Let's Shed
Why it works
Reading the work of folks like Dan Levitin and Kenny Werner really changed the way we think about how to practice effectively and sustainably. Our approach is focused on the patterns and behaviors we know work.
The term is Anders Ericsson's, popularized by Daniel Levitin's This Is Your Brain on Music: deliberate practice was never about the hours. It's specific work, just past what you can already do, with feedback close behind. Time without a target mostly rehearses what you've already mastered.
That's why a goal here starts with a target: this thing, for this long, this often. Every total the app shows you is aimed practice.
An hour spread across four days beats the same hour crammed into one sitting. A schedule that revolves around occasional big days is holding you back, and it's easy for "real life" to get in the way.
Turn on break reminders and the app interrupts you, asks you to put the instrument down for a minute. Taking breaks is necessary for the learning process and helps you reach your goals faster.
Attention is limited, and holding onto things mentally spends it. Writing something down hands that attention back to the playing.
That's why there's a goal list and a journal: one holds the plan, the other holds what you noticed, so neither has to stay in your head.
We're all human and sometimes life does happen. While we encourage consistent practice, taking a day off every now and again is normal, and it won't negatively impact your streak. We've adopted a Seinfeld calendar-approach where the goal is to just never miss two days in a row.
That's the thinking. Here's what it looks like in the app.