Deliberate practice is a mindful and highly structured form of learning by doing. [1] It’s a process of continued experimentation to first achieve mastery [2] and eventually full automaticity of a specific skill [3]. A 2014 study published in Psychological Science [4.2] argues that it can increase our performance [4.4] by 26% in games, [4.5] 21% in music [5.1] and 18% in sports. [5.2] Here are some tips on how to do it well. [5.3]

Define Success and Drill Deliberately [1.1] Define all the elements you need to practice to become successful. [1.2] Then drill each element deliberately, one after the other. [1.4] In Tennis, that could be first your serves [2.1] and then later your leg work. [2.2] If you want to become a professional barista, first perfect your moves to make the espresso, [3.1] then your skills to serve the ideal coffee. [3.2]

Plan, Reflect and Take Notes [1.1] Plan out your practice routine, for example in a notebook. [1.2] After each session, reflect and write down what you've discovered: what worked? What didn’t? [2] The idea is to get a clear sense of how a particular session improves your skills [3.1] and then to experiment to find new and ever better way to achieve your goals. [3.2]

Go Slow [1.1] To build a good foundation of muscle memory, practice slow and correctly. [1.2] If we move too fast, we risk learning and internalizing the wrong skills, which can bring terrible consequences. [2] To achieve mastery, our brain needs time to develop. [P] So start slow [3.1] and then gradually increase the speed [3.2] until you give all you've got [3.3].

Limit Your Sessions to Focus [1.1] Deliberate practice is hard metal work. [1.2] Limit the sessions to a reasonable duration that allows you to stay focused. [2.1] This may be 15 minutes if you are younger [2.2f] and 60 minutes [2.3f] if you are older. [2.4] A Cristiano Ronaldo trains around 3-4 hours of football a day. [3] Young Shaolin Monks practice 2 hours in the morning [4.1] and two hours in the afternoon, [4.2] To keep their attention high, they switch the style of practice every 10 minutes. [4.3]

Maximize Practice Time [1.1] Legendary basketball coach John Wooden used to let each of his players practice putting on socks and shoes so that they learn to do it really fast. [1.2] By doing this, he maximized the time to practice throwing the ball [2] and discussing game strategy with his team. [3]

Track Small Intervals of Improvement [1.1] If you practice running 800 meters, count the milliseconds not the minutes. [1.4] If you are working out or practice controlling your diet, measure milligrams and millimeters. [2] The smaller the data points you measure, [3.1] the faster you see progress and [3.2] the more you feel motivated to continue. [3.3]

Emulate Practice, Not Performance [1.1] The top performance we see on screens or on stage [1.2] is the results of endless hard work behind the curtain. [2.1] If you want to become as good as Pavarotti in the Opera [3.1] or as skillful as Messi with the ball, [3.2] don’t watch them perform, study how they practice. [4]

Repetition Makes Perfect [1.1] In the 1990s, a team of German psychologists revealed that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become a professional violinist. [1.2] A similar study concluded it also takes almost just as long to become a great cigar maker. [2] New workers in a cuban cigar factory take around 25 seconds to make one cigar. [3.5] After 100,000 repetitions, it takes them just 15 seconds [4.3] and after 1 million only 8. [5.1] To reach peak performance, it takes 7 years and 10 million repetitions of the same hand movements. [5.4] Not practice, but repetition makes perfect. [P] Professional football teams therefore play daily what the Spanish players call "Rondo". [6] Piano players warm-up with Scales and Arpeggios. [7]

Routine Is Everything [1.1] To reach mastery, Young Shaolin Monks get up at 5:30AM. [1.2] Then chant, [1.3] eat breakfast [1.4] and practice two hours of kung fu. [1.5] At 11:30 they have a vegetarian lunch with no liquids to aid digestion. [2.1] At around 3PM, they practice another two hours. [2.2] At 5:30 is dinner, followed by chanting. [2.3] At 8 meditation. [2.4] At 10 time for bed. [2.5] Us normal people can start with 15 Minutes every day and then slowly increase our session.[3.2]

Get a Coach [1.1] The job of a coach is to show us our true potential [1.2] and then guide us in the right direction. [1.3] If you don’t have a coach, look for one. [P] It can a teacher, [2.1] a friend or even someone you find or follow online. [2.2] For our favorite teachers and coaches, visit our sprouts channel page and check out our playlists. [2.3]

The Dalai Lama believes deliberate practice not only works for muscles, but also for our mind. [1] He and other wise minds deliberately practice taking [2.1] other people's anger, [2.2] suspicion [2.3] and mistrust [2.4] and then giving them [3.1] patience, [3.2] tolerance [3.3] and compassion in return. [3.4] What do you think about deliberate practice, can we also use it for training our thinking skills? [4] Share your thoughts in the comments below! [P]