How to get better at anything (And keep getting better for life)
When attempting to get better at a particular skill, regardless of the domain, you have 4 ways to do it. First, do it with consistency. Second, do it with increasing quality. Third, do it with increasing quantity. Fourth, do it with increasing difficulty. Let’s break that down:
Consistency
When starting with a new skill, this is the first lever to pull. Practice the skill with increasing frequency. 10 minutes everyday will yield better results than one 60 minute session per week.
Quality
Once consistency is established then look to improve the quality of the practice. By quality I mean the intention and focus you bring to the practice. Get the phone out of the room, eliminate distractions, and place all your effort into being present for the practice of this one thing.
Quantity
The next lever to pull is quantity. The goal here is to increase the volume of the practice session. The volume could be counted in time, reps, or any other objective measure of the amount of work you are doing per practice session.
Difficulty
The last lever to consider pulling is increasing difficulty. There is a sweet spot, when we are operating just on the edge of our current ability where we learn best. Adjusting the practice to spend more time straddling that edge will lead to quicker improvements in execution.
Here are two ways in which I am applying this framework in my own life currently. There are two newish skills I am aiming to develop over the next 6 months: writing and mountain biking.
Writing
Writing is not a new skill. I’ve been writing in some form since kindergarten. However writing in this form is newer. Trying to take complex topics and distilling them into simple, actionable resources could be considered a life’s work. And while I don’t currently consider it my life’s work, I do want to get better at it.
The first lever I am pulling is CONSISTENCY. I have a minimum standard of publishing 3 articles per week and writing something every single day. “Writing something” doesn’t mean a full article, but writing something that helps support the minimum standard. Once I maintain this CONSISTENCY for 3 months, I will look at the next lever: QUALITY.
With QUALITY I will start to be more intentional about my writing environment, especially when I sit down to write full articles. I’m currently sitting in a busy breakfast spot with my phone on the table. Both of these are taking away from capacity to bring more intention and focus to my writing. Once I establish a strong routine for QUALITY, then I will increase the QUANTITY. This may come in the form of more time writing per week or raising my minimum standard. But I feel I am at least 6 months away from pulling that lever.
Mountain Biking
Mountain biking is a broad skill set. It depends on the bike, the terrain, the distance, the weather, and a myriad of other factors. I am a novice and I am getting ready to sign up for the High Cascade 100. A 100 mile mountain bike race through Oregon’s high desert and alpine wilderness. Will I be racing? I’ll be racing myself, just as I did in the Seventy48 this past spring.
The biggest area I will be focusing on improving is my fitness. And by fitness I mean my ability to produce more power per pedal stroke for 100 miles. Again the first lever I am going to pull is CONSISTENCY. I need to spend more time in the saddle. Starting in January I will be setting a minimum standard of pedaling 5 days per week. Along with CONSISTENCY I will also be looking at QUALITY. In this context QUALITY for me means riding at the speed and power outputs required to improve the physiological qualities I am after. That takes intention and focus.
With CONSISTENCY and QUALITY established I can start progressing the QUANTITY (in time or miles) of each ride to further drive the adaptations required to ride 100 miles. Along with QUANTITY I will increase the DIFFICULTY by spending less time on the trainer and more time on trails that challenge my ability to handle the bike across a broad variety of terrains.
Whats a skill that you are currently aiming to get better at? What do you need more of at this time: consistency, quality, quantity, or difficulty?