"But why must I do it daily? Why can't I just do more work on the weekend, or when I have a larger block of free time?"

The reason is simple: those large blocks of time we imagine? They very rarely happen.

We always remember the stories of friends that stayed up for 48 hours surviving on red bull and made a winning video game. But these are the exceptions.

The vast majority of great works throughout history were created by consistently working, every day, over a long period of time.

JK Rowling created the world of Harry Potter over 5 years, while raising a child on the side, squeezing in time to write whenever possible. "Sometimes you have to get your writing done in spare moments here and there."

Jerry Seinfeldwrites jokes everyday. Even creating a calendar and making an X for every day he writes a joke. "After a few days you'll have a chain... Your only job next is to not break the chain."

Mike Birbigliawrote the script for Don't Think Twice, by setting himself an appointment everyday for a "Meeting with his Script" at the local cafe.

On days when I couldn't stand the thought of practicing drawing, I used a trick taught by Rick Rubin, which is to agree to do the minimal amount of work. In my case, I told myself I could stop drawing once I had drawn one line.

But of course, by the time I had cleared the table, opened my notepad to a clean page, got out my pencils, sharpener, eraser and sat down to draw, I never stopped at just one line. Before long I'd spent 2 hours drawing. Getting started is often the hardest part of any creative endevour.

Daily practice takes a lot of work. It isn't the sort of habit that usually happens overnight. If you're seriously interested in implementing this, I recommend The Willpower Instinct and The Power of Habit.

#2 Volume, Not Perfection

Most artists consider themselves as perfectionists. Some even say it's their strength.

And while it's true that you should strive for a high standard of excellence, perfectionism will actually undermine your progress in the long term.

Ira Glass famously said it best: