Japa Default Setting

In a recent krishna.com live video broadcast, Mahatma dasa was talking about the default setting for our Japa...what level we chant on - whether that is on a low setting (inattentive, doing other things, not pronouncing properly etc.) or a higher level (focusing on the sound, pronouncing properly etc.)
The point was that whatever level we set during our Japa one day will determine the level for the next. If we raise the default level of our chanting, then this will become the new default level for our minds - if we try to raise the level of our Japa quality, then we will be able to reach a default setting of 10.