I suppose some have different ideas about what pratice is. For me, there is a difference between 'practice' and 'study' and I consider practice to be soley [u]fingers on strings[/u] doing warm-ups, exercises, tutorials and song lessons. The time does not include set-up, tuning, noodling or breaks. Practice time is playing time.

I'm a firm believer in planned practice sessions and I know in advance what I'm going to pratctice and for how long. If I'm off from the planned time it's because I went long, not because I cut it short. I use a kichen timer.

I also think firm, consistent scheduling is important. I don't buy 'fifteen minutes to an hour' 'most days'. My lifestyle allows me to practice at the same time(s) virtually every day I practice. YMMV.

How much time is a personal choice. Many have the opinion that if you really want to play you'll find the time. I'm one of them. For many beginners, 30 minutes at one time is too much, others wish they could do more than two hours a day. There is so much to practice, so many songs to learn... I've never understood how players can progress with just an half-hour a day. But then, I'm a slow learner.

Whatever approch is settled upon, consistency is paramount, IMO.

Understand that learning guitar is an endless road. How far one goes is an individual choice. The key is to have fun.

Good luck,

john