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I often think about Arthur Rubenstein, the phenom mid-century pianist, for whom a lot has been written about his mission in early life to &quot;practice as little as possible.&quot; There&#x27;s a lot of hyped up romanticism in these quotes and anyone who plays at his level has spent a lifetime playing piano, period. Regardless, his guidance about spontaneity, creativity, and the relationship to practicing too much, which I equate to the current discussion on overworking, is highly interesting.<p>&quot;I was born very, very lazy and I don&#x27;t always practice very long, but I must say, in my defense, that it is not so good, in a musical way, to overpractice. When you do, the music seems to come out of your pocket. If you play with a feeling of &#x27;Oh, I know this,&#x27; you play without that little drop of fresh blood that is necessary—and the audience feels it.&quot; Of his own practice methods, he said, &quot;At every concert I leave a lot to the moment. I must have the unexpected, the unforeseen. I want to risk, to dare. I want to be surprised by what comes out. I want to enjoy it more than the audience. That way the music can bloom anew.&quot;<p>Not all work benefits from risk, the drop of blood, the unexpected, that are all baked into the right amount of effort, but a great deal of valuable and innovative work does.