Focusing on the current round
Focusing on the current round is very important (if you are dead, focus on the next round). We always need a short plan/ idea of what we aim to achieve in the beginning of the round. This should involve your teammates. If you cannot actively play together (when teammates are unwilling), learn to watch the map and play off of their positioning.
If we are mentally stuck focusing on what happened the last rounds, our brain power is limited and we cannot consume all the information available in the current moment. Every round can be a fresh start. While we may want to think about enemy setups/plays and possible weaknesses, never let it take too much space in your thoughts.
Playing the best we can
When we practice playing competitive we want to treat it seriously. We want to try our best all the time, so that we are playing at the level where we are challenged. This is very good for quick improvement.
Pitfalls
1. Others may not treat it seriously, that is FINE. No problem, we want to improve our own game and we treat each situation as a challenge. While challenging in its own way, this helps us improving mental fortitude. We never give up, even 4v5 15-0. We try to play each round as its own match, and focus on our own improvement instead of our teammates weaknesses or our enemies strengths.
2. We will not always perform to the best of our ability, that is FINE. We focus on the next round, and try to play the round in a smart way. We don’t let previous rounds failures change our mental state. We continue to play the angles we are comfortable in (and that we know are good) even against strong opponents.
3. Winning massively does not change our focus. When winning we still aim to win the next round. We dont start fooling around because we have a big lead. Winning heavily and fast is even better since we can get to a challenging opponent faster.
Implementing new plays
From our notes we should have some new play or piece of utility that we want to implement in our game. It is a good idea to use it at least once or twice every time you play the map, until you get a feel for how it plays in a live environment. It is important that we have done the homework before heading into the competitive environment, placing smokes with gaps will not teach you how the proper smoke plays.
Tactic/strategy
In addition to utility and specific plays we want to implement, we should have a tectical/strategical focus point. We try to keep this in mind when the situation calls for it. If our tactic/strategy that we need to improve is trade fragging, we try to get in situations where it is possible to practice the skill. Note that we are still playing to the best of our ability, so dont focus too much on forcing specific situations.
Remember breaks
When practicing in competitive we need to remember to take breaks. The focus required to practice in this manner is demanding, so we cannot expect to stay on task for extended periods of time. Focused practice is much more efficient than unfocused play. Therefore it is recommended to take a break at least every 120 minutes, when practicing in this way.