Another good reason for taking breaks: I know a lot of musicians who "level up" by taking breaks.
-
Another good reason for taking breaks: I know a lot of musicians who "level up" by taking breaks. Stop playing entirely for a couple 2-3 days and then come back to it. I'm not really sure how it works, but it's happened to me countless times.
I experience this too, and not just with music but also with other skills. I plateau on something, get frustrated, stop it feeling guilty, then come back to it next week (or even longer) expecting I got rusty for lack of practice, and not only I did not get rusty but I actually got better.
I call it the "offline progression". Obviously you can't get better by not simply doing things so it only happens in specific circumstances, and I don't know when. I think it has to do with overdoing; maybe it's not so much that resting improves your skill, but that the skill is already improved but you can't see it because you've exhausted your mental resources, and taking a break lets you actually access those new synaptic pathways. (I recall WoW originally had an "exhaustion debuff", and players hated the feeling of being punished for playing, so instead they called the debuffed state "normal" and gave a "rested XP buff" for taking a break; functionally the same thing but now it feels like getting a treat.)
-
Another good reason for taking breaks: I know a lot of musicians who "level up" by taking breaks. Stop playing entirely for a couple 2-3 days and then come back to it. I'm not really sure how it works, but it's happened to me countless times.
I experience this too, and not just with music but also with other skills. I plateau on something, get frustrated, stop it feeling guilty, then come back to it next week (or even longer) expecting I got rusty for lack of practice, and not only I did not get rusty but I actually got better.
I call it the "offline progression". Obviously you can't get better by not simply doing things so it only happens in specific circumstances, and I don't know when. I think it has to do with overdoing; maybe it's not so much that resting improves your skill, but that the skill is already improved but you can't see it because you've exhausted your mental resources, and taking a break lets you actually access those new synaptic pathways. (I recall WoW originally had an "exhaustion debuff", and players hated the feeling of being punished for playing, so instead they called the debuffed state "normal" and gave a "rested XP buff" for taking a break; functionally the same thing but now it feels like getting a treat.)
@elilla this is so relatable for me for basically everything I learn! After studying at uni and taking a couple days off from a topic I suddenly understand more, when learning an instrument, when fighting a difficult boss and failing 5 times in a row and then getting it the first time after two days...
Apart from what you said I'm convinced that my brain rearranging my knowledge in my sleep has something to do with it, especially for theoretical knowledge like my university work^^
-
Another good reason for taking breaks: I know a lot of musicians who "level up" by taking breaks. Stop playing entirely for a couple 2-3 days and then come back to it. I'm not really sure how it works, but it's happened to me countless times.
I experience this too, and not just with music but also with other skills. I plateau on something, get frustrated, stop it feeling guilty, then come back to it next week (or even longer) expecting I got rusty for lack of practice, and not only I did not get rusty but I actually got better.
I call it the "offline progression". Obviously you can't get better by not simply doing things so it only happens in specific circumstances, and I don't know when. I think it has to do with overdoing; maybe it's not so much that resting improves your skill, but that the skill is already improved but you can't see it because you've exhausted your mental resources, and taking a break lets you actually access those new synaptic pathways. (I recall WoW originally had an "exhaustion debuff", and players hated the feeling of being punished for playing, so instead they called the debuffed state "normal" and gave a "rested XP buff" for taking a break; functionally the same thing but now it feels like getting a treat.)
@elilla Most of my insights happen during shower, and it scales with the length of the shower.
Sometimes I think employer's best use of money would be to pay me standing there.
-
Another good reason for taking breaks: I know a lot of musicians who "level up" by taking breaks. Stop playing entirely for a couple 2-3 days and then come back to it. I'm not really sure how it works, but it's happened to me countless times.
I experience this too, and not just with music but also with other skills. I plateau on something, get frustrated, stop it feeling guilty, then come back to it next week (or even longer) expecting I got rusty for lack of practice, and not only I did not get rusty but I actually got better.
I call it the "offline progression". Obviously you can't get better by not simply doing things so it only happens in specific circumstances, and I don't know when. I think it has to do with overdoing; maybe it's not so much that resting improves your skill, but that the skill is already improved but you can't see it because you've exhausted your mental resources, and taking a break lets you actually access those new synaptic pathways. (I recall WoW originally had an "exhaustion debuff", and players hated the feeling of being punished for playing, so instead they called the debuffed state "normal" and gave a "rested XP buff" for taking a break; functionally the same thing but now it feels like getting a treat.)
@elilla same general principle for lifting. Lift, lift, lift, lift, lift.... no bueno.
Lift a day, rest a day, lift a day, rest a day... see aaaalll teh gainz.
(Before all the swole gym bros come at me: yes, you can go lifting each day, every day, but you need to rest specific muscle groups in between. I personally try to do a little cardio stuff between exercise days but I'm a filthy casual anyway.)
-
@elilla same general principle for lifting. Lift, lift, lift, lift, lift.... no bueno.
Lift a day, rest a day, lift a day, rest a day... see aaaalll teh gainz.
(Before all the swole gym bros come at me: yes, you can go lifting each day, every day, but you need to rest specific muscle groups in between. I personally try to do a little cardio stuff between exercise days but I'm a filthy casual anyway.)
@Laird_Dave but with lifting that's to be expected, and the reasons for it are well understood. that something similar happens to purely mental or motor skills is more surprising to me.
-
System shared this topic
