The five-minute sketch
A daily five-minute sketching habit, with the materials and rules that make it sustainable for years rather than weeks.
The most reliable way to start drawing seriously is to commit to five minutes a day. Not thirty minutes, not "an hour when I have time" — five minutes you cannot reasonably miss.
Why this works
Five minutes is short enough that the daily friction never builds up. The first week feels too short. The second feels right. By the third month you have produced about a hundred sketches, which is more drawing practice than most aspiring artists do in years.
The materials matter less than the daily commitment. A small notebook in your bag and one pencil — that is the entire kit. Add to it later only when something specific is missing.