The metronome isn’t mean. It just won’t pretend you were on time.

An honest measurement feels like criticism when you are used to being graded by your own impression. A clock holds no opinion of you; it simply refuses to join in with the story where that was basically in time, and the sting comes from losing the story rather than from anything the clock did. Accurate feedback is the fastest thing available.

Put something unflattering and objective into your practice this week: a metronome, a timer, a recording of yourself, a score out of ten from somebody honest. Use it without arguing. Let the number be information rather than a verdict.