LLTT Newsletter - February 2026
LLTT Newsletter - February 2026
It Takes What It Takes
Let’s discuss these five important words.
There is no shortcut to shorthand mastery. We know you've been looking for one. Most shorthand students spend a surprising amount of time searching for the thing that will make it all click faster, easier, sooner. The magic resource, the perfect method, the ideal drill sequence. And whilst searching, they are not practising. The shortcut is the longest route there is.
So what does it actually take?
It takes a commitment. Not a casual interest, not good intentions, not "I'll try to fit it in." A genuine, eyes-open commitment to the process, however long that process turns out to be for you.
"If you fail in your effort, just remain calm and try again. That is the way to succeed." — Harry Butler
And here's the important bit: that length of time will NOT look like anyone else's. Two students can start together, study the same material, practise with equal dedication, and yet progress at entirely different rates. This is not a problem. This is just human beings being human beings. Your path to shorthand mastery is your own, and comparing it to someone else's is a waste of the energy you need for the actual work.
It takes understanding that the only way to truly fail is to stop. A bad session is not failure. A week of bad sessions is not failure. Forgetting outlines you were sure you'd mastered, most assuredly not failure. Losing a passage entirely and staring at a page of ‘hieroglyphics,’ still not failure.
Failure is a single, definitive act: the act of stopping. Everything else, however frustrating (and it IS frustrating), is simply part of the process.
Speaking of forgetting, let's reframe that entirely. When you come back to your notebook after a few days away and find your outlines have apparently vanished from memory, it can feel as though something has gone wrong with you. It hasn't. What is actually happening is that your brain is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. The retrieval effort required to pull those outlines back is precisely what strengthens long-term retention.
The forgetting, and the re-learning, is the learning. It is not a setback. It is the mechanism.
It takes writing shorthand. Reading shorthand is valuable. Studying theory is valuable. Revising outlines, learning new ones, understanding the rules, all of it has worth. But there is only one way to develop the ability to write shorthand under pressure, and that is to write shorthand under pressure.
Frequently.
Repetitively.
Sometimes boringly.
As hard as it can be, the hand and brain must learn to work together at speed, and that connection is physical as much as it is intellectual. It takes time to build, it cannot be rushed, and there is no substitute for the actual doing of it. Further, much of it is outside of your control. Fifteen minutes a day, every day, is worth more than an hour twice a week. You just need to turn up. Pick up the pen. And write.
It takes resilience through the bad days, and there will be many. Some sessions will feel effortless, almost magical, and you will think you've cracked it. Then the next day (sometimes the next several days) might then be hard. Nothing flows. Outlines you've written a hundred times look unfamiliar. Your hand feels clumsy. Your confidence dips.
This is not regression. This is the completely normal, entirely predictable, thoroughly well-documented rhythm of acquiring a complex motor skill.
The only sensible option is to keep going. Do not (ever) let a rough patch convince you of something that isn't true.
Teeline is, at its core, a mental game and a physical one simultaneously, which is precisely what makes it so rewarding to master. You are training your brain to think in a new ‘language’ whilst training your hand to execute that language automatically, without conscious direction, at speed. That is genuinely remarkable. Most people will never do it. But you can.
It will take what it takes.
Not what you wish it would take.
Not what it took for someone else.
And not what a particular website or book or a shortcut promises.
It will take the hours you put in.
It will take the outlines you write and rewrite.
It will take the passages you struggle through.
It will take the days you show up when you definitely don't want to.
Ultimately, it will take patience to trust a process that does not always feel like it is working. Right up until the moment it does.
The only question worth asking yourself is a simple one: are you honestly still trying?
If yes, success will be yours. Carry on.
"You will never achieve success in shorthand by simply thinking about it; less thinking and more persistent hard work is what is needed." — Frank Harrison, Shorthand Magazine, 1893
As always, if you have suggestions or topics you'd like to see covered in future newsletters, please contact us:
https://www.letsloveteelinetogether.com/contact-us
If you find this newsletter helpful, please help us spread the word and forward to a friend!
A Parting Thought
Be sure to visit us at the LLTT Website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Quizlet and Soundcloud.
If you’re looking for Teeline reading practice, Skill Building Through Reading 📗 - is available for purchase online.
Much work (and ❤️!) has gone into this 48 page, 6x9 softcover book:
Five 5️⃣ carefully selected passages: Improve your sight 👁️ recognition of outlines and word groupings.
Dual Format: Each passage includes both printed Teeline and the longhand ✍️ transcription.
Proven Learning Approach: Reading printed 🖨️ shorthand is a method long-favoured by skilled practitioners.
Whether you're a student, journalist, or professional seeking to improve your note-taking, this book will be a valuable addition to your Teeline learning resources.
To order, please visit the book’s landing page or respond to this email with any questions.
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