Is there anything in your life you would like to get better at?

If you answered yes…  You are in the right place!

I’m Jeff Scheetz and I have spent most of my life teaching people how to practice smarter and improve their skills. I am fascinated by the incredible potential inside all of us.

So here at the Smart Practice Academy I explore, breakdown and share the most effective and efficient techniques and methods to unlock that potential and help you get better at anything.

Does your practice time pay off like it should – or do you sometimes feel like you are just spinning your wheels?

I like to say that Smart Practice is “Where the Science of Practice Merges with the ART of Practice”. That is a potent combination. I think fusing sound scientific studies and research with experimental and real world experiences gives us our clearest vision of how to get better at anything.

The only way to really improve anything in your life is by practice. However, practicing the wrong way can actually be counterproductive; leading to no improvement, frustration and ultimately giving up. It’s not only What you practice, but How you practice.

Practicing things in the most effective way is the key to improving! Smart Practice!

(Click here for my free ebook “7 Mistakes That Will Sabotage Your Practice” to make sure you are not already holding yourself back)

So if you are someone who is interested in making real improvements, and want to join the conversation on how to excel –  then come with me on this journey. We’ll look at proven practice principles along with new cutting edge research on optimal performance. With the right tools and a little direction, I truly believe that anyone can get better at anything!

P.S. Make sure you are signed up to get free updates, tips and new articles. No spam, just cool stuff!

For the longer story of what brought me here –  

I have always enjoyed doing a lot of different things. I discovered early on, that the better I was at various things, the more fun they were. It was a much richer and more rewarding experience to do something well. However, I also ran up against the same problem that everyone who has tried to get better at multiple things, eventually does… that pesky “24 hours in a day” thing! That just wasn’t enough time to practice and get better at the all the things I wanted to do.

But rather than just give up and decide to learn to be happy being mediocre… I was determined to figure out a better way to practice. I thought if I could find a way to be more efficient and effective with my practice time, that would leave me extra time to work on other things. I was right!

The cool thing was not only did this help me do various things better, it also helped me excel in the “main” things I have done in my life!

It allowed me to become a professional guitarist who has gotten to tour the world, appear in many magazines, write and release 8 albums worth of music, and make a living as a pro musician. I didn’t give up every other interest to do this – I just got smarter about how I spent my time practicing!

I have used those same techniques to become a champion frisbee dog competitor, do over 300 speaking engagements, be a writer for various magazines, become a teacher and work one on one with literally thousands of students. Developing this way of practicing has allowed me to hone a ton of various skills that I enjoy. It is all about how your spend your time!

There is a lot of science available along with studies that have been done on the best learning and performance building techniques and concepts. As I put much of this information into my own practicing time, it was also important to me to be able to give it real world testing across a wide range of students and situations.

Over the years I have taught many students to get better results from their practice time. Guitarists have gone on to become pro musicians themselves. I have used my methods to help disc doggers go from no skills to setting world records and becoming world champions within two years. I have helped people become better at chess, golf and even fly fishing with these same techniques. Just reading books on a subject is not the same as putting it into practice and seeing results first hand.

One of the most important things I learned as I was figuring out the best way to get better, was once you “crack the code” – it works for almost everything! It isn’t domain specific, but rather I found I could transfer the same techniques I used to get better at guitar to getting better at Tae Kwon Do, or throwing a frisbee.

Now those 24 hours seemed much more reasonable!

I started this website to be able to share all the things I have learned about getting better, along with many of my own SMART practice techniques. I hope this site will inspire, encourage, guide and help you become better at whatever it is you desire to improve in your own life. Then you can turn around and help others do the same. I truly believe that we live in a time when it is possible to achieve a higher level of skill at a faster pace than ever before. I will share techniques and new information on the topics of better practicing, improving performance and developing skills effectively and efficiently.

So thanks for joining the movement!

Overview bio

• Jeff’s musical career includes releasing 8 albums, touring the world, being featured in Guitar magazines in the U.S., Europe and Japan, having various endorsements including his own signature guitars and amps. He owns his own recording studio and has recorded and mixed records for many artists.
• He has written music for commercials for Toyota, Chevrolet and many others. He has done music for the Style Network, Outdoor Channel, ESPN and daytime TV shows like “All my Children“.
• He has authored a guitar instructional book and recorded and released 8 instructional video courses.
• As a public speaker Jeff has performed over 300 speaking engagements. He has talked on diverse subjects in diverse places. Whether it is speaking on music education in Boston or L.A., delivering a positive message to high schoolers in Iowa, teaching practice habits in Mexico, or speaking on wildlife conservation in Switzerland, Jeff is always passionate about sharing. The underlying message is always the idea that we can all improve and get better.
• Jeff lives and sleeps with two Champion Frisbee dogs. His dog performance team has performed at halftime shows for major sports teams and corporate functions. He competes at the highest level and has made the podium at the World championships the last three years in a row. His dog TOWSER has been on the cover of DogSport magazine and featured on ESPN’s Sportscenter.
• He is currently the Director of Education at TrueFire.com where he helps design and craft curriculum for over 500,000 students per month. He also helped design and manages the online classrooms and workshops where instructors and students interact with cutting edge technology.
• Jeff has written for many magazines including Relevant, Riff journal, hm, and more.
• He is an avid fly-fisherman and hates to go anywhere without a fly rod. He is most comfortable when he is hiking a mountain trail or kayaking a high country lake.