In junior high I was in the concert band. I played trumpet, and I was supposed to practice at least five days a week. I was lucky if I practiced even once a week. And sure enough, I never really improved. To be fair, the stakes were never high enough to matter all that much, but failing to commit here caused me to get pretty disheartened with my musical talents, and I walked away from the instrument and music entirely pretty quickly after that. Sometimes that lack of commitment can be instructive on whether we really want what we’re after. Turns out for me, making music just wasn’t a calling. But a part of me wonders if I had stuck it out a bit longer and really thrown myself into the work. Would I be any different today?
Sasha Dichter wrote a great post recently on the value of committing to practice 4 days a week.
Not seven days. And definitely not one day. Four days a week. It’s the idea that this is just enough repetition and effort to actually see yourself grow and improve in whatever you’re working at.
I’m not sure it’s exactly four days – for instance, I’ve found a ton of success posting here five days a week, but I completely agree that “once a week” just isn’t enough to hope to make a lasting change in yourself. The trick with four days a week is that you only can have so many things that occupy that sort of commitment in your life at once. It forces you to choose what you do and what you set aside.