TRY TIMEBOXING
Is school, homework, chores, guitar lessons, maybe even a part time job, challenging you to find enough time (and energy) to practice soccer on your own?
We hear you! Understanding how difficult it can be, we suggest using a productivity hack called Timeboxing, and we’ve created a template for you to download to make it super easy.
Timeboxing combines a To-Do list and a Daily Planner into one entity that details what you want to accomplish each day and how much time you should dedicate to achieve those tasks. Why is this better then a typical To-Do list? Because it allocates a specific amount of time to complete each undertaking. This is what gives Timeboxing, it’s Jedi Power.
That’s great, but how does this help me with soccer training?
Because it allows you to timebox a specific amount of time to your soccer training every day. Every day? Yes. Every. Day. If you want to really get better at soccer, you need to dedicate time every single day to getting better, technically, tactically, psychologically, physically, and mentally. But what if I have soccer practice after school, do I really need to practice on my own that day too? Yes. However, on the days you have soccer practice, you don’t want to over train your body. But you can spend time training your soccer brain.
For example, instead of coming home after practice and wasting a half hour thumbing through social media posts while you decompress, watch a professional soccer game you recorded on TV previously and hydrate. If you’re a midfielder, focus on the midfielders (not the ball). Observe what they are doing when they have the ball and when they don’t. How are they positioning themselves in relation to the gameplay? Are they looking around gaining awareness? There is a ton of game intelligence that can be learned from just observing professional players.
Break up your daily soccer training into the different areas cited above each week. As mentioned, on days you have club or school practice, train your brain by reading Smarter Soccer, watching professional soccer on TV or reading tactical soccer books. Another day, target improving your fitness. The ultimate goal here is for you to never get tired in a game. Dedicate at least two days to practicing your technical skills, so you’re completely comfortable on the ball. And so on. The last suggestion is to dedicate a good amount of time to developing your weaker foot, meaning if you’re a righty, then practice passing and shooting with your left foot. It may feel weird and awkward at first, but “two-footed” players are lethal on the field.
In the To-Do’s & Brainstorms area, you can add things that come up that you want to add to your day, but it also can include things such as “Use today’s Study Hall to finish the Math homework.” Or even things you want to use in the future to be more productive such as: “finished my lunch early, so I could spend ten minutes juggling.” Use this area to also jot down insights or moments of clarity that you want to preserve. It could be a new 1v1 move you want to try, or a good idea for how you want to tackle your chemistry lab, or even a short story you want to write.
In the To-Don’ts section, list things that make you unproductive. “Don’t look at my social media feeds until I’ve completed everything.” — “Don’t waste the bus ride home talking about video games instead of studying.” Finally, in the End Of Day Reflections area, cite your personal observations from that day: “I was really ON IT today! Yes!!” Or “I need to be better disciplined and not waste time on things that won’t make me a better student, athlete or person.”
Give Timeboxing at least two weeks before evaluating your productivity to determine if it’s right for you. Were you more disciplined, effective and successful? If so, keep it up! If not, maybe you weren’t strict enough with your time. Be honest with yourself. Do you need to demonstrate more resolve and self-control to stay on task? If so, you’ll need to double and maybe even triple your efforts. The payoff will be that you’ll actually create more time for yourself everyday to improve your soccer skills, making exponential gains that your competitors won’t be able to match.
➤ Timeboxing
Timeboxing combines a To-Do list and a Daily Planner into one entity that details what you want to accomplish each day and how much time you should dedicate to achieve those tasks.
T.05
Timeboxing
Practice. Soccer. Every. Day.
Timeboxing combines a To-Do list and a Daily Planner into one entity that details what you want to accomplish each day and how much time you should dedicate to achieve those tasks.
★ Smarter.Soccer Insight: Why is this better then a typical To-Do list? Because it allocates a specific amount of time to complete each undertaking.
Timeboxing
Timeboxing
