The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything | Josh Kaufman | TEDxCSU
TLDRIn this inspiring talk, the speaker shares his journey of becoming a parent and the impact it had on his life, including the challenge of finding time to learn new skills. He debunks the myth of the '10,000-hour rule' for mastery, suggesting that 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice is enough to achieve a reasonable level of proficiency in any skill. The speaker outlines a method to efficiently learn a new skill and demonstrates his point by learning to play the ukulele, showcasing his progress after 20 hours of practice.
Takeaways
- 👨👩👧 Becoming a parent changes one's life and priorities overnight, creating a steep learning curve and a busy lifestyle.
- 👕 Learning to be a parent includes mastering new skills, such as dressing a child, which can be humorously challenging.
- 🏡 Balancing work and parenting from home can be hectic, especially for entrepreneurs who manage their own businesses.
- 🌙 Sleep deprivation can intensify the feeling of having no free time, which can be concerning for those who value continuous learning.
- 🤓 The speaker's curiosity led him to research how to learn new skills quickly, given the limited time as a new parent.
- 📚 The '10,000 hours rule' for mastery is often misunderstood; it's about reaching expert level in highly competitive fields, not just becoming proficient.
- 🕵️♂️ The original 10,000 hours concept comes from K. Anders Ericsson's study of expert performance in various fields.
- 📉 The learning curve for new skills shows rapid improvement with initial practice, suggesting that mastery isn't necessary for being 'reasonably good'.
- ⏱️ It takes approximately 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice to achieve a basic level of proficiency in a new skill.
- 🛠️ Effective learning involves deconstructing the skill, self-correcting with minimal resources, removing barriers to practice, and committing to practice for at least 20 hours.
- 🎶 The speaker demonstrates the 20-hour practice method by learning to play the ukulele and performing a medley of songs, achieving proficiency in a short time.
Q & A
What significant life event did the speaker experience two years ago?
-The speaker and his wife Kelsey welcomed their daughter Lela into the world.
How did becoming a parent change the speaker's life?
-Becoming a parent made the speaker's whole world change overnight, altering all of his priorities and requiring him to learn a lot about parenting.
What humorous anecdote did the speaker share about learning to dress his child?
-The speaker shared a funny story about an outfit he thought was a good idea, which even his infant daughter Lela seemed to know was not a good idea.
What are the challenges the speaker and his wife face as they both work from home with an infant?
-The speaker and his wife, both entrepreneurs running their own businesses from home, face the challenge of managing their work while ensuring everything gets done amidst the busyness of life with an infant.
What thought did the speaker have around week eight of his new parenthood experience?
-The speaker had the thought that he would never have free time ever again due to the demands of parenthood and work.
What does the speaker enjoy more than anything else, and how did the lack of free time affect this?
-The speaker enjoys learning new things and diving into new areas of knowledge. The lack of free time made him worry that he would not be able to continue this passion.
What is the '10,000 hours rule' that the speaker discovered in his research?
-The '10,000 hours rule' is the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert in a particular field, a concept popularized by K. Anders Ericsson.
How did the speaker initially feel about the '10,000 hours rule'?
-The speaker initially felt disheartened and overwhelmed by the '10,000 hours rule', believing he would never have the time to learn anything new.
What misconception about the '10,000 hours rule' does the speaker clarify?
-The speaker clarifies that the '10,000 hours Rule' applies to reaching the top of an ultra-competitive field and not necessarily to becoming good or learning something new.
What is the actual time frame the speaker suggests to go from knowing nothing to being reasonably good at a new skill?
-The speaker suggests that 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice is enough to go from knowing nothing to being reasonably good at a new skill.
What method did the speaker propose to efficiently learn a new skill in 20 hours?
-The speaker proposed a method that includes deconstructing the skill, learning enough to self-correct, removing barriers to practice, and committing to practice for at least 20 hours.
What personal example did the speaker provide to demonstrate the effectiveness of his proposed learning method?
-The speaker provided the example of learning to play the ukulele, showing his progress after 20 hours of practice by playing a medley of pop songs.
What is the major barrier to learning something new according to the speaker?
-The speaker identifies the major barrier to learning something new as emotional rather than intellectual, with the fear of feeling stupid being a significant obstacle.
What encouragement does the speaker offer to those interested in learning a new skill?
