Lessons(ˈlesən) from Daily(ˈdālē) Practice(ˈpraktəs)

Lessons(ˈlesən) from Daily(ˈdālē) Practice(ˈpraktəs)

Here’s what I’ve learned:

If you’re studying something, you forget less. It’s great to study for a couple(ˈkəpəl) hours, but if you don’t study for a few days after that, you’ll start forgetting. Daily study sessions, even if they’re short, interrupt the forgetting process(prəˈses,ˈpräsəs,ˈpräˌses,ˈprō-). Therefore it’s more efficient(iˈfiSHənt), as you don’t slip(slip) backwards but keep making forward progress.

If you are weak, you get stronger without injury(ˈinjərē). It’s hard to get stronger when you’re weak (at yoga(ˈyōgə), running, chinups(CHin), whatever). But small regular(ˈreg(ə)lər,ˈregyələr) doses will get you stronger, slowly. If you give yourself big doses, hoping for faster progress, you’re more likely to get injured(ˈinjərd), burn(bərn) out, or get demotivated(diˈmōtəˌvāt) because of the difficulty(ˈdifikəltē) level(ˈlevəl). Slow and small is better.

Progress isn’t noticeable(ˈnōtisəbəl) in the first week, but it is after a couple of weeks. If you’re just giving yourself small training(ˈtrāniNG) or study doses, you won’t see any difference at first. That’s OK, keep doing it. After a couple of weeks, you’ll notice some solid(ˈsälid) progress, and a month into it, you’ll see major(ˈmājər) improvement. Keep at it.

Small doses make it easy to do daily. If you want to train for an hour a day, that is only sustainable(səˈstānəbəl) for awhile. Eventually(iˈvenCHo͞oəlē) you’ll run out of energy(ˈenərjē), or things will get busy and you won’t have the time for your hourlong session. Maybe you’ll miss 2-3 days in a row — now you’ve lost motivation(ˌmōtəˈvāSHən), and you’re discouraged(-ˈkə-rijd,disˈkərijd). It’s better to do it in small doses, because it’s easier to get started when you know you’re just doing 10-15 minutes, and it’s easier to find the time and motivation for small sessions.

Make sure it’s fun. Doing a chore(CHôr) is boring and hard, and you’ll put it off, even if it’s just a 10-minute session. Instead, don’t make it a chore that you have to get through. Make it a game that you look forward to doing. Or a mini-meditation(ˌmedəˈtāSHən) session that brings peace(pēs) to your life, a time to relax(riˈlaks). Or a moment of magic(ˈmajik) and loveliness. Create an activity(akˈtivitē) that you’ll look forward to.

Bring the magic of small, regular practice to your life.