1. KNOW WHAT PRACTICE IS: Have an organised, well defined, target oriented, practice plan. Use a chart to tick off each practice session you complete.Practice is not: noodling in front of the telly - noodling is fantastic, it limbers up the fingers, is good for the ears, is quite relaxing/meditative at times, and I think all guitarists should noodle a lot. However, there is a HUGE difference between noodling and defined practice of the guitar!

2. Identify some well defined targets - a long term target might be: "To learn all the notes on the neck up to the twelth fret by Christmas:. A related short term target might be to "learn the notes from fret one to fret five on the highest string of my guitar". Write at least the long term targets down.

3.. Use a countdown timer (an egg timer or similar device) to split up long practice sessions into manageable chunks - The kind of frames I use are: Warm up (5mins), sight reading (10mins), new scales/scale revision (10mins), practice tune/pieces (15mins), warm down (i.e. gradually easing off the gas - playing more slowly, more simple material to let the fingers calm down gradually) (5mins).

4. Use a metronome, and not just any metronome. Find one with a click that you like the sound of - you'll be using it a lot, and a bad click can drive you crazy. Metronomes with dials, (or clockwork ones with a sliding weight) are the best as you can very quickly double, half, or quarter your speed - vital when practicing fast material. Don't get one that increments/decrements in single bpm - they just are not practical to use at all! You can get online metronomes, but I've not found one that I feel really comfortable with (yet).

4. Use a music stand - if you're going to practice using any printed written material whatsoever, and are going to practice it enough to play it really well, your neck and back will suffer if you don't have a music stand to work from. If you intend to practice using material that is on a computer screen, ensure that the screen is at a workable height and angle.

5. Have a practice zone. One of the best ways to create a practice zone is to have your guitar on a guitar stand, your amp (optional!), a chair and a music stand permanently located together somewhere in your home. A table in this zone to carry your timer, metronome, and current practice material is also really useful for establishing a "guitar practice zone". If you have to continually "set up" this practice area, it makes it harder to maintain a solid practice routine.

6. Have regular, defined practice times. My old boss was an early riser. He used to get up at 5am, and practice for two hours getting his classical guitar chops together. He was so busy during the day that he knew he had no chance of practicing at any other time. Look for "downtime" in your life that can be converted into practice sessions - try and get three, thirty minute practice sessions per week fitted in somewhere. If you can build that up into six, one hour sessions, you should see real progress pretty quickly, and dramatic improvement after around six months. I recommend having a day off from formal practice each week - noodling or jamming only on that day. If you can only do 15minutes once a week, even that is important dedicated practice time that will still be beneficial.

There is so much more that could be said about effective practicing - but the above might help you establish a framework that will make your playing time more efficient and constructive.