Better yet
A couple weeks back I set myself a daily painting challenge (7 paintings for 7 days). First of all, it was fun finally being in a place where I could explore a maximally intensive incentive structure - over the summer I did pretty well with a rough goal of one illustration per week, but the daily thing - it's a heavy dopamine hit.
Even just a week was still moderately disruptive to my sleep schedule and personal life, but [having recovered from sleep disruption, I can now cavalierly say that] that is simply useful information.
I'd say that the most far-reaching consequence of this experiment was becoming able to work more intentionally:
1) I became much more aware of the range of marks allowed by each of my brushes: e.g., I work much bigger now, and don't shift down into the detail brush unless I really, really have to.
2) I am far more attentive to drying times and water handling generally - controlling gradients, dropping in pigment (I haven't played as much with dropping in water), etc.
These two together account for a much greater sense of control and deliberateness, and consequently a steadier working speed (because I don't as often fuck up, panic, and then have to try to go back and fix things).
I also rounded out my palette, finally invested in some new brushes, and found a few useful watercolor-centric blogs, which I hadn't thought to seek out specifically before. Watercolor is practically a lifestyle - such a strange medium it is - and it's helpful to keep being reminded of all the process and material considerations.