I don&#x27;t think they always need to be consecutive.  I&#x27;ve seen situations where, say you practice deliberately for one hour.  You see some noticeable progress, but for maybe the last half of the time your progress slows or levels off.  Then, you can go away for awhile (maybe a day or a week) and when you come back you seem to be much better.<p>Not all activities work like this, but some do.  Good teachers, however, pretty much always help.  :)