On how many aspects should you work on simultaneously when singing

Hey!

I have a question regarding praticing Techniques on Songs.

Example: I know i struggle with breathing, so i want to put the focus on breathing with the right technique during my Songwork session. Because i just learned the technique a few days ago i really have to pay attention to my breathing, in order to do it the right way.
At the same time i know that i have problems with Tension, but i also have some techniques to fix this problem. The problem is that i also learned the techniques just a few days ago and also need a great amount of focus to apply the techniques to my singing.

Now i have 6 things that i need to pay attention to at the same time, cause i have not developed the proper muscle memory to thoose habits yet.

If i focus on breathing, i struggle to focus on keeping my Tongue rested or thinking "down" when singing high notes and so on.

How should i apporach this? Should i focus on that one thing till im good at it and till i´m able to do it subconsiously? Hope you can help me with that!

Thank you!

Great question! In my experience, you can only focus on one or two things at a time - and even then, your awareness might go back and forth between those 2 things. 

A few ways to approach this: (1) use exercise syllables that help you with the issue at hand, so you don't have to think so much about it; (2) pair your warmup to a physical movement that helps you achieve a specific goal, so your body is helping you without having to think much about it; (3) practice in front of a mirror so you can look at your ribcage, or jaw, or whatever the targeted area is; (4) choose 1 focus per warmup exercise (for example, focus on tension during your first warmup, breath during your second, etc). 

I promise, things will become second nature over time! And I also think it's okay that you're continuing to "return to" your breath as you're working on other things. I think about it like working out: when you do pushups, you might have to think consciously about keeping your hips level, but it's probably not at the front of your mind with every single pushup. You'll remind yourself before your first pushup, then remind yourself again when you feel your technique starting to suffer as you get tired. 

Hope that helps!