I was refilling the pages of my furry, leopard print spiral bound notebook (that I received as a gift back when I was obsessed with leopard print everything) pool log today. This original notebook was the inspiration for what’s now known as the Game Log. About once a year or so, I open up the wire binding and refill the pages with more blank sheets and blank table diagrams (that I just print from the computer and punch holes in).

As I was storing the most recently filled pages with the rest of my archives, I noticed the very first page ever logged. It was from November 1, 2002. Astonishingly, I’ve been tracking my pool progress for the past 6 years! It reads (unedited):

Date: Friday, November 1, 2002 @ 9p.m.

Event: 8 Ball Tourney @ Alumni’s

Matches:
won 2-0 vs. Shay
won 2-0 vs. ???
won 2-1 vs Sammy
lost 1-2 vs. Jack
lost 0-2 vs. Jason

Clothing: Charlie’s Angels t-shirt, BNL sweatshirt, Jeans, tennis shoes

Feelings: Focused, excited, tired/sore by the last match

I learned: w/u at least one hour to get used to table-play

How simple things were back then…

The tracking-my-progress-in-a-log concept was first suggested by my friend Jay.

The funny thing about this original posting is that I can’t shoot pool in that Charlie’s Angels shirt anymore because the large print on the front is too sticky and I never compete in jeans anymore. I just don’t find them that comfortable. In the second entry, I was wearing a black turtleneck and it was the last time I would ever wear a turtleneck to compete in. Too hot.

My point is that had I never began tracking these little things, I may never have learned what works and doesn’t work for me.

Nowadays, my entries look more like shorthand codes for whatever drill I’m working on with a series of numbers indicating the score or progress. I practice so much more frequently now that I don’t have the room to spare an entire page per day on my thoughts and feelings. I guess that’s what The Tip Jar is for.

Whether it’s with the Game Log or just a blank notebook, I highly recommend tracking your progress in one form or another. How else will you measure your progress???

Share on Facebook