each day:
- Choose a scale!
- play it with metronome MM=72 1:1:1 through 1:8:4 where beat:subdivision:octaves
- parallel motion then...
- contrary motion
- chromatic from the tonic
- parallel 3rds
- parallel octaves
- arpeggii in all inversions
- an Étude: Chopin; Liszt; Czerny; Duvernoy; others
- sight read for 5': anything!
- A 2 or 3 part invention OR Prelude and Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier: J. S. Bach
- A Classical sonatina or sonata: Mozart, Haydn, Clementi, Dussek, Beethoven
- A Romantic work: Beethoven onwards (after 1800)
- A Contemporary work (after 1890), any style
Connecting every day with the items you are learning is by far the most effective way to make progress. I know this seems simplistic and obvious, but there is more to it than you might assume.
We live in a chaotic, disjunct time when experiencing long stretches of undivided attention can be extremely difficult to accomplish. We are tethered to digital devices that actively break down our abilities to focus at length. Deciding to take 10, 15, 30, 60 minutes a day to sing, play or create uninterrupted art borders on countercultural - yet it is a human attribute that sets people distinctly apart from machines and many, many other living beings.
Moreover, we are designed to be passive learners as well. One does lots of conscious problem solving when playing -- what is that note? what fingering should I use? Am I in tune? What is the next line? etc. -- but we also absorb music and art simply by being in contact with it. If you do not allot some time every day to assimilate your music projects, you cannot capitalize on this inherent ability that we all possess.
So take some time most days to get to your music - you will notice the growth, and it will probably improve your outlook and well-being, too!