For some lifestyles, getting to practice requires mental fortitude. A variety of factors can make it hard to drag yourself to practice: exhaustion after a long day of work, weird work hours that mismatch open sessions, a barrage of school assignments.
This post discusses some tips to stay motivated to practice despite the other things cluttering our daily schedules. Sometimes, this requires tradeoffs from "the perfect session" but help avoid the excuses of not fitting in practice.
Have shorter practices
Keep an open mind to shorter solo practices. In my experience, most sessions last about two to three hours, but they don't have to be that long. Even a 30 minute practice can be productive; it's enough time to come up with a new transition or grind an existing combo.
With the lack of cyphers in a solo practice, recording yourself is a good way to engage yourself as both an observer and a participant during practice.
Find a place nearby
Having a practice spot very close by makes it convenient to roll into practice. Distance or weather often makes people reluctant to practice, but it's easier if, for example, the practice spot was just downstairs.
For example, when I lived in Massachusetts, winter snow storms would make it harder to motivate myself to bike further to practice. I ended up fitting a lot of solo practices in the basement of my dorm. The basement had no ventilation, but it was still a space to train.
Such a practice spot might require some tradeoffs, but there's always somewhere to practice. For example:
Your room (tradeoff: small space, maybe no shoes, angry housemates)
Your neighborhood park (tradeoff: concrete, police, no power outlet)
Work or school hallway (tradeoff: angry pedestrians and security)
Gym (tradeoff: lack of music control, weird floor
Host a practice spot
Hosting a practice spot is a good way to force yourself to show up to practice. It's harder to bail when people are depending on you to get in their practice, regardless of how you feel.
Where I live, for example, it's hard to find free and open practice spots. I hosted a practice spot where I had to be present to let people in the studio. The end result: with ten people depending on me, I always ended up going to practice, even when I initially felt too tired from work.
Find someone who's always down
Having a friend that always down to practice helps a lot. A lot of people, including myself, have a harder time electing to practice solo.
Find someone who's always down
Having at least one friend who is willing to practice whenever -- outside of whatever normal practice spots there are -- can help you avoid solo practice. You can also help each other stay accountable for showing up to practice.
Conclusion
In breaking, there's always something to practice. These tips are some food for thought on how to squeeze in more practices, even when you're not feeling it.
Comments