Here’s an interesting Ted-Ed video with some insights into what happens in your brain when you practice.

Effective Practice

[2:25] “Effective practice is consistent, intensely focused, and targets content or weaknesses that lie at the edge of one’s current abilities.”

Tips for effective practice

1. Focus on the task at hand
2. Minimise potential distractions by turning off the computer or TV and putting your phone into airplane mode
3. Start out slowly or in slow motion “Coordination is built with repetitions, whether correct or incorrect. If you gradually increase the speed of the quality repetitions, you have a better chance of doing them correctly.”
4. “Frequent repetitions with allotted breaks are common practice habits of elite performers.”
5. “Practice in your brain in vivid detail”. Once you’ve established a physical motion, you can reinforce the physical motion just by imagining it.