Struggle to practice on my own / "boring"

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MTBingNinja

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I can play pool for 6-8 hours with someone nonstop and have a blast, I'll try to push myself to "practice/challenge" myself during a game with someone to increase my skill set.....but I cannot practice alone. I know that keeps me from being good to very good. I don't enjoy playing alone at alone. I will practice alone for an hour from time to time but it's tough. I know I need to practice more if I continue to want to improve my game but it's "boring". Anyone else struggle with this
 
Same here,I can practice for about 30 minutes than it's boring as hell.
Drills are boring also.
Playing someone is fun and I can last about 4 hours before I tire,I'm 75+ and don't have the gas I used to have.
 
MTBingNinja said:
I can play pool for 6-8 hours with someone nonstop and have a blast, I'll try to push myself to "practice/challenge" myself during a game with someone to increase my skill set.....but I cannot practice alone. I know that keeps me from being good to very good. I don't enjoy playing alone at alone. I will practice alone for an hour from time to time but it's tough. I know I need to practice more if I continue to want to improve my game but it's "boring". Anyone else struggle with this
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give yourself 20 minutes to work on something
take a break
rinse and repeat
 
I enjoyed drills and they changed my game. I stopped and need to start again. Same as to 75. Age.. wear and tear prevents a good practice session. I’m coming to terms that the best years are gone. To those that don’t practice due to laziness … don’t complain about your game.
 
The toughest part about wanting to improve in anything is learning how to fall in love with the practice that is needed. I don't have any pearls of wisdom on how to help you do that. That's something you have to discover on your own.

For myself, I keep the amount of time I am working on a drill limited to 20 minutes (as bbb suggested). I also do my best not to do the same drill in consecutive practice sessions. Finally, I try to do as many progressive drills as possible that force me to try to exceed my personal best every time I do the drill.

I hope this helps. Good luck!
 
Sometimes a shot would come up …. I’d say to myself I did this in practice.. I can do it now.
Also I have been told don’t do in real time what you have not done in practice. Or do in practice what you will do in the game. Wanna get better?? You know the answer. Put the time in. Make practice a separate session.
 
ACL said:
keep the amount of time I am working on a drill limited to 20 minutes
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20 minutes serious practice as though your life depends on it, then walk away for toilet break or sip of coffee. Then come back.

I have a full sized snooker table, I scatter the reds and pot red-color until at least the reds have gone. Then check emails, coffee, let dog outside for a woof at the wildlife, check news and some forums like this one for a laugh. Then start over again. Sometimes I down 10+ reds with colours on first visit and on other starts I might pot 1 out of 15 shots before some discipline kicks in. But never bored. Not in 60 years.
 
I don't do it much anymore as I max out around 10hrs a week and just between golf seasons, but at least when I was playing regularly, I'd compete about 15hrs+ a week and practice alone at least that much. Even then, when I was playing weaker players I would turn some 'matches' into practice sessions and play for some tricky shots I was working on. As mentioned above, if you aren't willing to put in the time and practice hard, you have no business getting upset over misses or complaining about your game.

You simply have to get over this practice boredom if you are going to improve. But, you're not alone and some top pros in the past almost never practiced alone. McCreedy comes to mind first...well, after Allen Iverson. Not everyone can be the pool equivalent of a gym rat like Kobe or MJ, but if u just want to play and not practice alone, you'd better take up the attitude I have towards my golf game which I don't practice...shrug off the bad swings and misses and enjoy the game bc you haven't worked hard enough to be upset that you're not getting the results you hope for.
 
Try to fix one thing every time you practice. Just one thing. It will help you stay focused and you'll actually have done something good for your game. If you fixed just one thing every time you practice --- like for example, one shot you missed a lot --- imagine how many things you can fix in a month or two or three.

Some things may take more than one day, but keep at it until you're satisfied. Then you can move on to the next 'one thing.'
 
bbb said:
give yourself 20 minutes to work on something
take a break
rinse and repeat
Click to expand...

This is the key to learning/developing any skill. Doing three 20-minute sessions throughout the day (practicing alone on specific things that need work) can be much more effective than practicing once a day for 2 or 3 hours straight, especially if boredom creeps in.
 
FranCrimi said:
Try to fix one thing every time you practice. Just one thing. It will help you stay focused and you'll actually have done something good for your game. If you fixed just one thing every time you practice --- like for example, one shot you missed a lot --- imagine how many things you can fix in a month or two or three.

Some things may take more than one day, but keep at it until you're satisfied. Then you can move on to the next 'one thing.'
Click to expand...

Excellent point, Fran, as usual!

Skill development and improvement is compounding, the accumulation of all the little things we learn from day to day, week to week, and so on.

In a way, developing a solid game is sort of like cooking up a homemade dish from scratch. Each ingredient gets added to the mix, and the quality of the finished dish depends on how well each ingredient is prepared or handled.

The final result is the accumulation of just the right amounts of everything the dish requires, along with the correct preparation and cooking time needed to bring everything to a consistent result.
 
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Bob Jewett said:
This was a major point in Bob Fancher's book, The Pleasures of Small Motions.
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Maybe he got it from me or maybe just a coincidence. I trained him to teach pool and I brought him into the instructor program. Of course he had other skills, such as his psychology credentials.
 
MTBingNinja said:
I can play pool for 6-8 hours with someone nonstop and have a blast, I'll try to push myself to "practice/challenge" myself during a game with someone to increase my skill set.....but I cannot practice alone. I know that keeps me from being good to very good. I don't enjoy playing alone at alone. I will practice alone for an hour from time to time but it's tough. I know I need to practice more if I continue to want to improve my game but it's "boring". Anyone else struggle with this
Click to expand...
I guess it depends on who that "someone" is. If you are playing a better player who never lets you get a decent shot I would find 6-8 hours of that boring. While you can actively watch and learn there is no substitute for time on the table yourself.
 
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poolnut7879 said:
I guess it depends on who that "someone" is. If you are playing a better player who never lets you get a decent shot I would find 6-8 hours of that boring. While you can actively watch and learn there is no substitute for time on the table yourself.
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A good spot/handicap can make it less boring. Plus, if the better player is a friend, they can explain/coach certain things along the way, like shot selection and strategy. That 6 hours could easily be a great learning experience and competitive challenge (with a spot).

I give a buddy of mine a second chance whenever he misses a ball. It makes the sets more competitive. The 2nd chance doesn't apply to safety shots. Anyway, instead of winning 10-1 or 10-2, our sets are much closer, like 10-8.
 
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Agreed. All learning comes from the sweet spot. Too easy equals boring. Too hard equals frustration and loss of interest. The sweet spot is just within reach.
 
BC21 said:
This is the key to learning/developing any skill. Doing three 20-minute sessions throughout the day (practicing alone on specific things that need work) can be much more effective than practicing once a day for 2 or 3 hours straight, especially if boredom creeps in.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. I'm lucky enough to have my own table about 20' from my living room, so it's not out of the ordinary for me to just grab the stick and shoot a couple of games or drills like 5 or 6 times a day. I am not focused enough to, for example, practice for 3 hours at a time.
 
What if you played a competitive match for 3 hours? Do you have trouble focusing or does the competitive juice get you thru the match? I understand that focus will ebb and flow at times. Just curious as how it relates to your game.
 
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