To fast-track the development of a skill, set up a skill quest. Here’s how.
Pick a skill that you want to master and write it at the top of a page in your training journal. Fold the corner of the skill quest page so you can flip to it easily.
At the start of a training session, open the skill quest page, jot down the date, and set your focus. Close your eyes for a moment and picture yourself doing the skill successfully. Once you’ve set your focus, let it go and start training.
During warm-ups, include a drill that works the skill. When you do exercises, or scene work, glance at the skill quest page before you start to play. Don’t think about it too much. Just see the name of the skill and then start playing. After you finish playing, consider whether the skill showed up. If it did, put a tick mark beside the training date. If not, no worries. Stay unattached to the outcome.
At the end of the training session, see how many tick marks there are. If there are three or more, you get a gold star for the day. Ideally, your training partner or instructor puts the star on your skill quest page. It’s more satisfying when someone else rewards you for your success.
Repeat this process at each training session until you’ve earned five stars. By this point, the skill may have become intuitive, which is great. If not, that’s fine too. Sometimes taking a break allows a skill to start showing up all on its own. If it doesn’t, you can always repeat the skill quest again at a later date.
The skill quest is an effective way to make the journey to mastery a playful process.
Updated: August 22, 2024
