Isn’t it enough just to do the practice? Why take the extra time to keep a log? (After all, I’ve already admitted that we know when you haven’t practiced….)
- You can show your mentor how you’ve been practicing.
- Every day when you start practicing, you have a reminder of where you ended.
- A physical object (the log) feels more than an intangible (the time spent).
- Your self-reflection in writing the log can help spur improvements in your practice technique.
- After a period of regular practice, you can look back and actually see your progress. Look at an early session, see what you were struggling with, and marvel that what once was hard is now easy.
Of course, this reasoning could just as easily apply to any art you are pursuing – poetry, sewing, cooking dinner.
I ask my students to spend just 60 seconds per session filling out a log. It’s worth far more than that minute.