The Go Slow Life and "Deliberate Practice"
Anyone who has spent any amount of time with me knows I'm a huge fan of the work of Cal Newport.
I was even on a work conference call with a woman whom I had never met before, and as we waited for the rest of the participants to join, she and I got off on a tangent about Deep Work and how multi-tasking is an illusion (and highly inefficient). I'm a Deep Work evangelist.
I'm currently rereading his work So Good They Can't Ignore You and was reminded of the concept of "Deliberate Practice".
Deliberate practice is the HIIT of cognitive tasks. It is highly focused, high intensity, only deliberate breaks. It is often uncomfortable or unpleasant. It differs from a "flow state" in the sense that a flow state is generally highly focused and uninterrupted, but not uncomfortable. A flow state is usually paired with a task that the individual is already highly skilled in.
Some examples of deliberate practice might be
- The first time you try meditating
- Reading a contract to infer the meaning
- Learning a new instrument
- Writing, assuming you're doing it without checking facebook every 5 minutes. (I'm finding writing this blog post to be somewhere between deliberate practice and flow -- my brain keeps trying to jump ahead to things on my to-do list elsewhere in the world, but I'm committed to writing this post in one sitting.)
Deliberate Practice is one of the ways in which you start to expand elevate your talents and skills. The alternative is perfunctory practice (or no practice at all) and that doesn't materially change your current level of skill.
When I teach spin class, generally it's a state of flow because it's a well-worth path - I've been doing it for 20 years. But when I am working on new music or a new routine, it's a state of uncomfortable deliberate practice. And I notice within myself, I have an urge to get out of that state of deliberate practice as quickly as possible.
Therein lies the rub.
Hopping out of deliberate practice too quickly, or avoiding it altogether, does not change your current status. Your skills and talents will remain status quo. And in an ever evolving world, that may not suit your long term goals. Deliberate practice may be uncomfortable in the short-term, but yields much greater satisfaction in the long-term.
The Go Slow Life implores you to take it step by step. Be with it, even if its unpleasant. Don't distract yourself out of it.
I was even on a work conference call with a woman whom I had never met before, and as we waited for the rest of the participants to join, she and I got off on a tangent about Deep Work and how multi-tasking is an illusion (and highly inefficient). I'm a Deep Work evangelist.
I'm currently rereading his work So Good They Can't Ignore You and was reminded of the concept of "Deliberate Practice".
Deliberate practice is the HIIT of cognitive tasks. It is highly focused, high intensity, only deliberate breaks. It is often uncomfortable or unpleasant. It differs from a "flow state" in the sense that a flow state is generally highly focused and uninterrupted, but not uncomfortable. A flow state is usually paired with a task that the individual is already highly skilled in.
Some examples of deliberate practice might be
- The first time you try meditating
- Reading a contract to infer the meaning
- Learning a new instrument
- Writing, assuming you're doing it without checking facebook every 5 minutes. (I'm finding writing this blog post to be somewhere between deliberate practice and flow -- my brain keeps trying to jump ahead to things on my to-do list elsewhere in the world, but I'm committed to writing this post in one sitting.)
Deliberate Practice is one of the ways in which you start to expand elevate your talents and skills. The alternative is perfunctory practice (or no practice at all) and that doesn't materially change your current level of skill.
When I teach spin class, generally it's a state of flow because it's a well-worth path - I've been doing it for 20 years. But when I am working on new music or a new routine, it's a state of uncomfortable deliberate practice. And I notice within myself, I have an urge to get out of that state of deliberate practice as quickly as possible.
Therein lies the rub.
Hopping out of deliberate practice too quickly, or avoiding it altogether, does not change your current status. Your skills and talents will remain status quo. And in an ever evolving world, that may not suit your long term goals. Deliberate practice may be uncomfortable in the short-term, but yields much greater satisfaction in the long-term.
The Go Slow Life implores you to take it step by step. Be with it, even if its unpleasant. Don't distract yourself out of it.
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