Recently, I was reading a magazine article that discussed ways to do more in less time and do it better. The article said that the keys to this success were to:
It reminded me of my mother telling me to eat my broccoli before my mashed potatoes. "You'll get the 'icky' thing out of the way, and we'll both be happy: I'll know you got the good nutrition from the vegetables, and you'll end the meal eating something you like."
It occurred to me that these keys to success could apply to practicing pickleball (or almost anything else). We all have one or two (or three) things we find more difficult than others when it comes to playing pickleball. Maybe our backhand doesn't work as well as it should, or slow reaction times keep us from advancing to the next level. Most likely, you know what part of your game need work, but you don't really want to practice that because it's hard, you don't do it well, and it's easier to practice other things.
Instead of avoiding the hard thing altogether or practicing it only occasionally (which won't make it get better), try doing that thing first, and only then go on to other kinds of practice. Get to the court early and have your partner to work with you for five or ten minutes on that thing before you start other practice or a game. Do this often enough, and you will get better. Pretty soon something else will replace that thing as the item that needs work.
- List a manageable number of tasks that can truly be accomplished in the time you have;
- Focus on only one task at a time, avoiding multitasking or distractions, if possible; and
- Do the hardest (or least desirable) thing first.
It reminded me of my mother telling me to eat my broccoli before my mashed potatoes. "You'll get the 'icky' thing out of the way, and we'll both be happy: I'll know you got the good nutrition from the vegetables, and you'll end the meal eating something you like."
It occurred to me that these keys to success could apply to practicing pickleball (or almost anything else). We all have one or two (or three) things we find more difficult than others when it comes to playing pickleball. Maybe our backhand doesn't work as well as it should, or slow reaction times keep us from advancing to the next level. Most likely, you know what part of your game need work, but you don't really want to practice that because it's hard, you don't do it well, and it's easier to practice other things.
Instead of avoiding the hard thing altogether or practicing it only occasionally (which won't make it get better), try doing that thing first, and only then go on to other kinds of practice. Get to the court early and have your partner to work with you for five or ten minutes on that thing before you start other practice or a game. Do this often enough, and you will get better. Pretty soon something else will replace that thing as the item that needs work.
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