Practice Rituals?

Music majors are strange people, in fact the major itself is odd. I mean, basically we lock ourselves in small stuffy rooms and clock in hours after hour of scales and etudes and the like. Inevitably this routine will become stale, and unenjoyable. The classic example is the frequency of zone out time that is lost in practicing. Meaning: the ratio of actual practicing to just fiddling around. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing bad about fiddling around, one can explore the limits of their instrument via making strange scratching noises with their bow. But in a college setting, we have limits on the time available each day for practicing. Now, theoretically one could practice late at night, but after a whole day of rehearsals and classes, brains tend to zone out more often. So here are some tips that I have compiled from my own observations and from other teachers. And above all, these are not for just "music majors", these are for anyone who plays music.
1. Have an idea before even starting of what you want to do with your time. depending on the time you have, your plans will have to be modified. so if you have only an hour, you might not want to try to rush through a list of 10 items. its better to focus and isolate problems. rushing will only create more
2. Try and being each session with some sort of warm up that focuses on a problem you are having. for example, If you have a piece that has a lot of stuff going on in a certain range or position on your instrument. find or make an exercise that isolates that problem. etudes are great at this. Most important thing is to practice them SLOW,
3. As for pieces, I find it is a good idea to run through each one, as if you were performing it, before working on stuff. Once you run through it once, you will become aware of the problems you need to address.
4. When working on pieces brake them up into small chunks, and work on them very very slowly. to the point where you say. "goooood gracious this is soooo slow and obnoxious"
5. As far as mental focus, if you feel you are losing concentration TAKE A BREAK! its better to step a way from your instrument and regain focus, than trying to continue and get frustrated(as I did that one time, then my metronome broke. point in case)
6. Its also a good idea to perform your pieces for your friends, it helps ease the nerves for when you actually perform infront of lots a lots.
In general: practice with a metronome when you can, especially when you have one with a drone.
try recording your practice sessions, one of the most humbling things a musician can do is listen to themselves. Doing this will allow you to hear what needs improvement, but also what you did well. never forget that practice is about getting better, not an hour of beating yourself up. Above all make sure you have your priorities in line. Ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing. IF you have set goals and methods you will be astounded with what you can accomplish in one hour.