Practice.

When I was a kid, it was a bit of a family joke that I would try lots of different things but never stick with any of them - Piano, drums, hula hooping, languages, knitting...the list goes on. 

Looking back, what I found difficult was practice. Half an hour before my piano lessons I’d be frantically trying to cram in learning whatever I’d had as homework for the last week and, funnily enough, not having much success or progression. It wasn’t finding the time, you can always find time for something you want to do, it was the frustration and impatience of not being able to do it already (even though I hadn’t put the hard work in).

My learning journal had this quote in from Malcolm Gladwell:

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good”. 

Although in all honesty there are still times when I take the same approach as I did to those piano lessons (which is an interesting reflection in itself about importance, confidence and passion) at other times I’ve taken a more focused approach to practice and learning both at work and in what I enjoy and learn outside of work. 

I’ve found this such an interesting quote to come back to, especially when I’ve felt frustrated or disappointed about not being ‘there’ yet. 

So my top tips for practice which I hope can be useful when thinking about approaches to practice and learning.

Little and often - this works for me better than an intensive period of practice. It helps me to build on what I’m doing and have time in between to reflect and plan for next time. 

Shake it off - when I’ve had a disappointing training session or have felt like I wanted to give up, not dwelling on it and finding a new sense of energy, positivity and focus and booking in the next session straight away helped me to keep going. 

Shake it up - in my training, when I’ve felt a bit “stuck” I’ve moved on to trying out a different class or instructor just to try a different approach to complement what I’m doing by trying something new.

Celebrate small wins - when I have got “that move” I’ve been trying for 3 months or needed less direction it can be easy to move on to doing the next thing rather than stopping and celebrating that your continued practice and dedication has worked!

Go back to basics - take yourself back to the foundations of your training, and think about how those can help you improve for the future and how far you’ve come. 

Find a community - whether it be in your team, people learning the same thing as you, or people who have been in the same position as you, I find it helpful to have people to learn with and be inspired by.

What’s your Why- remembering why you are wanting to put in the time to practice or learn something in the first place and visualising the end result and your successes so far, if you don't know - find it, or something you feel passionate about!