Practice, practice and practice
From the Editor's Desk Arthur McLean
Hey folks, remember that old saying what does it take to get to Carnegie Hall? The answer is: practice, practice, practice.

Well, thanks to science, we now have a good idea of just how much practice you need, if not to reach Carnegie Hall then to at least be considered a worldclass expert in something.

The answer, according to science is (drumroll please) - 10,000 hours of focused practice! To convert that into something a little more manageable, 10,000 hours works out to be about three hours per day for 10 years.

They say studies show that the 10-year rule of thumb holds true for just about anyone doing just about anything. Whether it's top golfer Tiger Woods or chess master Bobby Fisher, scientists found that 10 years of focused practice leads to world-class proficiency.

The kicker here, of course is "focused practice." We can do lots of things for a long period of time, but that doesn't necessarily make us world class at it. We might all be world-class TV watchers but that's probably about it.

No, it has to be focused practice or study or some sort of training. Just going out and futzing around with whatever interests you for a few hours a day will likely certainly increase your aptitude, but I doubt it will get us into world-class territory.

Figuring out what exactly makes focused practice for some things might take some doing, but I'm sure with some effort you could figure it out.

Several articles published on the phenomenon suggest that you pay careful attention to actions and their results each time you work on your project. Getting feedback from others helps, and keeping a regular schedule of working on it makes a positive impact, studies suggested.

So, get out there and practice. Even if practice doesn't make perfect, it certainly seems to help.

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