Deliberate Practice

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that in order to get better at something, you have to practice. But like a lot. 

This, among other things applies to painting and design in general. The 10.000 hours rule states that if you want to become an expert at anything, you must prepare to practice it for at least 10.000 hours. I for one, am a huge believer that the best way to learn something is to practice, and to practice a lot. You can read thousands of articles, watch hundreds of guides, attend dozens of conferences, but never ever will you actually learn it, if you don’t practice this thing daily. You have to put a lot of hard work in it! But does that mean that if you want to become an expert in art or any other field, you have to put at least 10.000 hours into it? 10.000 hours is a long time even if you’re working every single day including weekends. Let alone if you have a day job and can only spend a couple hours to work on your hobby? It will take you forever! Good thing is you can speed it up by practicing deliberately.It’s not just the quantity that counts, the practicing should be qualitative too. That’s why you should be as thoughtful as possible to get better sooner.

What is the deliberate practice?

Let me start off with the story of how I found out about deliberate practice. A few years ago, I was really into playing pool. I would be in the local pub practically every day and considered myself a pretty solid player (and alcoholic). I would go there to play pool with my mates and essentially it was my hobby which I was putting hours and hours into playing.

Since I was visiting this bar more than often, I inevitably started seeing the same faces. Some of the people were just there drinking but others would be there to play pool just like I was, but some of these people would be there by themselves to practice various combinations and strikes. These people would spend at the bar as much time as I did, but I rarely saw them playing with anyone else. It always seemed a bit weird to me, but after a while I understood the importance of their practicing method.

The more time passed, the better I got at the game and became somewhat of a pool shark. So I decided to test my skills at the mini-tournament we organised in the same bar. When I showed up to the tournament I spotted the same people I would see in the bar daily. I was confident in my skills and ready to face the opponents. But when I faced the first of them, I was trashed! I barely got a chance to do anything, because the other guy was unreal! The same guy who, I believe, spent approximately the same amount of time playing as me smashed me. And it wasn’t just him. I managed to win a couple of matches in the tournament.

After the event I approached my first opponent and asked about his secret as I was curious if he had a coach or maybe was attending a pool club. His answer was short but sweet - Deliberate Practice. We got chatting and he elaborated on his training techniques and how he deliberately practiced. He also told me that you could never become a pro at something by playing with your friends. You shouldn’t simply play the game, but rather focus on improving one aspect at a time and to set a goal. Only then once you reach it, you will know that you have improved.

After that night I started applying these principles to everything I was doing. My approach to art was no exception in this either. Let me explain some easy ways as to how you could learn design or basically anything faster and more efficiently by using deliberate practice.

Know your weaknesses

First and foremost, you shouldn’t be repeatedly doing what you already know how to do. Determine your weaknesses and focus on a specific goal that will help you to overcome these weaknesses.

Deconstruct

Try deconstructing the topic to its bare essentials and start off with working on one small part of it that you feel is the most difficult for you. When you reach your goal of improving it, see how it has impacted your skills regarding the whole topic. Repeat it again and again until you’re dead.

Focus on one thing at a time

Remember that by simply working in one field without any challenges, you will get little to no improvement. Vague overall improvement is really bad because you don\"t know what adjustments you should do to get better. If you intentionally focus on just one thing, you quickly start noticing how it could be improved.

Go Outside Your Comfort Zone

Always go outside your comfort zone and constantly try things that seem beyond your current abilities. This means that most of the times you won’t feel great practicing something because you will need to put a lot of effort into it and it’s generally not enjoyable. But if you only do things that are comfortable, you will never improve. 

You should never go into autopilot. In every field, after you reach a certain skill level you risk slipping into doing things automatically without even thinking about it. But the moment when you stop thinking and challenging yourself, you stop progressing.

Make mistakes

There is another great thing about stepping out of your comfort zone. And it is making mistakes. Here’s what I mean: when you do the uncomfortable, you are entitled to make a lot of mistakes. 

Of course failing isn’t the greatest feeling, I know that well, but after you make a mistake you will later be able to find the way to fix it. It’s just how people are. If you never make mistakes, you will never improve.

Find a mentor

Another fundamental part of the deliberate practice is that you should always have someone who is more experienced by your side to teach you or point out what you could improve upon. I know that it may be difficult to find a mentor, but when you have access to the internet, you can connect to a lot of people to advise you. You can join and share your works on various social networks to get such needed feedback. It can be niche communities and groups where people discuss and exchange ideas, and get knowledge and feedback this way. Also, courses, blogs and books come in super handy when it comes to getting advice from the more experienced people.

Summary

So to sum up everything. Practice is what makes you better. You can be wildly talented, but without practice you would achieve nothing. And every person that isn’t as talented, but works - will outwork you. Also, remember that not only quantity, but the quality of the practice is important! Always try to deconstruct the topic and work on your weaknesses. Come out of your comfort zone, don’t be afraid to make mistakes and always look for ways to improve. Start using deliberate practice to work on your abilities in all fields, no matter if it’s your day job or a hobby. Use it to improve your morning rituals, your design skills or anything else you do.

Quality over quantity - practice deliberately and get better every single day. Let me know in the comments what your thoughts on this is and what motivates you to keep improving and honing your craft!

Eternally Chill,

Cai Nai