You need to practice to become good at something, regardless of what your natural gifts, hobbies or aspirations are. Even those who are naturally gifted need it to improve. To be truly successful, however, a few occasional hours are not enough; it is necessary to practice efficiently and regularly.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Practice the Effective Way
Step 1. Set yourself a goal
Think about what you think you will achieve by practicing - do you want to become a great trumpet player or do you just want to improve your serve for the next tennis match? Knowing the goals helps you to aim straight for the essential things you need. Determine precisely what you want to achieve.
- Sport: Do you want to build a new team, beat a personal best, make more free throws?
- Music: do you want to improve the capacity of the vocal cords, get a record deal, play all the notes of the "Flight of the hornet?"
- Intellectual activities: do you want to get the highest marks in the next report card, write your first novel, enroll in the medical school?
Step 2. Focus on weaknesses rather than already acquired skills
It's okay to practice the things you're good at, however the purpose of training is to improve the skills you don't have. Spend time on activities that you are not good at and have chosen or you will never be able to practice them better.
- Sport: Work on the non-dominant foot, learn a new move, technique or try a new position.
- Music: try scales and chords you don't know well, play at a different tempo or learn a song in a genre that is new to you.
- Intellectual activities: Take lessons in non-standard subjects, write topics on topics that require research, and try to put more effort into projects and assignments than essential.
Step 3. Practice on purpose
You can certainly try guitar scales while watching TV, but you risk getting bad habits and learning slowly if you don't pay close attention to what you do. It is advisable to practice deliberately, not carelessly, to make the most of the time available. After completing a task, ask yourself how it went: where did you go wrong, what worked well, how could you improve next time?
- Sport: Focus on technique when practicing, not on final score. Are you getting stronger, did you make more passes than normal, were you in the best position to help your team?
- Music: Concentrate on playing anything perfectly, without losing the rhythm or out of tune. Even if you have to slow down, make an effort to play the piece without errors and take note of what you do.
- Intellectual activities: always check your work and find out where and why you went wrong.
Step 4. Divide the more complex tasks into small steps
For example, if you are practicing repairing a bicycle, do not attempt to practice at once. Change your tires one day and make sure you've mastered it, then work on tuning the brakes. Now is the time for "drills": small, focused actions that you can repeat over and over again, such as playing musical scales, kicking free kicks, or changing flat tires.
- Sport: If you are working hard to learn a shot at hand in basketball, stop and practice each phase separately, then dribble at speed, climb towards the basket without stopping and shoot.
- Music: don't try to tackle difficult songs at once. Stop and practice on small intervals of 2 to 3 seconds. Learn the first one well and then move on to the next ones.
- Intellectual activities: do not approach a test with the pretense of being able to complete it at once. Practice the simpler problems first, then move on to the more complex concepts; for example, start with binomials before moving on to polynomials.
Step 5. Learn from your mistakes
Don't worry about getting it wrong - now is the time to do it. Analyzing, experimenting and noting bad things will improve your skills and lead to new discoveries. When you make a mistake, just write it down and think about how you can fix it next time. If you persist with the same mistake, slow down and try to diagnose the problem. Work until it is fixed and eliminated to avoid acquiring bad habits.
- Sport- Watching footage of the game and talking to the coach will help you analyze problems and find ways to resolve them quickly.
- Music: Whenever possible, record yourself playing. Play and listen to mistakes you may have missed before.
- Intellectual activities: Whenever you don't understand why you did a problem badly or got a bad grade, ask someone to explain it to you so you can avoid repeating the mistake in the future.
Step 6. Practice
To get the best performance when it matters (in a show, office, or stadium), you need to develop good habits while exercising. This means paying attention to the little things now so that you avoid having to focus on them when you have to perform. Think about your posture, environment, and equipment as you practice.
- Sport: When you train, wear the equipment you need (shoes, clothes, shin guards, etc.) to get used to when you play a real game.
- Music: Avoid things like slouching or lying down when practicing - don't do at home what you wouldn't do on stage.
- Intellectual activities: Listening to music or watching TV while studying, writing or researching distracts and prevents you from learning effectively.
Part 2 of 2: Developing a Routine
Step 1. Find time to exercise consistently
To get the best results from training you need to work on your specialty on a daily basis. Research has shown that exercising consistently is much more beneficial than doing 4-5 hours once or twice a week. Even 15-20 minutes of training for 7 days in a row can be more effective than 3 hours once a week.
- Sport: If you can't exercise one day, try to do some at home (running, biking, swimming, etc.) if possible.
- Music: try at least to practice with scales and with 2-3 songs suitable for training in speed of execution and technique.
- Intellectual activities: prepare summary sheets and reread them every day when you don't have time to study.
Step 2. Prepare an exercise routine
You have to make training an instinctive habit like brushing your teeth. Choose a time to practice and stick to it every day. After 2-3 weeks the mind will adjust to this routine and automatically prepare itself when it comes time to train. Think of exercise as a gym membership - if the hours are scheduled, it's easier to stay fit.
- Sport: Plan to train 3-5 days a week, using the extra days for practice. Exclude one day a week to devote to rest.
- Music: practice on your instrument daily with the aim of working at least 1 hour every day.
- Intellectual activities: It is much easier to learn something when studying every day than to do nightly puffs before a question or an exam. Get into the habit of practicing your writing or studying every day, even if it's only for a short time.
Step 3. Plan your training sessions in advance
For example, if you're learning to play an instrument, you could spend 20 minutes practicing scales, 20 minutes on chords, and 20 minutes learning a new song. Having a schedule to practice helps you stick to your schedule and realize improvements.
- Sport: Warm up for 15 minutes, work on skill drills (passing, shooting, etc.) for 20-30 minutes, play training matches or simulated game situations for 20-30 minutes, then cool down and stretch for 10-15 minutes.
- Music: Warm up for 10 minutes with scales, then practice songs, chords, or new techniques. Finish with some old songs that you need to know or enjoy while practicing.
- Intellectual activities: Start with the hardest topic, then move on to the simpler ones.
Step 4. Exercise alternating short "intense periods" with moments of rest
4-5 hours of continuous work can lead to boredom or exhaustion, and if you start to lose focus your training will not be effective. Sports psychologists recommend taking a 10-15 minute break every hour to relax and catch your breath, but the same principle applies to any type of exercise (music, intellectual activities, etc.).
- Sport: Exercise for an hour, then stop for 5-10 minutes to rehydrate, unwind, and relax before starting over. Limit workouts to no more than 5 hours per day.
- Music: For children, try the exercises for 20-30 minutes at a time, allowing them to relax to prevent them from getting too tired.
- Intellectual activities: study for at least an hour then take a break. Go for a short walk, stretch, or listen to music for a few minutes to restore your mind and body.
Step 5. Practice related activities during downtime
You don't have to train continuously just to "train". The more you know about your business, the better you will succeed when you actually try to practice it.
- Sport- Watch match or pro athlete recordings, stretch, and reflect or document strategy.
- Music: work on reading music, especially reading the new songs you need to learn. Listen to other musicians play your songs if possible.
- Intellectual activities: always have notepad and pen available, write down all the ideas that cross your mind and read the most varied topics to get inspiration.
