Effective Preparation Strategies

It may seem odd, but it is necessary to prepare to prepare. Rather than just turning up and hoping that training will go well start by asking yourself these questions:

• what is my desired outcome for the preparation for the event?
• what does this outcome say about me as a person, my beliefs, strengths, weaknesses, desire to succeed, willingness to learn, ability to push myself etc?
• how will I know that I have achieved my preparation outcome, what will the evidence be?
• what specific techniques do I want to work on as part of my preparation, e.g. visualisation, anchoring, cue words, rituals and habits, positive self talk etc?
• should I keep a written list of my outcomes and progress? If so, should I update this list on a regular basis? Should I also start to keep a Learning Diary to complete after each session?
• who else do I need to involve in my preparation?
• what do I want to work on (if anything) that I have'nt previously tried?
• what else can I do to ensure that I have fun and succeed?
• how will I reward myself when my preparation has achieved its outcome?