In this course I’ve suggested keeping your practice sessions short and daily. Eventually, your mind and your daily life will adjust to this rhythm, and you’ll find yourself able to increase the amount of time spent focusing and struggling and learning new things. Don’t try to rush this process, though, or you may burn yourself out by working too hard.
Why practice daily? Practicing every day for a short amount of time is always a better idea than a large amount of time spent all at once on one particular day each week. Even if you only spend 20 minutes per day on practice, you’ll be fresh and focused for those full twenty minutes. With that kind of energy, you can make significant progress over the course of a week’s combined amount of 140 minutes of practice.
But if you try to cram all your practice space into one day per week, it’s only natural that you’re not going to be as alert for most of that time. Mental rest between sessions is crucial for letting yourself process new knowledge and assimilate it.
So: go with short, daily, and sustainable sessions. When you do increase the amount of time you spend practicing each day, do so only gradually. Drastic changes may feel dramatic and adventurous, but they often result in a crash. Allow your mind and your life to fully adjust to your current level of practice before you begin to lengthen sessions.