How To Structure Your Drum Practice and Improve Quicker

'Practice' was not something I had a problem with as a kid growing up, I simply couldn't stop playing.  Unfortunately, just playing for the sake of playing only gets you so far.  And you just end up working on the fills and grooves you can already play and avoiding the things you struggle with.  The opposite is what you should be doing...going towards the things you fear most, which for many drummers and musicians, is technique.

But working on technique for hours can sometimes feel soul-destroying, as you only need to be missing out on one small detail, in particular, hand positioning to become completely frustrated.  Whatever you are trying to improve, not focusing on basic technique will only make your drumming journey a more frustrating one. 

So, having a plan of action and deciding what you want to achieve out of your practice session, is an absolute must.  Fail to plan, prepare to fail is what springs to mind, although not in the literal sense of the word.  I just mean, if you don't have a daily plan of action, you're gonna be one 'frustrated as hell' drummer.

Depending on where you are in your drumming journey, you should always be working on your rudiments, of which there are 40.  Essentially, rudiments are what scales and chords are to a guitarist, exercises to build stick control and hand coordination.

In summary, decide what you want to achieve at the end of your practice session and make sure you time manage everything i.e., 30 mins working on a particular rudiment with a metronome...always! And then, another 30 minutes of playing to an artist or song you really like and are able to play along comfortably...as a reward of sorts.  I always tried to incorporate the technique and/or rudiment I'd been working throughout a song.

Have fun and keep working hard, you'll get there.