Effective Practice Is Just As Important As Excess Practice

Practice is a very important factor if you want to master any skill. Everybody wants the hours of their practice to be as effective as possible for improving steadily. Here are four major keys to make sure that your practice is effective.

 

Minimizing distractions: Some of the main distractions are your phone and computer or laptop. You don't have to leave them within arm’s reach during your sessions of practice. Place them where you can’t see or hear any notifications. This will enable you not to be tempted to stop practicing and reply to a message quickly. This will end up going down a distraction rabbit hole.

 

Focusing on the quality: You have to start slow if you are new to what you’re practicing so that you can make sure you’re doing work with quality. It’s like landing one dance move well before moving onto the next and the rest of the routine. Once you start feeling comfortable, you can increase your speed but don’t lose sight of the quality of your practice.

 

Dividing your practice into sessions: You must give yourself breaks in between practice sessions. Even professional athletes and performers take breaks between their sessions to recharge so that they can maintain the right quality level during practice.

 

Using your imagination: You need to practice whether it's your dance moves, speech, or piece of music in your imagination when you’re not physically practicing. This can actually help you a lot in improving since various skills have a heavy mental component.

 

There are moments during practice even if you really love something which is frustrating. Keep the above tips in mind and stay focused and on the path to improvement.

 

Researchers believe that practice helps in building up the protective layer of myelin, the fatty substance which protects axons in the brain. Axons move electrical signals from the brain to our muscles. When these signals are better protected by thick myelin then they move more efficiently. This creates an "information superhighway" between the brain and muscles.

 

To get the maximum out of practicing it must be consistent, intensely focused, and target the edge of people’s ability. That's why professionals target the zone of proximal development in every learner.

 

 

By: Preeti Narula

Content: https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/48280/why-effective-practice-is-just-as-important-as-the-hours-of-practice