"Get Your Motor Runnin’:” How to Reboot Your Post-COVID Practice Routine
June 10, 2021
When Broadway closed its doors on March 12, 2020, thousands of professional performers were stranded in their cramped, thin-walled NYC apartments. With singing and dancing completely out of the question, many spent over a year in almost total social and artistic lockdown.
Surprisingly, though, many of my furloughed clients have responded to the reopening of the theatre industry with enormous hesitation. Now that they can practice again, they find it almost impossible to get off the couch and resume training, secretly terrified they will never regain their former prowess.
Here are five steps I’ve found helpful in allowing my clients to enjoy a practice “reboot,” helping them return to the stage with confidence:
#1) Be Your Own Bestie.
If a dear friend lost their physical freedom, income, and purpose for living in a single week, would you chastise them for needing a little recovery time? Of course not. You would help them celebrate every small victory in returning to normalcy.
Remember: You must treat yourself with the same kindness and patience you would another person.
#2) Log Every Win.
Find a way to quantify the total amount of time you spend practicing. Remember: “If you log it, you can improve it.”
For example, you might begin with just one minute of humming. Just make sure to credit yourself for every second by timing yourself with the stopwatch on your phone, and logging it on a spreadsheet.
#3) Go for the Low-Hanging Fruit.
This may be the hardest step of all for Type-As, but it is important that every day’s practice goal appear absurdly easy. Set a goal you know you can achieve, no matter what.
Remember, twenty seconds of practicing COUNTS, as does every preparatory action involved. Taking out your binder or lacing up your dance shoes counts as a win on day one. Just make sure you do the same (and a little extra) the next day. You’ll be surprised how a “winning” mindset combats procrastination!
#4) Multi-Task.
Don’t be afraid to pair practice sessions with other enjoyable activities. It’s perfectly fine to listen to a favorite funny podcast when limbering up, or singing while walking your dog through the park.
These positive associations will act as highly effective mutual reinforcers, some of which may double as handy time-management hacks once you start gigging again!
# 5) Obey the 10% Rule.
As you enter the second week, take your first week’s practicing total--say, 10 minutes--and only require yourself to do 10% more the following week (e.g.,11 minutes).
It may feel slow-going, but once you get started, you’ll begin to habitually and effortlessly exceed your target. A two-minute voice practice session will become three or four when you get lost in a favorite song, in which case you’ve not only sailed over your goal, but you’ve begun re-associating goals with goal completion.
After a few weeks of renewed practice, you might wish to schedule a private coaching for assistance in identifying next steps. By next season, you’ll not only be back in shape, but you might even discover a whole new relationship with your craft!
