Practicing can get really really BORING!

BlueSpade1000 · Apr 27, 2011

Hey guys!

I am always practicing trying to master new slights and cardistry moves. I have only been doing magic and cardistry for about two years so I have a lot of material to practice. I usually write my sleights and moves on a list and put it on my bedside while I practice. By the time I get to the ninth or tenth effect on my list of things to practice I get really bored. I start tuning out and daydreaming. Then I would get up and go to the computer to watch some cardistry and magic videos. I would become inspired for a brief moment ,and I would start practicing intensely ,but after about ten minutes I feel the same way I did before. I actually spend more time watching performances and cardistry videos online rather than actually practicing.

How do I reverse this? Is there a way I can make practicing more fun? Should I practice in public? Should I practice standing up walking around? Or is it all about self discipline. Is practice supposed to be fun?

projoke1 · Apr 27, 2011

Well you can always listen to music. Its funny because the same thing happens to me, i have a list, but I listen to music while practicing, when I get bored I go watch a Dan and dave video and start all over again. But thats just what I do.

MalibuARMY · Apr 27, 2011

Practicing has never been boring for me at all. Maybe, and don't take this the wrong way, you need more interesting material. Maybe it is just me but I never get bored.

Aaron.Williams · Apr 27, 2011

Try to MAKE practicing fun/interesting. Think about the different directions you could take a trick. You could come up with a new reveal, or maybe some different patter, or a completely new approach to a trick.

This makes practicing a lot more fun and it helps with creativity when you want to create new tricks.

greenstickman · Apr 27, 2011

MalibuARMY said:
Practicing has never been boring for me at all. Maybe, and don't take this the wrong way, you need more interesting material. Maybe it is just me but I never get bored.

Same here... but yea I practice everywhere even in public.

Randy · Apr 27, 2011

Simple solution: Take a break from it for awhile. Go have a social life where you don't bring a deck of cards with you all the time or any magic related props at all. Just go be a regular person for a few weeks, put all your magic stuff in the closet for awhile. This should give you a clearer mind to think with and will probably give yourself a much better purpose, also it should refuel your enjoyment for magic as well too.

toolnard · Apr 27, 2011

As Vernon said, "If you don't like practice, for God's sake try a different hobby." It's certainly hard to not get bored, but you gotta push through. Don't practice everything all at once. Focus on maybe 3 sleights for the day and work only on those. When you make a noticeable improvement, stop practicing. Call it a day on that sleight and move on.

kmagic25 · Apr 27, 2011

I dont set aside an exact time to practice in my day. Throughout my day in school i am constantly practicing my sleights in between classes and just keeping my dexterity up. When i am home i practice the things that i find interesting and therefore its not boring. Once i am bored however i stop and take a break. I find that my most productive practice comes from the time i spend not realizing i am practicing, if that makes sense.

Luis Vega · Apr 27, 2011

I practice while watching TV...but only moves...performing is the best practice of all!!

eostresh · Apr 27, 2011

I love practice...but after reading your post I can understand why you are getting bored. You are two structured in practice. Let me be clear, you probably need that structure for a "rehearsal" but that is a different ball of wax. Just grab your cards, coins, or what ever and start practicing more, "free form." I think if you let yourself daydream while practicing moves you may start to discover new applications for old moves or new moves all together. That will likely spur your excitement and keep you interested. Don't be afraid to branch out either. I didn't learn my first cardistry move until I was in my mid thirties. I still suck at cardistry two years later but I still enjoy practicing! If you are into cardistry, take a break and play around with some gambling moves. If you are getting bored with cards play with coins. Practice should be FUN!

RikAllen · Apr 28, 2011

What you seem to be attempting to do is actually the topic of a recent post over at the Magic Session, Deliberate Practice.
Here

The other article linked to in that one has an interesting quote:

“Most people wouldn’t be able to engage in deliberate practice for even a few weeks,” Professor Ericsson said. And that’s one of the biggest reasons why more of us don’t get to — or even near — the top levels in a given field.

Having a structured practice time where you're specifically going over every detail with the intention of eliminating all weaknesses is, well...boring. It's exhausting, mind numbing, and hard to do. 4 hours a day on anything you don't thoroughly enjoy is impossibly frustrating. If going through 10 effects is boring you, try doing the same effect 20 times in a row, just so you can tweak a few words in one line of the script.

If you can't do it, there are ways to make it more interesting and fun, and then there is the alternative mentioned (twice?) above, go out and perform! It'll teach you more than you'll learn just going through the motions.

CardMagician12 · Apr 28, 2011

Ive never gotten really bored while practicing but if i start to lose interest i make my on patter to the trick im practicing!

Mr.MadMan · Apr 28, 2011

Umm...how much do you perform?
Just to give a little side by side motion, when i was 2 years into magic i did a 1 hour show with a friend. The fact is you cannot practice if you don´t perform. The whole point of practicing is to get to the point where you are good enough to actually go out and test the stuff. Thats actually where the main practicing takes place. You can practice sleights to some degree but using them irl with vocal and visual cues is another story.

It´s sunny, get out enjoy life and perform.

M:

Haunter · Apr 30, 2011

Just practice as much as you feel like practicing. When you get bored, stop. When you think about it, practice some more. Honestly, it's your hobby, practice it on your terms. Just keep in mind you will only get what you put in. If you really value beautiful sleight of hand then you have to realize that it comes as a result of diligent practice. To value mastery is to value practice.

If motivation is an issue and you aren't going out and performing then go bust it out already. Have someone catch you out on a sleight, that could be all the motivation you ever need. Take some time to figure out why you are practicing in the first place in order to give value to your practice. Having goals in mind helps.

TheatreHead · Apr 30, 2011

How large is your repetoire for magic? Surely after 2 years you'd have learnt enough sleights for all your routines?

Unless you're a move monkey, albeit a move monkey that hates practicing?

saborfang17 · Apr 30, 2011

TheatreHead said:
How large is your repetoire for magic? Surely after 2 years you'd have learnt enough sleights for all your routines?

Unless you're a move monkey, albeit a move monkey that hates practicing?

LOL.

When I first got started, I just sat around chatting with people and listening to music/watching movies while practicing moves. After I got the basic idea of the ones I needed, I'd spend a little time just focusing on it until it showed a little improvement, then stopped and did the same with other moves. I just cycled them around between entertainment.

As eostresh pointed out, I think you're making too much of a conscious effort to make the sleight look good at first. I say get the basic mechanics down decently then pick at it until it looks good.