Purpose

There is a simple shortcut to getting a lot more from practice.

Ask yourself and ask those you train/work with, what is the purpose of the work ?

For a soldier it can be a mindless job to carry a pack and walk silently in the night but a proper leadership will give a true purpose to this movement in terms of a raid, keeping his skills and fitness growing and having become better at some of the attributes needed for the job.

A martial artist which can be a soldier, a father or any other profession must also have a purpose to the work in order to progress in all human capacities.

Are you working to better transition from position A to B ? Are you working on seeing opportunities you have missed out of lack of knowledge in previous work ? Are you working to time yourself better in movement for striking ?

All these are valid but you must ask yourself before and during each time you train (If you ever stop) what do you want to get done this time ?

Just asking this and preferably out loud, will speed up your growth and do not limit this to just your martial art practice.

And be specific. Being better is a cloudy answer.