TomD
That is 100% how I proceed. Jump in, assume you are going to reach the highest level, separate practice from projects. In a small way, it is the athletic model.

My experience, is that people will not do that. I would call the model more like risk management. The way they get better, when they do, is normally by bitting off projects they aren't ready for, which is admirable. And they normally try to take the easiest way out.

So while one never knows who the OP is as a woodworker, I have found it is more commonly a problem to assume they want to grow to a professional level, than to assume they want a ruler trick and a coffee.