The Magic of Sustained Effort
Andrew Hitz
The key to improving at anything is sustained effort.
Small habits practiced just a little bit every day will compound.
David Zerkel once shared this gem with one of my students in a master class:
“If you practice lip slurs every single day for two straight weeks, the lip trill fairy will pay you a visit.”
Rather than practicing lip trills for three total hours over two days, practice them for 10 minutes a day for 14 straight days (which for the record is actually 40 less minutes overall.) You will not only have improved more at the end of those two weeks than you would have over the two days, that improvement will also be much more permanent.
The key to those 14 days is making sure the practicing is intentional. Totally focused. Phone on airplane mode. Going in with a plan. Fully in the feedback loop.
To circle back to the James Clear quote at the top, the goal is not to make massive strides. It is to get a little better every day. That improvement, just like money patiently left in a savings account or an index fund, will compound.
Establish sustainable habits and you’ll be amazed at the results.