have a saying in how I spend my days, I certainly do, but my days flow more naturally and best of all…. I get more done without having the intention to do so. Try it and you’ll be pretty amazed. Just live in the moment and be open and openminded for whatever or whoever shows up on your path. You’ll come out as a better guitar player because of it.

I’ll leave you for now with a beautiful quote by Lao Tzu:
“The world is ruled by letting things take their course, it cannot be ruled by interfering.”

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We took our travel guitars with us and we had such a blast.

In the evening we jammed together in the front garden of our apartment while drinking Italian wine.

At noon I would sometimes go to the beach on my own (My zen moment), sitting down on a rock with my feet in perfect water playing my favorite Jack Johnson, John Mayer and Damien Rice songs. The sun burning on my skin and a tremendous view of the lake and the mountains. Just euphoric.

It was just great to have our travel guitars with us wherever we went.

At home I’m also totally head over heels in love with my travel guitar. I don’t know, but there is just something about it that wants you to play it all the time.

But then again, maybe I do know…

Let’s take a look at some benefits I think are really interesting:

Comfort
First off, a travel guitar feels really nice and smooth in your hands. It’s light and easy to handle whatever situation you are in.

It’s perfect for playing guitar on a chair with armrests or any other guitar unfriendly sitting object and it’s great for adults as well as children.

Flexibility
It’s all in the name. The travel guitar is perfect for travel. It takes up almost no storage space. No excuses anymore to not take your guitar with you on a holiday when you’re going by car, plane, bike or walking. It’s just no trouble bringing your guitar along with you. You won’t even notice it’s there.

Just take it to the beach, a friends house, a party, a family visit, a romantic night out, the park or some other place where you just want to chill or hang out. Life gets more interesting.

Small spaces (a car, a tent, a dressing room before a gig) or places where you don’t want your guitar to attract too much attention (maybe your job or school) are perfectly suited for your travel companion. Convenient situations arise by themselves once you start using your travel guitar.

Freedom
A travel guitar gives you a sense of freedom, ability and independency. You’ll notice it the moment you walk the streets carrying it with you easily on your shoulders. You’ll feel free!

If necessary or if you would want to you could travel the world making money performing on the streets, teaching guitar, connecting and networking with fellow musicians and other interesting people, playing gigs and sharing music everywhere. Totally independent. For many musicians the sky is the limit.

Efficiency
How much time is lost in life just by waiting. Waiting on friends or colleagues, in stationary traffic, on a plane, waiting for just about anything. Your travel guitar is the perfect companion to occupy your time.

Isn’t it great to have that extra time to run through those scales or that cool riff you just learned. Now you can use your precious time efficiently and having fun at the same time.

Tip:
It makes all the difference in the world to look for a quality travel guitar that feels smooth and comfortable in your hands and sounds really good to your ears. May I say, the Taylor Baby travel guitar is a good recommendation. (I’m not endorsing this product whatsoever.) Obviously that’s what makes you want to play it 24/7.

Now go and conquer the world!

Be cool and share it on Stumbleupon.

Thanks, Klaus

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Now there is time to do everything I want and I’m doing all of the things I always wanted to do:

Playing guitar, teaching fabulous guitar students and meeting interesting people, working out (at the moment: abs training, push ups, jump rope, walking), reading or writing and spending time with family and friends.

And I ain’t doing all of these things every single day. I’m taking my time.

In the past I always wanted to do a lot more, but now I’m limiting myself to a small number of things (the most important ones). I have let go of a lot of unimportant things and it has made life simply beautiful.

I’m focusing on things I really want to do and not so much on what I want to achieve. You’ll be amazed how things change for the better when you start to let go and live in the now.

If you want to enjoy more with less here are some ways to go about it:

1 – Get rid of stuff
Yes you heard it. Get rid of all the stuff you haven’t used within a year or better yet within the last six months. Get rid of stuff that is taking hold of your time, stuff that distracts you, stuff that is filling your precious space, stuff you regularly need to clean, maintain, move around or even repair but don’t really need.

Give your stuff away to family, friends or charity and you will feel good about it.

Get rid of excuses and only keep the most important things which you enjoy on a regular basis. A clean space is the best space to focus, be inspired and enjoy the things you love most. Less stuff equals more time. More time to make music.

2 – Enjoy the journey
The things you do in life, where you do it and how you do it, is the path you walk and the journey you travel. Make sure you love what you do instead of aiming for a dream goal without enjoying the path you walk on.

If you want to become a great songwriter enjoy the learning process of writing and creating. If you want to become a professional artist then enjoy performing for small audiences first and find passion in practice and improving. Find the challenge in overcoming obstacles and keep the fun alive.

