During the game, do you often predict your opponent’s shot and be ready to pounce to that direction, or do you stay neutral and move after the shot? Very often i find myself glued to the floor when i am anticipating a clear but ended up being a net drop. I see the oncoming dropshot but i couldnt move. My brain is telling me to move but body is stoned. On the other hand, if i were to anticipate a dropshot but ended up being a clear, i wouldnt be able to move back in time and it will often end up being either a backhand or an overhead shot.
It seems like most would recommend that you do a small split step right after each shot from your opponent, that will allow you to more explosively moved in the direction you need to according to the shot they take. Watch any match on youtube of a professional and you will notice the small split step action taken on every shot. I personally have to work on doing this more regularly but when I split step properly I am able to get to the shuttle much faster.
In addition to the above, it's also showing that your shots give your opponent a lot of time to choose their shots. If you give them less time you won't have as big an issue.
Besides of what has already been mentioned, anticipation is an other issue. If you want to anticipate, then try to anticipate the shot which will need less time to reach. When you play a net shot, you need to anticipate a higher net shot to kill it and not a lift. When the opponent plays a lift or clear you have so much more time to react and correct your situation.
Change your posture to be slightly lower, with your weight forwards. Most players defend too upright. When the drop shot comes, they have to move forwards and then get down low at the last moment. This is very awkward. If you are lower already, you can move lower, lunge better without collapsing, and use the reach of your racket better.
