Effective Practicing and Learning

If you want to do something well, you must put in the time and effort. However, it can't just be 'putting in time'. This time and effort must also be effective time. There must be effective practice as opposed to ineffective practice which reinforces poor techniques. 

If you are simply going through the motions like treading water to keep your head above the water, you are probably only participating (halfheartedly participating) in ineffective practice. Ineffective practice is a complete waste of time and energy and, oftentimes, only results in picking up poor techniques and bad habits.

I don't know about you, but I do not like wasting my time and effort. Considering my lack of energy because of my poor health, this is even more important to me today than ever before. When you mindlessly go through the motions, lacking true effort, you are wasting your time and energy. This is not for me!

Lately, I've been focusing on photography techniques (no pun intended, honestly!). When I practice photography techniques, I truly want to learn... I want to improve... I want to avoid poor practice. I don't end my practice session until I learn something. That occurred when I shot this photo of my watch, above. As I was digitally developing this photo of my watch, I was amazed and actually said, "wow!".  The hows and whys are irrelevant today. This blog entry is about effective practicing and learning and the effort required to make this effective.

What is funny, though, is that effective practice often results in learning something which I did not expect. For instance, I could have set out to learn about focusing but I may have instead learned something new about light by the end of the session. Or, I could have been trying to learn about all the features and settings on a particular camera yet, instead, learned something about shadow and texture. As long as I truly put in 100% effort, learned something, remember it, and move forward, it was effective practice and learning.

This applies to everything I have ever done in life. 

I was a pianist many chapters ago in my book of life... a classically trained pianist and won some impressive awards... but it was something I needed to practice every single day. Not only that, but, it needed to be effective practice. Anything less would have been a complete waste of time and energy. 

In the beginning, in the four to seven year old age, I needed a half hour of effective practice every day.  When I was doing competitions regularly, that half hour every day suddenly increased to a minimum of two hours a day. If I were to choose piano as a career, I would have needed to increase this to eight hours a day of effective practice. 

I was an athlete also...  I ran every night... I did yoga and meditation-like relaxation techniques every night... whatever sport I was playing that season got a couple of hours of my time each day... I rode my bicycle all over Long Island... I sailed as often as I could (pedaling my bicycle about ten miles got me to my sailboat)... I played basketball and I played hockey.  

When I first started playing on organized teams, I was quite a poor player so, what did I do? I can tell you very honestly and sincerely that quitting and moving on to some other interest was not an option I considered nor should anyone else. I learned to practice effectively and I spent the time and effort participating in effective practice... and learning... and developing... and improving.  

By the time I was a Junior and Senior in high school, I was hard to beat on a basketball court or hockey rink. I was 5'11" tall but could slam dunk that basketball like some of those taller guys.  I regularly scored 24 to 36 points a game (and that was before there was such a thing as a 3 point shot). 

By my senior year in hockey, I was awarded the Best Offensive Player of the Year always scoring multiple goals and multiple assists in every game.  How did this happen? Effective practice... putting in effort at 100% every day and spending a least a couple of hours every day practicing and learning.

Learning, developing and effective practice occurred during the off-seasons as well. Summer leagues and pick-up games were a part of every summer. For that matter, summer school was mandatory in my family, regardless of grades. If our grades were good, we were in summer school for elective coursework, usually science or the arts. This is the way we lived life... this was 'normal'. Put in your best effort at 100% and feel good about yourself. Always learning. That is life. Learn and be the best you can be.

I vividly remember my team losing a basketball game by one or two points one night. I was at the free throw line in the last minute of the game... my free throw percentage was probably in the 85-90% range at the time... I missed both free throws. I choked. The coach knew I was beating myself up over the loss. As I was jogging back home...  oh yeah...  I ran five to ten miles a day to improve my endurance...  I jogged to and from home basketball games (I drove to and from hockey games because I had to carry all that bulky hockey gear)...

Anyway, I was jogging home in the hope of letting out some frustration after this basketball loss. My coach pulled his car up into the next side road ahead of me to intercept me...  got out of his car... opened the passenger door and told me to get into the car. On the drive home, I got a lecture about how we lost by only two points because of all I accomplished in the game. My father, like this basketball coach, was also good at pointing out all the good I did in games and in everything I did. We also always discussed the places that needed improvement, but we first covered the good. This is something I learned from my father and quite a few very good coaches in my early life.

I quickly learned that if I screw up and feel like I didn't do my best, I am the only one who can fix that. It is not anyone else's responsibility but my own. How? Effective practice, learning and nothing less than my true best effort. Don't give up but push harder.

The coach dropped me off at home that night... I went straight for the basketball sitting in the dark driveway... I turned on the spotlight lighting the basketball court, nothing but darkness all around the small court... I focused on free throws, concentrated on my technique and staying loose... I shot sets of 10....  I wouldn't stop until I could shoot my usual percentage for three sets in a row which would mean I need to sink nine baskets out of 10 shots, three times in a row. If I shot less than nine out of ten, I would start over.  

I shot a few hundred free throws that night before I would let myself move on to something else. Shortly afterward, my neighbor, Mr B, yelled some colorful, frustrated words out his bedroom window overlooking the court for me to call it a night.

If it wasn't for Mr B convincing me to call it a night, I would have stayed out there all night long... practicing... learning... improving for next time. If you are going to do something, do the absolute best you can do. Whatever you do, though, you must put in a 100% effort and your practice must be effective practice. Self discipline. Determination. Pushing forward.

This is a good philosophy for life, in general, but something which I am currently applying to my photography practice sessions and also my health.

Nothing comes easily. Those who do well are those who effectively practice and learn. 


I really like that watch, by the way, and that is a beautiful photograph!