Be mindful of this every single day. Don’t lose the path out of sight. If you just focus on achieving and on arriving at your destination you’ll forget to enjoy the wonderful moments of your journey which is what life is all about.

3 – Buy less
Stop spending time on buying and buying some more. Forget about the latest updates and upgrades on recording software or the latest plugins and figuring out how to make it all work. You really don’t need more and more. Stop adding more pedals and more guitars to your setup. Keep your guitar gear simple and minimalist. It’s saves you time and money.

Instead do something creative like improving your guitar skills or writing songs. Stop buying start creating.

4 – Do less
See more, gain more and learn more by doing less. Focusing on less makes life peaceful and more meaningful. You don’t need to read about everything, be everywhere, participate in everything, see and please everyone to find contentment or happiness.

Doing less means a deeper insight and more quality time for the most important things. More freedom and more spontaneity in your musical life.

Enjoy!

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I also evaluate what I have accomplished, experienced or how much I have grown.

I can look back with awesomeness.

In May my son Vince was born (he is really into guitars already), I spend more time practicing guitar and learned a lot of new stuff, Guitarhabits has grown rapidly and I really love the feedback I got from everybody, I started a new blog about simplicity, reduced and downsized a lot of my stuff, I have become an early riser (I wake up at 5 am) and enjoy teaching guitar as a profession at home.

This year I want to spent less time on the internet, simplify more and worry less about achieving goals.

I want to focus mainly on teaching and practicing guitar, Guitarhabits, meditation, running/walking and spending time with my family.

For those who are new to the blog I hear you, what’s up with all that simplifying stuff Klaus?

Well here’s how you can make great use of this simplifying stuff and stick to your new years guitar resolutions:

Downsize your goals
Choose as few goals as possible. For some people it’s the hardest thing to do. If you have too many goals you will lose focus and it will be at the expense of your most important goal. Concentrate on the most important one. Downsizing your goals makes life easier, more productive and more fun.

Reduce your stuff
Getting rid of stuff makes you realize what is truly important, it will save you time in maintenance, repairs, moving it around and being distracted by it.
Reduce your stuff, use what is really important and make the most of it.

Eliminate and clear distractions
Limit the constant supply and access to digital data. Reduce the time you spent looking at a screen. Make less use of Twitter, Facebook and surfing around the net. Notice how much it occupies your precious time.

Eliminate emails by unsubscribing to advertisement, use spamfilters, respond with shorter emails or try not to respond at all. Clear every possible distraction that keeps you from
realizing your dream goal or following your true passion. Turn of the TV, your Ipad, Iphone or Iwhatever.

Focus on learning and creating.

Keep simplifying
Simplifying is an ongoing process. With every step you take to simplify you’ll reap the benefits and you will experience how it will enhance your life.

Keep thinking about how you can simplify more. More simplifying means more time to play guitar and listening to music.

Thanks and cheers to a new year!
Klaus

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I was ecstatic. I said: “Yes of course, great, awesome!”

We met a few days later to talk about stuff like what kind of music we wanted to play, what our goal would be, how many gigs we wanted to play, where to rehearse, etc.

I was thrilled, but at the same time confused. I was in a dilemma.

The picture of me playing with those great musicians playing great music was awesome, but somehow it didn’t feel right. I was doubting and I was restless. I decided to let it rest for a while and leave it up to the universe.

I went through all the different scenarios in my head, the pros and cons and I still couldn’t figure it out.

I called him back and we talked for an hour and a half figuring out what was troubling me and we had a really great conversation. It helped me a lot, but still I couldn’t decide what to do.

I threw the dilemma back into the sky and after a week of going back and forth the answer slowly grew on me. In fact, I think the answer was already clear from the beginning, but I just didn’t want to see it or I didn’t want to believe it.

This wasn’t the time for me to start a new band.

I was in another stage of life. I realized I was already living a happy life. I was following my passions and busy with new goals.

Being a 33 year old guitar player and songwriter who had just took a break from his own band a year ago, playing in bands nonstop from the age of 13 and professionally from age 21, now a self employed guitar teacher working from home, a husband and dad of two kids with the ages of 2 and 5 months old, writer of two blogs (Guitar Habits and Simplify Your Day), still improving my guitar playing on a regurarly basis, a lifehacker trying to simplify, enjoying the freedom and good life it was clear that I already knew the answer.

Sometimes it’s good to take a break from playing gigs or other musical projects in your life. It’s good to be honest with yourself.

