I've had my guitar about a month. I practice every day about 30 min to an hour because that's all I have time for during the summer. In winter I'll have much more time because we're snowed in most of the season. I finally got calluses and my practice has improved soooo much!! What a difference it makes when you can play without pain!
Just wanted to share something that my instructor told me that might help other beginner players, like me.
He said when you practice slow everything down into slow motion. Like, if your instincts tell you to strum and reach at whatever speed, slow it down more than you think you should. Because you are programming your brain to remember these little details like not hitting other strings when your reaching for a chord etc. Then, when your brain is completely programmed and you have really learned the basic chords speed will come naturally to you and you will automatically play faster *without making common mistakes*. He also said *not* to practice more than an hour a day because you can overwork your brain (I know this must be sounding hysterical by now... but), but if you have this huge need to practice more than that take a lot of breaks in between to refocus when you get back to it.
It's really helped me a lot to know little things like that, so I pass it onto you. :)
