Stop planning - start doing

I've spent a good part of the last two weeks planning a great challenge for the last six months of the year. That challenge was supposed to improve my eating habits, get me to the gym more often, and reduce my procrastination. I got so excited about the planning that planning itself became my procrastination.

This led to me sitting on my couch, watching TV while eating the third ice cream of the day, and fantasizing about how amazing my life would be when I accomplished this challenge.
Several times, I caught myself thinking: "I can eat this ice cream / procrastinate on YouTube because from July 1st I'll do everything amazing".

I guess we all know this is a big fat lie to myself. If I can't get myself together to just follow one simple habit, how in the world am I supposed to change ALL my habits at once for half a year?
It seems pretty unrealistic.

Forget Your Optimal Training Plan

The funny thing is that I've observed this same problem with many chess improvers. They tend to procrastinate searching for the perfect book/course/plan and never really start making progress.
That's why, in my course Next Level Training, I'm not focusing on the absolutely perfect training plan. Instead, you will learn how to create a good, simple training plan.

Now, I try to use the same framework and apply it to my own life. Instead of going for the perfect 6 months, I've listed some simple things that will improve my life.

• Don't eat snacks (1 cheat day per week is ok)
• Go to the gym 3x a week
• Walk 10,000 steps every day
• Take frequent breaks without digital devices

These are some of those simple things I want to make better. Starting now.

Actions Give Confidence

As I'm trying to apply the above to my own life (I haven't yet opened YouTube since starting to write this article, yey), I challenge you to do something about your chess improvement right now.

Here are a few free options:

• Head over to lichess.org/training and solve puzzles for 5-15 minutes. Remember to write down your solution. If you don't know how/why to do that, read this article first.
• Create your first little chess training plan with this guide.
• Open your database of chess games and analyze your last game. Here is a guide on how to do that.

If you can relate to this article, then the key is that you now do something. Whenever you want to improve but don't take action, you lose self-confidence. The only way to build this confidence is to take small, manageable steps toward your goal. I finished this article and am now going for a walk on my break (instead of scrolling Twitter or watching a YouTube video).

What are you doing right now to improve your chess? Let me know in the comments.

Keep improving,
Noël

This article was originally posted on my Blog, nextlevelchess.blog. You can read other articles by clicking this link.

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