Do you feel you’re in some kind of musical dilemma, here are the keys that made it 100% clear to me:

Keep your heart above your head.
Listen to your heart when your mind leaves you confused.

If you feel fear but your heart is in love, listen to your heart. If your mind is in doubt but your heart is sure, listen to your heart.

Note: Be sure who is telling you what. Sometimes you think your heart is speaking but it might as well be your mind. Feel what is real.

Talk
Talk to people who really know you but at the same time can have an objective opinion. Don’t let them convince you, just let them talk and hear them out. Call every person you feel you need to talk to.

Leave it alone
Let your dilemma or questions rest for a while. Just leave it up to the universe. You will get an answer in time if you’ll trust on it, but be patient.

The little voice behind the little voice
A good friend of mine told me this once and it helped me out many times.

For good reasons we listen to the little voice inside our heads for a true answer. But sometimes we’re still not sure if this little voice speaks the truth. At this point listen to the little voice behind the little voice in the back of your head to find out the real truth. Try it out!

Do what you wanna do, be who you wanna be.
Do what you really want. Don’t be a fake. Don’t be someone who others want or expect you to be. Don’t try to compete. Live your own true life. Find your own path.

Play, write, sing and perform the music you love even if it is not considered as cool. There is an audience for everyone out there.

Live your life as a musician in your own way. Life changes and so do you. You might not want to be the things you wanted when you were younger. Let go of entrenched views.

You grow, you become wiser (hopefully), your taste becomes more varied, your view on life expands and life circumstances change. That’s a good thing.

Live the life you wanna live now and know you can change it anytime.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. – Lao Tzu

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Finally I have the time to do everything that I love to do: practicing guitar, running my business, writing a blog, writing songs, working out, reading, spending a lot of time with my wife and children.

It’s the greatest reward and reminder for waking up early.

I wake up early at least 5 days a week. I like to wake up early two or three days in a row and then one day sleep late. (7.30 a.m.) At night I go to bed at 11 p.m. Not a minute later. If I go to bed at 12 p.m. and try to wake up early it won’t work. I tried many different ways and figured out the one that worked best for me. I think this is different for everyone so you have to experiment with this.

Originally I am a night owl and waking up early is not something that came naturally for me, but it has become a habit and it’s the best thing ever!

Here are the 8 tips that do work:

1 – The reason
You got to have a reason to wake up early or else you won’t do it. The reason can be a goal. Before you go to bed, write down the steps you will take the next morning to achieve a part of that goal. Make sure it’s a goal you really want to accomplish. It has to be something you are passionate and excited about.

2 – Early enough
Set the alarm early enough so you can really get some work done. If you wake up only 15 minutes earlier and it’s too less time to accomplish anything you won’t stick with it. Wake up a half an hour, one hour or two hours earlier. Gradually increase your wake up time.

3 – Go to bed
Let’s be honest, you won’t get any smarter by watching TV. It won’t realize your dream goal. Just go te bed in time. You can do without those late night talk shows or crime scene investigation series. Be smart. Waking up early is much more fulfilling.

4 – Stop thinking
The moment your alarm goes off you’re are giving yourself a hundred reasons against one or two to get back to sleep. Stop your thinking the very right moment you wake up. Just step out of bed. Don’t you dare talk to yourself. Don’t go into a discussion. You will lose if you will. Don’t go for the short term benefits, but go for the long term benefits that will change for life. People who give in to the short term benefits won’t get their dream goals accomplished.

5 – Mantra
If you do get trapped into thinking, speak out your mantra. Create a mantra for yourself to make sure you wake up early. The Mantra should contain a few keywords to define the reasons why you want to wake up early.

One of the reasons could be is to get some work done. If you have children it’s really difficult to get any work done. So this is your private time in total solitude. Your most productive time of the day. The Mantra keywords could be “private time”, “productiveness”.

6 – Accountability
Talk to people about your waking up early system and which goals you have accomplished or are busy accomplishing. The more people you talk to about it, the more accountable you feel to practice what you preach.

7 – Rewarding
You can reward yourself for waking up early, but the best reward is to be productive and focused on your goal. Get away from distractions (internet, mobile phones, TV, newspapers, etc) and just go for what you want to achieve. The feeling of accomplishment after you worked hard on your goal in the morning is the best reward ever. Try it and you will see.

8 – The Habit
It takes 3 to 4 weeks to create a habit. If you tried a few times but failed here and there, don’t beat yourself up about it. Just try again. You just need to make it through the 3 weeks. By this time you created a habit. Now you are in it for the long term. You’ll have the best time ever!

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Thanks everyone,
Klaus Tol