Rant: I was tapping every brick with my trowel for 6 years before a guy on a job in Gary set me straight
I always tapped each brick twice with the trowel handle to seat it, figured it was the only way to get a solid bond, until a mason named Ray watched me for 10 minutes on a job in Gary and asked why I was wasting the motion. He showed me that on a full bed of mortar the brick seats itself with a light press and one tap, and my joints actually got more consistent once I stopped pounding. Anyone else pick up a habit early on that turned out to be pure wasted motion?