Hard work without expectation is the currency of freedom. It is no different for skill building. Some things take days to get good at, and there’s an entire [industry][games] devoted to giving you that accomplished feeling. Some things are the other side of the spectrum taking years to master. Days go by where you don’t feel better, but the months tell a different story. Even the smallest drops will fill up the bucket with time.

If you have the presence of mind afforded by a healthy amount of sleep, physical activity, and/or meditation, good habits are as easy as frequently and willingly putting in small drops. Small bursts of effort keep burnout at bay and scheduling problems a bygone. The best advice I’ve ever got for training precision, be it for arrows, melodies, or shapes is to practice until your fine muscle control is fatigued. Five rounds of three arrows max. Beyond that you’re practicing bad habits.

There’s a time and a place for that advice, and too bad you’re the one who has to fit the tool to the task! Sucks to suck! Some skills benefit from dedicated larger contiguous chunks of time. Warming up with skills makes a world of difference. Programming, performing music, drawing, and many other skills benefit from giving yourself the time and environment to zone in. Zoning in is useful for producing content and practicing chunking the little skills, but it can be hard to zone in to do rote drills for tiny skills. Again, you’ll have to figure out when either works, and the balance is personal.

Whatever way you fill your bucket, doesn’t matter. If you got to first chair viola by talent or hard work, doesn’t matter. If you became a serene woman by working on your flaws, that’s commendable. If you’ve always had a knack for mechanics, cool. Don’t be lulled away from great just because you’re good. Either way, get to work so you can grin on your deathbed.