Deliberate practice is a focused approach to learning that targets explicit weaknesses and works to develop skills/knowledge in those areas. It’s a more effective way to develop a skill than through simple “passive” repetition (naive practice).
Some of the core components of deliberate practice include:
- Narrow Goals: during a given practice session, you should set and pursue specific, narrow goals. Rather than practicing “basketball,” you might practice dribbling with your offhand while running.
- Immediate & Actionable Feedback: you need a way to detect and fix errors before bad habits crystalize.
- High Mental Investment: deliberate practice requires high mental investment (largely due to the self-monitoring component). A corollary of this is that it’s not possible to engagement in deliberate practice for marathon sessions.