I am by nature ill disciplined and more drawn to novelty than to repetition. So until I began taking lessons with a superb teacher my practice consisted of noodling or learning a song for a gig.
Now, because I know that every two weeks I will need to show the fruits of my labours, and because the work is structured in such a way that it needs to be done daily, I work far more strictly.
Most importantly I keep a diary so at a glance I can see what I've been doing and make sure nothing gets missed.