How to become an expert in carding or whatever. Deliberate practice.

[Brother]

In the past, people spent their entire lives to become masters in any kind of craft. The modern world requires a lot more mobility. In the context of rapidly changing technologies, it is increasingly necessary to master completely new skills. Do you need to spend tens of thousands of hours for this, as popular theories say? How important is talent? How to master new activities with maximum efficiency? And what is deliberate practice? Read on in the article.

Debunking the myth of 10,000 hours​

In Malcolm Gladwell's book Geniuses and Outsiders, he points to 10,000 as the “magic number” of hours that a person must devote to a particular craft in order to become a master.

He refers to people like Bill Gates or the Beatles who have put in a huge amount of time to hone their skills to perfection. He argues that this theory is based on research by Dr. K. Anders Eriksson, a professor of psychology who is a pioneer in the science of productivity and personal effectiveness.
In fact, Ericsson doesn't quite agree with Gladwell's findings. Here's what he says about this:

... a popularized but simplistic view of our work ... which assumes that anyone who has accumulated enough hours of practice in a given field is automatically an expert and a champion.

According to Ericsson, becoming a master does not depend on accumulating a certain number of hours in a particular area. Much more important is what you do. Relatively speaking, if you beat a punching bag every day for half an hour, even 20,000 hours of this activity will not help you become a world boxing champion.

How important are innate talents?​

There is a general assumption that talent is something we are born with or not. However, Ericsson argues that genetics plays a much smaller role than we think. Take Mozart, for example. The vast majority of people consider him a musical genius. However, according to the psychologist:

If we compare the musical works that Mozart performs at different ages, with modern children, well-trained children, then he is no exception. In any case, it does not deviate much from the average.

He argues that Mozart achieved mastery not because of inherited talent, but because he practiced long and hard from an early age.

There is evidence that working memory is inherited and that childhood cognitive abilities play a role in adult success. But regardless of genetic background, competence cannot be built without long and hard work.

Why is regular practice not enough?​

As a rule, repeated practice takes us to the intermediate level. After the initial exponential growth, a plateau sets in - progress slows down greatly or stops altogether. This is because the action becomes automatic - and the brain makes no effort to perfect it. Basically, you are just developing a reflex. This is why repeating a skill regularly for thousands of hours does not lead to absolute mastery. You are maintaining the skill, not improving.

And for most areas of our lives, a basic level of skill is enough. But if we want to truly succeed, we must overcome that complacency and step out of our comfort zone. People who are constantly improving don't put themselves on autopilot.

The five o'clock rule​

Writer and entrepreneur Michael Simmons has found a common denominator associated with Ericsson's research. Simmons calls this the "five-hour rule": one hour, every weekday, should be devoted to high-intensity learning.

And it is these consistent, intense bursts of effort that are the most effective and quickest way to achieve expertise in any area.

Sounds a little more mundane than the 10,000 hour rule, doesn't it? In addition, it allows you to set new standards each time without stopping in your development. Finally, by keeping your brain as concentrated as possible in such a short period, your productivity will rise to its highest level.

Deliberate practice​

As mentioned above, the main thing is not how much time you devote to your occupation, but how exactly you do it.

Deliberate practice involves more than just mindless repetition of certain actions. It involves constantly balancing on the verge of what you already know how to do and skills that are completely new to you. This is a way to constantly be one foot out of your comfort zone. Use the following 4 rules to learn to develop your skills consciously:

Set small and specific goals​

As in any other business, the right goal is half the battle. As you learn a skill, you too must have a specific, measurable destination. You must constantly keep it in focus - this will help you stay on track.

Goals that are too high will be more of a scarecrow than a motivator. And the process of achieving them (even if you do go to it) will turn out to be too long. In addition, they are more likely to be quite blurry - which will also make your task more difficult.

Therefore, for each global idea, set small, short or medium-term goals (for example, for a week or a month). This will allow you to quickly move from one tangible target to another. And each success will motivate you to new achievements. Small goals are the foundation of deliberate practice. They should take into account your current knowledge and gradually move you towards meaningful and visible change.

This is how it might look in practice:
1. The global long-term goal is to become an expert in running.
2. The intermediate goal is to complete the half marathon in 2019.
3. Small Routines - Increase your jogging time by 5 minutes every week.

Be consistent​

Long, daily efforts quickly become boring, and the initial motivation and enthusiasm quickly evaporate. But it is in this routine that the key to gaining expertise lies.
Deliberate practice is not necessarily enjoyable: you have to sacrifice short-term pleasure for long-term success. This dilemma applies to most areas of life.

People love inspirational stories about passionate pursuits of dreams. But usually, real-life success stories are boring enough. At least for the most important, foundational part of the job. The classic example is the invention of the light bulb. Thomas Edison tested thousands of filament designs and materials until he found a working one. No one would listen to a thousand stories about different types of light bulbs. But it is precisely this thousand-fold repetition that allows you to create brilliant things.

Your job is to make consistency a habit. The 5 o'clock rule above is great for this concept. Regular, consistent practice gradually turns into a habitual regime, and then you no longer have to motivate and convince yourself every time.

Track and Measure​

To make progress in any area, you need to accurately identify your strengths and weaknesses in order to understand where to put your main efforts. To do this, you need to constantly monitor your performance: how much you are doing, at what speed and efficiency.

How many posts do you post per day / week? How many sales did you make in an hour? How many kilometers do you run per day?
Be methodical and track your progress every day. Keep a special diary and note your achievements and mistakes in it - in order to analyze and not repeat them.

It is also important to receive regular feedback: from experts or colleagues, as well as through self-assessment. Your views on your own progress should be as realistic as possible - this is the only way to count on real, not imaginary, success.

Rest and switch​

Deliberate practice requires your full, undivided, 100% attention. Of course, it can only be maintained for short periods of time. That is why experts have limited the optimal practice time to one hour a day, three to five days a week. Maximum you can extend this period up to 2 hours.

Sometimes you may feel like you are capable of more. And you will want to practice for longer. You can of course do this, but the effectiveness of this practice will be lower. Therefore, you should still be distracted and relax. Remember, you need to work on productivity and speed, not volume. Set a timer and end as soon as it goes off. And next time, try to do more and better in the same time.

And, of course, extreme concentration requires an equally substantial amount of rest. Just like in sports, your workout lasts 1-2 hours and your recovery time is about 24 hours. No one can become a champion if they use the opposite proportion.

Summary​

Contrary to popular belief, mastery can be achieved in less than 10,000 hours. Or longer - the question is how exactly you practice. Talent matters, but hard work is the key. The 5-hour rule states that you should devote at least an hour to your craft every weekday. However, your activity must be super intense. Deliberate practice also means that you have to set small and specific goals, be committed to a consistent routine of practice, and measure and track your results. And do not forget about the rest, which is necessary after the maximum exertion of your abilities.