-The speaker encourages people to invest 20 hours into whatever they want to learn, emphasizing that it's a manageable commitment that can lead to significant progress.
Outlines
😀 Becoming a Parent and the Impact on Personal Time
The speaker shares his experience of becoming a parent two years ago and how it dramatically changed his life and priorities. He humorously discusses the challenges of learning to dress his child and the adjustments of working from home with his wife, Kelsey, while managing a new baby. The speaker expresses concern over the lack of free time due to parenthood, which affects his ability to learn new things, a passion of his. He embarks on a quest to understand how long it takes to acquire a new skill, discovering the '10,000 hours rule' and feeling disheartened by the prospect of dedicating so much time to mastery.
📚 Debunking the 10,000 Hours Rule for Mastery
The speaker clarifies the misconceptions around the '10,000 hours rule', explaining that it originated from studies of expert performance by K. Anders Ericsson and was popularized by Malcolm Gladwell's book 'Outliers'. The rule was misinterpreted as a requirement for learning anything new, rather than achieving expert-level performance in highly competitive fields. The speaker highlights that the early stages of learning a new skill are very efficient, with significant improvements achievable with minimal practice, and introduces the concept that learning to a competent level may not require as much time as widely believed.
🎼 The Method to Learn a New Skill in 20 Hours
The speaker introduces a method to learn a new skill efficiently, suggesting that 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice can lead to remarkable proficiency. He outlines a four-step process: deconstructing the skill into smaller, manageable parts; acquiring enough knowledge to self-correct during practice; removing barriers to practice such as distractions; and committing to practice for at least 20 hours to overcome the initial frustration barrier. The speaker emphasizes the importance of intelligent and efficient practice to maximize the effectiveness of the 20 hours invested.
🌟 Personal Experiment: Learning to Play the Ukulele
The speaker shares a personal anecdote of learning to play the ukulele to test his theory of efficient learning. He describes the initial steps of acquiring the instrument and the necessary tools, the process of learning a few essential chords, and selecting a song to practice. The speaker demonstrates his progress by performing a medley of pop songs using only four chords, showcasing the power of focused practice. He concludes by emphasizing that the emotional barrier of feeling stupid is often the main obstacle to learning something new, and encourages the audience to invest 20 hours into learning anything that interests them.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Parenting
💡Entrepreneurs
💡Deliberate Practice
💡10,000 Hour Rule
💡Skill Acquisition
💡Learning Curve
💡Focused Deliberate Practice
💡Deconstructing a Skill
💡Self-Correction
💡Barriers to Practice
💡Emotional Barrier
Highlights
The speaker's life changed when he became a parent and had to adapt to new priorities and challenges.
Becoming a parent is an amazing experience that changes your world overnight and requires learning many new things, like dressing a child.
Both the speaker and his wife work from home as entrepreneurs, adding to the busyness of their lives with a new infant.
The speaker initially felt he would never have free time again due to the demands of parenthood and work.
The 10,000 hour rule, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, states it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert, which the speaker initially found discouraging.
The 10,000 hour rule originated from studies of expert performance by K. Anders Ericsson, focusing on professionals in highly competitive fields.
The speaker discovered that the 10,000 hour rule is often misinterpreted and does not apply to learning new skills in general, but rather to reaching the top of a field.
Research on skill acquisition shows that significant improvement can be achieved with much less than 10,000 hours, contradicting the popular belief.
The speaker found that 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice is enough to go from knowing nothing to being reasonably good at a new skill.
A method for efficient learning includes deconstructing the skill into smaller pieces, learning enough to self-correct, removing barriers to practice, and committing to practice for at least 20 hours.
The speaker tested his theory by learning to play the ukulele in 20 hours and demonstrated his progress by performing a medley of songs.
The major barrier to learning something new is emotional, not intellectual, as feeling stupid or incompetent can be discouraging.
The speaker encourages the audience to invest 20 hours into learning anything that interests them, emphasizing that it is a feasible and rewarding endeavor.
The speaker's personal experience with learning the ukulele in 20 hours serves as a practical demonstration of his learning method and the potential for rapid skill acquisition.
The talk concludes with the message that anyone can overcome the emotional barriers to learning and achieve competence in a new skill with focused effort.
Transcripts
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