How to keep on improving when there's little time?

[Eleredo]

Due to the new job I found, I can no longer cube in the week. I don't want to give up speedcubing though, that'd just be a plain pity. I'm already this far (well, in my eyes at least ).

Could I still improve if I only cube in the weekend? How much solves should I be doing in the weekend to still get better?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Goosly]

I don't practice, I just do some solves from time to time. And I get better (I hope)
Not cubing for some days actually can improve your times

 

[Andreaillest]

Quality, not quantity.
As long as you keep learning and practicing new things, improvement can still be made even on a minimal schedule.
I will always refer to this awesome thread for how to practice:
http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?27870-How-to-practice.

 

[Cheese11]

Ya, I'm so busy with school, that I have no time to practice. I don't even do timed solves. But when I do, I get better every time. So just do casual solve when your on the computer or something.

 

[5BLD]

Yes. No wasting time doing solves over and over but practice on your weak spots. With little time you have to make that practice valuable.

I have little time although I'm still young as I have lots of other sports and stuff to do during the week. Also I have half of Saturday taken up...
So I practice every night and on the bus on the way home, and save doing averages for the weekend... Maybe you'd like to try that

 

[pjk]

It is not about a lack of time, it is how you organize it and prioritize it. Surely you can find 30 minutes a day to sit down and do some solves on weekdays, and on weekends you can do as much as you want. Try to sleep 1 hour less if you'd prefer to cube instead. Bring a cube with you where ever you go, as you'll likely find time waiting in line or waiting on someone where you can practice.

To answer your question: Yes, of course you can still improve (especially seeing by your signature that you average around 20 seconds). Have fun.

 

[cmhardw]

There is already a lot of good advice in this thread. The only additional thing I can recommend is to abandon a daily practice schedule or routine. Change to a weekly practice schedule or routine.

For example, don't say "I will do an average of 12 every day". It's better to say something more like "I will do 5 averages of 12 this week".

Giving yourself this flexibility will make it far less of a chore to practice when you have very little time. You may find that some days you will have time to do 2, 3, or even 4 averages of 12. There may also be times where you can't practice at all for 3 days straight. With a weekly training schedule, there is nothing wrong with this, and you are still pacing for your goals.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bapao]

I also have a full time job and I have my boy over in the weekends. Time after work is spent on guitar practice. I never cube in the evenings. Weekends belong to my son.

It's hard to find the time, so as cmhardw suggested, try not to schedule your practice time but try to integrate it into everyday life. I practice in public transport and I practice at work whilst a customer is explaining their problem on the phone. Or in the breaks.

I still manage +/- 20 odd solves a day during that time.

It has taken me over a year to reach an average of 31 seconds on 3x3x3 that way. Which is slow I guess. But still; time well spent albeight the slow progress. I'm not putting myself under any pressure and am just enjoying the experience...

When I started cubing, my goal was to achieve sub 25 on the 3x3x3. Nearly there.

 

[chris410]

I have been in the same situation, as far as practice I simply fit in practice when I can. I keep a cube in my office for times where I do get a few minutes to get some practice in. Another thought is your limited time could be a good time to start learning algorithms you may not know. What I mean is you could carry a note card with some algorithms (OLL/PLL...etc...etc) and then apply what you have learned during the weekend.

Lastly, you could work on specifics (if you are using CFOP) such as working on cross, F2L, or learning full OLL/PLL (or more advanced methods) via the note cards I mentioned.

 

[Schmidt]

....I practice at work whilst a customer is explaining their problem on the phone....

Bapao "Could you please elaborate on this; I've only done 7 out of 12"

Confused customer "Huh?!?"

My advise would be: Don't spend too much time on the computer, cube instead.
It is very easy to spend too much time on Yoytube and this forum.

 

[skeletonboy]

Practice time to time, don't give up, and make your time valuable. Think of methods and techniques like shortcuts and work on the lookahead to recognize the pieces.

 

[Bapao]

"Could you please elaborate on this; I've only done 7 out of 12"

They probably think I type like a lunatic