I was doing my daily chess drills today and noticed that my game was much worse than usual. I was missing obvious tactics, blundering left and right, and losing to opponents ranked far below me.
This bothers me, as I'm actively trying to get better at chess and don't like to see regression. Maybe this list can help me tease out environmental factors that contribute to worse performance for me, so that I can be more mindful of the context I need to succeed.
1. I’m tired
Culprit number one. When I'm tired, I'm less focused than usual and I face brain fog.2. Someone is trying to interact with me while I’m playing
I never ignore people (sometimes even when I should). It's just not who I am. And so, if someone comes over and interrupts my chess game, I'm likely to respond to them and lose focus.
Solution: I shouldn't study chess around other people.
3. Something else is on my mind
It could be dinner, work, or even an off-handed comment someone made during middle school that's come back to make me cringe. In any case-- if I'm not invested in the chess in front of me, my play is noticeably worse.4. I’m hurrying through the drills just to get them done
Chess drills/lessons are on my daily to-do list. The intention is for me to play chess every day so I can get better, but sometimes it feels like a chore or just another thing to get through. On days like this, I find myself hurrying through chess to get it done and cross it off my list. I think I should make a pact with myself: as with many activities that require focus- if I'm going through the motions of the activity just to get it done, it's almost worse than not doing it at all.
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