My 3-month experiment with emulation in real life

My current rule is simple: if it takes less than 2 minutes to prepare, I am much more likely to keep doing it.

Part of me wanted the fancy version with all the tools. The better version was boring: one notebook, one reminder, and a willingness to be clumsy with the practice run for a while.

Would love to hear how other people handle this. I am especially curious about the version that works on a tired weekday, not just on an ideal Sunday.

Context: I am not an expert, just someone trying to make Retro Gaming feel less intimidating. I wrote down what worked, what felt awkward, and what I would do differently next time.