TI Drills vs. Other Drills and Laps

Matt, I spent my first season just swimming, lap after lap after lap, hoping that eventually something would change. It didn't.  I picked up TI this winter and have started working through the drills.  You're right, they can be endlessly boring.  I've seen that it has helped tremendously with my balance.  I am not supposed to be swimming (laps, anyway) because of a shoulder injury, so it is a good way for me to stay in the pool.  Occasionally I'll roll off a 50m or so, lightly, and I do feel improvement.  I'm sure it depends on the person, for me, it has made a difference.

Thanks... I gutted it out and just did them today and actually found that in just a couple days that my balance has improved. I've got shoulder problems myself, so this will be a good way to get some water time while I'm working on rehabbing the shoulder.

I'm doing nothing but TI drills for the next month at least.  I started them on my own last year and found that they helped my balance.  I took a TI clinic last month and it was good to have someone who knows what TI is watching and giving me feedback.  Drills can be boring, but I limit my time to 30-45min at any one session and focus on 2-3 drills in the progression.  Each lap and take a short break to focus and pick one specific focal point for the next lap.  I'll do a couple laps of breast stroke every 10-15min just to break things up.  I've found that I'm not getting bored and  leave the pool looking forward to the next session because I didn't spend an hour+ doing non-stop drills.