The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything | Josh Kaufman | TEDxCSU

I recently wrote a book on this topic[1][2], and you're quite right - most people seem to get wrapped up in the status that surrounds the idea of expertise when the real value of this research is what it tells us about how to go about acquiring new skills for personal or professional use. As you mentioned, practicing to the point of enjoying the skill is the most effective strategy. If you can reach the point where practicing is fun, you're much more likely to continue leveling up. Adult learners typically find the first few hours of practicing a new skill extremely frustrating, and a very low percentage will complete even 2-3 hours of deliberate practice if the skill is complex, ambiguous, or challenging. Somewhere around hours 3-10, however, you start to see clear improvements, and pushing through frustration is much less of a factor. That's the point where you start seeing clear results. In my research/experience, the threshold for acquiring new skills for personal or professional use is somewhere around 20 hours. That's not "expertise" - it's being able to produce a desired result or enjoy the experience. In the vast majority of cases, you don't need to be an "expert" to derive value from practicing new skills. Since most people have a hard time pushing through the early frustration barrier, 10-20 hours of strategic, deliberate practice will also give you a surprising level of competence compared to other people. All it really takes is having a smart strategy that ensures

I'm not an expert, but I researched this once. You can train any particular question that's asked at an IQ test, but someone can always think of new IQ test questions that you will fail if you're not smart enough (i.e. your brain adapts to new problems fast enough). There is a training program (I forgot the name) that trains you at solving IQ test problems sort of in general but it's unclear if it just trains people at solving the sort of questions that IQ test people tend to think of. The way I understand it the most reliable way of training for plasticity if it is possible at all is to learn as many different things as you can. That means: Learn to program, learn a language with a different root (Chinese), learn to dance, learn woodworking, learn to practice law, learn to do team sport, etc.. Basically have as many hobbies as you can. (Switching every X months) making sure they have as little in common as possible. Here's a talk on how long it takes to become 'good enough' at anything: [this video] Have fun ;)

Here's an old album of the style meter I use [1]. I recommend a soothing blue & green for hobbies, I use red for client work. 20 Hours is the allocation for all skill learning. The tokens are part of a much larger whole as I've unified fun, skills, work, mental health and financial planning into a single system. I have programs that do most of it, but keeping it as a marker/paper UI is critical if you struggle with mental health or motivation, so that you can easily bootstrap yourself. I extended the 20 hour practice idea from Josh Kaufman [2] I highly recommend Sam Harris (Waking Up), Alan Watts, Laozi for mindfulness / meditation, as well as Iain McGilchrist (The Master & His Emissary), Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (Flow) and David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest) for metaphorical inspiration. Learning to play at life in any moment helps to eliminate tedium & boredom from your vocabulary. [1] [link] [2] [this video]