I did the same thing with my older brother's advice about learning keyboard shortcuts before memorizing menu paths. Blew him off for months because it felt boring and slow. Then I forced myself to do 10 minutes a day of just shortcut drills and after two weeks my speed about doubled. Taking your cousin's loop advice and shrinking it down to 5 tiny exercises is the part that really works. Small reps beat one big grind every time.

Tbh "following the sheet" is literally what the sheet is for, it's a starting point tested at 70 degrees and messing with it every time the shop gets a little cold is how you end up chasing your own tail. If your sealer keeps flashing weird, that's a product problem or a gun problem, not a reason to freestyle your ratios.

That roommate comment would've stung but sounds like it helped.