diff --git a/docs/development.md b/docs/development.md
index 93ec50f4be9a..7927bb39a35f 100644
--- a/docs/development.md
+++ b/docs/development.md
@@ -5,9 +5,12 @@
 ```shell
 git clone https://github.com/llvm/torch-mlir
 cd torch-mlir
-git submodule update --init
+git submodule update --init --progress
 ```
 
+Optionally, use `--depth=1` to make a shallow clone of the submodules.
+While this is running, you can already setup the Python venv and dependencies in the next step.
+
 ## Setup your Python VirtualEnvironment and Dependencies
 
 Also, ensure that you have the appropriate `python-dev` package installed