"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness" - James Thurber
Have you ever progressed more slowly than you would like? You might feel that you are putting in more time and effort than the next person, but you cannot seem to get ahead.
Science suggests that the road to becoming an expert is found through deliberate practice.
Scientists believe that this is all that is required to become an expert in any field.
The way in which you practice can have a much bigger impact on your results than how much you practice. Natural talent is not considered important within this learning model.
Use Deliberate Practise To Master Any Skill
Deliberate practice must be deliberate. Deliberate practice starts with a plan and has a goal. You might choose to focus on driving to the basketball goal with your left hand or work on your minor chord changes on the guitar. Randomly shooting baskets or strumming the guitar while watching commercials is not deliberate.
Divide your goal into sub-skills. Consider what you want to achieve and then determine the skills necessary to reach that goal.
Track your practice. Avoid relying on your memory to track your practice. Use a notebook, spreadsheet, or other means to record your results. Then review your practice session and make your plan for your next session. Spend a few minutes on this.
The better your plan, the faster you will progress. Avoid the trap of working mindlessly. Have a plan and continue to strengthen that plan.
Find a way to measure your skill. If you are mastering an instrument, record yourself and listen. If you are practicing your three-point shot, determine your percentage of success.
Be smart. Deliberate practice, even in small doses, can be much more effective than endless mindless practice. Avoid believing that you must practice eight plus hours per day to see significant results.
Focus on practicing as intelligently as possible.
One thing in particular that you may want to consider practicing is meditation. Believe it or not, meditation has the power to change and improve our lives in many different ways. Click below to get your meditations as a free gift so that you can experience the life changing benefits they have to offer.
Turn off all distractions. Turn off your electronic devices during your deliberate practice.
Practice near the limit of your capability. You will get the best return on your time investment if your practice at the point you make regular errors. Correcting those errors is vital. You do not learn much while doing things that are easy for you.
If you are constantly making mistakes, pull back a little. If you are just learning to speak a new language, taking the equivalent of a PhD level course will not be useful.
Keep a regular schedule. Experts believe the maximum amount of deliberate practice that can be completed in a day is four to five hours. If you can do more than this, you are probably not practicing deliberately.
Limit your session to ninety minutes, or until your focus starts to wander.
Seek a mentor. Until you are an expert yourself, you cannot accurately determine all of your mistakes. You also will not know the best way to correct them. Find a great mentor and use them effectively. While you might not be able to have a mentor present for every moment of your practice, spend as much time with them as possible.
Give deliberate practice a chance for a month. Resolve to practice at least one hour each day for the next thirty days. Practice deliberately and stretch yourself. You will be amazed at the improvement you enjoy in one, short month.
With thanks to Sean May https://www.scienceofimagery.com/6-tips-deliberate-practice/
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