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“Let Kids Keep More Productivity Gains” by jefftk
While I was traveling
Julia asked
me: why is Anna saying her fiddle practice is only two minutes? In
this case, two minutes was the right amount of time!
Anna (10y) and I had been fighting a lot about practice. She'd
complain, slump, stop repeatedly to make adjustments, and generally be
miserable. I'd often have to pull out "if you want to keep taking
fiddle lessons you have to practice": she loves her teacher and is
very motivated by the prospect of being good at fiddle. Still, it
would take us ages and we'd barely get through anything.
One evening when she seemed like she might be open to it I explained
that we were spending twenty painful minutes on two minutes of
material. I challenged her: if she focused, and went through with no
fussing, we'd be done in two minutes. It did turn out to be the right
time for this message, she gave it a good try, and (with a little
fussing in the middle) we were done in three minutes.
Over the next few days I continued to remind her that if she buckled
down it would go quickly, and [...]
---
First published:
April 29th, 2026
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DzGSkbZ8t3JvmPzoG/let-kids-keep-more-productivity-gains
---
Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.
View all episodes
By LessWrongWhile I was traveling
Julia asked
me: why is Anna saying her fiddle practice is only two minutes? In
this case, two minutes was the right amount of time!
Anna (10y) and I had been fighting a lot about practice. She'd
complain, slump, stop repeatedly to make adjustments, and generally be
miserable. I'd often have to pull out "if you want to keep taking
fiddle lessons you have to practice": she loves her teacher and is
very motivated by the prospect of being good at fiddle. Still, it
would take us ages and we'd barely get through anything.
One evening when she seemed like she might be open to it I explained
that we were spending twenty painful minutes on two minutes of
material. I challenged her: if she focused, and went through with no
fussing, we'd be done in two minutes. It did turn out to be the right
time for this message, she gave it a good try, and (with a little
fussing in the middle) we were done in three minutes.
Over the next few days I continued to remind her that if she buckled
down it would go quickly, and [...]
---
First published:
April 29th, 2026
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DzGSkbZ8t3JvmPzoG/let-kids-keep-more-productivity-gains
---
Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.
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