“I need to read more, is the thing,” my wife said to me yesterday.
“Same!” I replied. There are just so many great books I want to read, and I’ve been in a reading slump really since the pandemic hit.
But the truth is, it isn’t about what I need to do more of (read). It’s about what I need to do less of. Because if I can’t create time to read, no amount of desire will get me there.
I need to do less scrolling of social media, but also less elaborate baking, less long morning and evening walks, less family game time, less gardening.
Well, I love all those things, too. So I have to look carefully at how I’m going to create the time to read.
Just the same, saying “more time spent sight reading in rehearsal” is admirable, but unless you back it up with less of something else (less conversation, less down time, less time spent rehearsing repertoire), you will never find the sight reading time you’re seeking.