Everyone knows if you want to get better at something you have to practice. However making time in a busy schedule can be super-challenging. It's easy to have the intention to practice but then not actually get around to it. The next thing you know you're back at your swordplay/dance/yoga class and you haven't done anything you'd hoped to since the week before. This can get demotivating fast, especially when you feel like every class you're having to learn the same thing over again.

This is why I recommend the 5-minutes a day practice regime!

That's it. Commit to practicing for 5 minutes each day. This is a tiny amount of time and it's easy to cram in anywhere. Even when you're about to crawl in to bed and you realize that you haven't practiced yet today. What's 5 minutes? Going to bed at 12:30 or 12:35 is really an irrelevant difference, so you might as well take 5 minutes to practice some movement, do a few poses, or even visualize something new you're trying to learn.

I think we all easily fall prey to ambitious goals when we set practice plans around things we're passionate about or have a strong desire to learn. I know many who set out thinking "I'll practice 30 minutes or 1 hour everyday!" Then they miss a day, then two, then the intention is lost.

5 minutes doesn't preclude you from doing more it just helps you break the inertia of doing less.

5 minutes helps you stay mentally close even if time between serious practice is physically far.

5 minutes of real time honours your commitment more than hours of good intentions.

Really allow yourself to celebrate that 5 minutes every time you take it, even if it seems small.

So start your 5-minute a day practice regime today. It takes nothing to start, so why not get up and do it. Trust me it'll feel good and you've practically finished already.

Devon Boorman is the Co-Founder and Director of Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay, which has been active in Vancouver, Canada since 2004. Devon’s expertise centres on the Italian swordplay tradition including the arts of the Renaissance Italian rapier, sidesword, and longsword, as well as knife and unarmed techniques.
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