Become Better At Anything Through Deliberate Practice
Deliberate or intentional practice is the path to getting better results in any field. It's a specific method that makes the difference between an ordinary performance and an outstanding achievement. These are some guidelines for engaging in intentional practice and specific applications for how to use it in your daily life.
General Guidelines for Intentional Practice
Be patient. A large body of research confirms that it takes time to become an expert, whether you want to be a pianist or a titan of industry.
Aim for consistency. As you would expect, you must practice regularly. Just like kids forget their course work during summer vacation, you may squander your efforts if you take prolonged breaks. Daily practice or consistency is essential to success.
Understand the learning curve. Sometimes you may enjoy dramatic results when you first take up anything new. Then, you hit a plateau where you need to become more strategic if you want to keep advancing. Remember that everything worthwhile is uphill
Hone in on specific areas. Identify the areas where you want to improve and focus your practice there. For example, you may have identified that writing is one of your strengths, but you want to acquire more specific knowledge and expertise in technical writing so that you can add more value to your team.
Be prepared for lots of repetition. The willingness to endure repetitive drills is what distinguishes the best performers. Keep in mind that the most productive methods may not feel like a lot of fun.
Keep your sessions relatively brief. Researchers have found that three to five hours a day is the absolute maximum for most people, spread over individual sessions of ninety minutes or less. Pace yourself according to the amount of time during which you can maintain an intense level of concentration.
Set specific goals. Use a blend of goals related to both outcomes and the process itself. The important thing is to approach your usual tasks with the mindset of becoming better at them.
Expand your mental model. Try to identify all the factors that go into your chosen experience. Keep adding to the list and experimenting with new combinations. For example, keep a journal so you can spot what conditions support or sabotage your healthy diet.
Seek feedback. Outside observers may spot weaknesses that you fail to see. Partner up with a more experienced friend or hire a coach.
Evaluate your progress. Check in regularly to review how you're doing. Ask yourself what is going well and where you need to make changes.
Specific Applications for Intentional Practice in Your Daily Life
Enhance your exercise routine. Sports are one field where deliberate practice has been studied extensively. You can use the same techniques as professional athletes to get the most out of your yoga classes.
Get creative. Music and other arts are also areas where practice obviously matters. You may want to resume the piano lessons you started as a child.
Move ahead in your career. Any occupation can be broken down into tasks where you can make continual improvements. Brush up on your financial management skills or take a more systematic approach to making successful sales calls.
Enrich your relationships. Even interpersonal relationships have many aspects that respond to practice. Experiment with delivering constructive criticism more tactfully with your family and co-workers.
Intentional practice requires time and hard work, but you can reap the benefits, regardless of whether you think you have any special innate talent for the activities you care about most. Focus on the areas where you want to improve and be patient. Over the long term, diligent repetition and targeted feedback will pay off.
