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How many of us have gone to the range with the intentions of accomplishing tasks? Only to get there and not have the time to achieve all the things they wanted? Or even worse achieve none of them?
There is a probably not a single person who frequents the range that has not had this happen to them in some form or fashion. This is because we do not have a focused approach to our training plan, we want to achieve too many tasks in a given amount of time.
We need to think of this like any other task we want to achieve, such as going to the gym, most of us don't go to the gym and say "I am going to work out every single body part and do every single exercise imaginable for each one and get it all done in one hour!"
And this is for many reasons, the main one, which was probably everyone's initial reaction when reading that last line, "that is not possible". So why do we try to do this when we go to the range? It is because we do not associate the tasks with a time standard the same as we do with going to the gym, or trying to get all our daily chores around the house done.
Most gym goers have pretty simple plans at the foundation of the plan, something like
Monday - Chest
Tuesday - Back
Wednesday - Arms
or something like
Monday - Push Day
Tuesday - Pull Day
Wednesday - Cardio
They may not have all the details of the exercises but they have a focused intent of what they will accomplish during that training session. Which is exactly what we should be doing during our range days.
So before we head out to the range we should take some time to find out what we want to accomplish for the days training. We can even write out a simple schedule to keep us on track. Here's an example:
- Warm up drill
- Kraft Challenge from Barricade
- Timed drills from Barricade
- Transition drills from Barricade
It can be that simple, many times we forget the amount of time it takes to accomplish one task at the range, and that is because of all the ancillary tasks associated with it, lets break down that 4 tasks on the list.
Warm up drill
- Load ammo (3-5 minutes)
- Set up targets (5-10 minutes)
- Conduct drill (5-15 minutes)
- Analyze shots (3-5 minutes)
2. Kraft Challenge Drill from Barricade
- Load ammo (3-5 minutes)
- Reface targets (3-5 minutes)
- Conduct drill (5-10 minutes)
- Analyze shots (3-5 minutes)
So just by looking at the first to tasks we can see that it takes 16-35 minutes for the first task. And 14-25 minutes for the second task. for a total of 30-60 minutes for the first tasks, and that is only including the essentials.
What if you decided to stop and drink a bottle of water, what if there are others at the range that you chat with in between tasks or during tasks such as loading ammo, or you need to go to the bathroom? Or depending on your range operating procedures, what if you have to wait to go down range and reface your target due to the line being hot and having to wait for other shooters?
I have seen and been a victim of the chats where you go from a 3-5 minute tasks to a 20-25 minute task because you are locked in conversation with someone. It is not uncommon and many times we don't realize that it even occurred. if we added 20-25 minutes of chatter and 3-4 minutes to go to the bathroom, or we have to wait 10 minutes for the line to be called cold to go reface a target we just when from 30-60 minutes to 63-99 minutes to accomplish the same two tasks.
Basically doubling the amount of time it takes to complete. So if we have limited range time it becomes imperative to have a focused goal and a MUST ACCOMPLISH set of tasks for the day, and if we have time to achieve others great! But we must make sure to achieve the main focus. That is why I will go to the range with a goal of up to four tasks total, usually because I have 2-4 hours of range time and that means that I will have to focus on certain things if I want to be productive to the standard I am hoping to be.
So remember when we are going to the range we need to set some focused goals simple, clear and concise. I suggest no more than four depending on your time, I like to use the general rule of 2 tasks per hour, that works for me because I already know the micro steps that will have to occur in between each the main steps to get these done.
You may be able to do more depending on your ranges set up and operational environment, maybe less, but if you know that and plan accordingly you will be able to have a focused and functional training session!