This reminded me of learning dance with my daughter. At first I thought progress meant squeezing in more practice whenever possible. What actually helped was creating a routine we could stick to consistently. Once it became part of our week, we stopped spending so much energy deciding when to practice and just started practicing. That small change made a bigger difference than adding more hours ever did. This was another thoughtful newsletter, thank you Idris Elijah and Happy Friday to you!
Thank you for sharing that, Maria! I love the connection to learning dance with your daughter. It really is about building that consistent routine rather than just trying to squeeze in more hours. I'm so glad the newsletter resonated with you! 🤩🤩🤩
I learned this lesson the hard way. I used to think improvement meant practicing longer. Sometimes I’d spend hours playing and make very little progress. Now I get more out of focused sessions with a clear goal than I ever got from marathon practice days. The idea that effort and efficiency aren’t the same thing is something musicians don’t hear often enough. Thank you Idris Elijah for sharing these ideas week after week and enjoy your weekend!
Thanks so much, Brooke! I'm really glad the ideas resonated with you. Focused practice definitely makes a huge difference. Hope you had a great weekend! 🤩🤩🤩
The older I get, the more I realize that working harder and making progress aren’t always the same thing. There have been times in my life where I was putting in a lot of effort but not necessarily moving forward in a meaningful way. This newsletter reminded me that sometimes growth comes from improving the process, not increasing the pressure. That’s a lesson I’m still learning and I appreciate the way you explain these concepts in a way that actually sticks with me. Thank you Idris for another great read and Happy Friday!
Thanks so much, Brian! I really appreciate you taking the time to share this. It's definitely a lesson I'm still learning myself, and it's great to hear that the concepts resonated with you. Hope you had a fantastic weekend! 🤩🤩🤩
The distinction between volume and leverage was probably my biggest takeaway. A lot of writers assume growth comes from publishing more but some of the biggest improvements I’ve seen came from strengthening the underlying skills. Better structure, better opening and better observation. One improvement compounds across every future piece. That’s a much more powerful investment than simply increasing output. Interesting topic today, thank you Idris Elijah and have a great weekend!
The part about efficiency compounding really resonated with me. A few years ago I would start every painting from scratch and make the same mistakes over and over. Eventually I created a simple process for studies, reference gathering and color planning. None of it felt creative at the time but it freed up so much mental energy for the actual painting. The work improved not because I worked harder, but because I stopped wasting effort. Thank you Idris Elijah for the enlightening read and Happy Friday to you!
Thanks so much, Jody! I'm really glad the point about efficiency compounding resonated with you. It's amazing how much mental energy we can free up by simply standardizing the repetitive parts of our process. Your painting workflow sounds like a perfect example of that! 🤩🤩🤩
This reminded me of learning dance with my daughter. At first I thought progress meant squeezing in more practice whenever possible. What actually helped was creating a routine we could stick to consistently. Once it became part of our week, we stopped spending so much energy deciding when to practice and just started practicing. That small change made a bigger difference than adding more hours ever did. This was another thoughtful newsletter, thank you Idris Elijah and Happy Friday to you!
Thank you for sharing that, Maria! I love the connection to learning dance with your daughter. It really is about building that consistent routine rather than just trying to squeeze in more hours. I'm so glad the newsletter resonated with you! 🤩🤩🤩
I learned this lesson the hard way. I used to think improvement meant practicing longer. Sometimes I’d spend hours playing and make very little progress. Now I get more out of focused sessions with a clear goal than I ever got from marathon practice days. The idea that effort and efficiency aren’t the same thing is something musicians don’t hear often enough. Thank you Idris Elijah for sharing these ideas week after week and enjoy your weekend!
Thanks so much, Brooke! I'm really glad the ideas resonated with you. Focused practice definitely makes a huge difference. Hope you had a great weekend! 🤩🤩🤩
The older I get, the more I realize that working harder and making progress aren’t always the same thing. There have been times in my life where I was putting in a lot of effort but not necessarily moving forward in a meaningful way. This newsletter reminded me that sometimes growth comes from improving the process, not increasing the pressure. That’s a lesson I’m still learning and I appreciate the way you explain these concepts in a way that actually sticks with me. Thank you Idris for another great read and Happy Friday!
Thanks so much, Brian! I really appreciate you taking the time to share this. It's definitely a lesson I'm still learning myself, and it's great to hear that the concepts resonated with you. Hope you had a fantastic weekend! 🤩🤩🤩
The distinction between volume and leverage was probably my biggest takeaway. A lot of writers assume growth comes from publishing more but some of the biggest improvements I’ve seen came from strengthening the underlying skills. Better structure, better opening and better observation. One improvement compounds across every future piece. That’s a much more powerful investment than simply increasing output. Interesting topic today, thank you Idris Elijah and have a great weekend!
You’re welcome, Chloe! So glad you aligned with this issue. Hope you had a great weekend. 🤩🤩🤩
The part about efficiency compounding really resonated with me. A few years ago I would start every painting from scratch and make the same mistakes over and over. Eventually I created a simple process for studies, reference gathering and color planning. None of it felt creative at the time but it freed up so much mental energy for the actual painting. The work improved not because I worked harder, but because I stopped wasting effort. Thank you Idris Elijah for the enlightening read and Happy Friday to you!
Thanks so much, Jody! I'm really glad the point about efficiency compounding resonated with you. It's amazing how much mental energy we can free up by simply standardizing the repetitive parts of our process. Your painting workflow sounds like a perfect example of that! 🤩🤩🤩