ART – 3 Tips For Practicing Even the Most Monotonous Stuff, and Like It

“A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away… to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing.”

If you’re like me, there’s always something you want to get good at or become better at. In my case it’s drawing and painting. In your case it may be playing an instrument, dancing, a martial art, etc.

Often, the thing we want to improve requires practice. Lots of practice.

The problem is, practice can be boring, tedious, monotonous and not fun. You simply don’t want to do it. But if you don’t, you don’t get any better. Is there a way to be able to practice and have it be fun and enjoyable?

Turns out, there is.

I just recently read a book called The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life by Thomas M. Sterner.  It breaks down the thought process behind practicing in such a way, that it makes you able to enjoy even the most monotonous of tasks.

Below are my four helpful takeaways from the book, which will help you get the most out of practicing.

Whenever you see a quote below, I’m quoting directly from the book.

Focus and Discipline

“The problem with patience and discipline is that it requires both of them to develop each of them.” ― Thomas M. Sterner

The book practically starts with this quote.  Focus and discipline are key to good practice.  Ironically, you’ll  have to practice both to get better at practicing other things.

As with anything worth getting good at, it’s all in the mindset you develop.

Here are the four tips for developing focus and discipline:

1. Stay in the present Moment

The key to focus is staying in the present moment.  The here and now.  Don’t allow your thoughts to wander to the future of the past.

Don’t go down the rabbit hole of day dreaming about anything. Stay present. Keep your mind and body focused on the task at hand.

“Frustration and boredom comes from not being in the moment.”

Frustration comes because you’re thinking about other things, like the future ideal outcome of where you want your skills to be at.  Comparing that outcome with what you’re doing now causes frustration and boredom.

You can never reach your ideal because the moment you think you’ve done so, you’ll realized that you’re ideal has moved further away.

Boredom sets in, because your mind is going through all the things you’d rather be doing, than the task on hand.

It’s best to focus on what you’re doing now than any moment in the future or any task you’d rather be doing.

“If you fall out of the moment, be aware of it and recognize it. Remind yourself that it’s happened, and feel good that you can recognize it.”

Once you do this, go back to the task on hand. Practice this during your everyday living.  When you do so, it will be easier to be focused, when you practice.

2. Keep yourself process oriented, Make the process the goal

“The goal is to learn not to master.”

Don’t focus on the idealized goal when you practice and study. Focus on the practice itself. THAT is your reward. Use the overall goal as a guide to steer your efforts. The rest of the time, simply keep it out of mind.

By doing so, you will get better whether you want to or not.

“However, when you focus on the goal instead, you are pushing it away since you’re not concentrating on the matter at hand, which is, practice.”

Also, checking your progress is not your friend either:

“Never focus on or at your progress. Progress is the natural result of staying focused on the process of doing anything. When you stay focused on the present moment, the goal comes toward you.”

3. Be deliberate.

During every practice session:

“Have an intention about what you want to accomplish and remain aware of that intention.”

Here’ how:

1. Small – Breakdown your goal into small sections or segments. Bite size pieces.
2. Short- Give yourself a short time frame to practice. 15 to 45 minutes.
3. Slow – Work at a pace that allows you to pay attention to what you’re doing. Tai Chi style.

Once you sit down to practice, here’s the recommended actions to take in a practice session:

• Do – Take action on what you want to get good at.
• Observe – Observe your results. Be completely objective. No judgment or emotions. Simply analyze your results. Are you heading toward your goal for this session? Did it turn out the way you wanted? Yes/No. What did you do wrong, how can you fix it? Take note. Even go so far as to write it down.
• Correct – Based on your analysis, if needed, do it again. This time, being more aware to work on what needed correcting the last time.
• Repeat – Continue this process, until you can do it correctly every time.

Conclusion

Learning to be focused and disciplined takes just as much practice as what you want to get good at.

The book talks a lot about staying in the present moment because it makes time stop and practice more helpful.  The writer never uses the words “Flow” or “Flow state” but that’s exactly what he’s talking about. By staying in the present moment, and focusing on the task on hand, you’re essentially hitting flow every time you practice.

That is the ideal situation to be in.

I like the advice in the book.  If you want to get more in depth with the subject, I recommend reading it.

I myself, will practice the advice, but I’m also going to seek out more info on methods of focus.  Seems like that’s so key to the practicing process.

The more I know about the subject, the better.

How do you practice? Do you have a method? I’d like to hear it.

Comment below.