The Importance of Practice
What skills are you trying to develop, maintain, or strengthen to reach your goals this year? I’ve written about it before but practice is definitely a factor to think about when you are doing your personal development planning for the coming months.
You don’t have to practice for hours and hours per day but you should consider how much time you want to spend each day, week, and month when it comes to the acquisition of a new skill or strengthening of an old one. Malcolm Gladwell says that it typically takes about 10,000 hours to become a master of a given skill. This averages out to about 3 hours a day for 10 years. Now you don’t necessarily have to become a master. Plenty of people get by with just novice to good skill level. Heck, you can see people every day who get PAID for that type of skill. But for the area of your life you are working on, you need to give yourself some tough love and ask “How good in this area of my life do I need to be for it to be ‘good enough’ for me?”
Once you have determined what you can live with, it’s time to develop a plan:
1. Carve out an amount of time daily, weekly, or monthly to practice. It doesn’t matter how often because you’ve established how good you are okay with being. You just need to get the time in your day to do it with enthusiasm and energy. I regularly listen to business and success CD’s in my car on the drive to and from work and many times in between because I know I’ll have good chunks of uninterrupted time to learn and benefit from.
2. Be consistent. Once you’ve established your schedule, stick to it. Many people get started and fizzle out quickly. Reminding yourself of your goals and the desired outcome behind achieving those goals can be a great motivator. Set good habits early on and it will be second nature later. You don’t have to always show up, just show up more than not.
3. Put yourself in the company of those on a similar path. Is there a group or meeting in your area that has people who are interested in achieving an outcome or attaining a skill that you want? It may very well be worth it to join these groups and meet the people. It helps with your motivation as well as serves as a great resource when you get stuck.
4. Don’t just learn, but implement as well. This has been my biggest sticking point when I try to learn new skills and I know others have had the same problem. You get the book, or the home study course, or watch video about what you want to know. You go through the whole thing. Then you do nothing. Sometimes the validation of making it through a course can leave you feeling like you know the skill and you don’t feel the need to go further. Don’t cheat yourself. There is nothing like a good regular practical application of your skills to keep you sharp and make you better. Sitting back and reading will not get you anywhere. Take action!
Practice is one of those things that everybody realizes will help them but so many people overlook. Stay on the path this year. Make regular time in your schedule for practice!
