So often, we don’t use our learning time wisely. We try to learn but fail to do it efficiently, so we end up demotivated and tired.

You may be familiar with the famous 10,000 Hour Rule. It states you need 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to master your craft. Many people focus on the huge number. There is less consideration of what _deliberate _means.

If you don’t practice deliberately, you’re wasting your time.

Deliberate practice is effective learning. It’s planned and systematic education. It focuses on small, carefully selected steps that build up a skill over time.

The sad truth is you’re probably learning ineffectively — at least some of the time.

Effective learning is hard, so we often take an easier path. In effect, we lose our precious time, get worse results, and become unmotivated. Here are some common learning mistakes we’re all guilty of and tips on how to overcome them.

Lack of Planning

You can’t reach any meaningful goal without a plan before you start learning. You need to know what skills are required and how to obtain them. Otherwise, you’ll jump from one seemingly exciting thing to the other.

How do you create a plan? Begin with reading or watching some tutorials about the industry. For example, if you want to learn front-end development, read some guides. It doesn’t require much time. You’ll soon notice everyone gives almost this same advice. You have to learn things in that order — HTML, CSS, JavaScript, some JavaScript framework.

Now you’re ready to do some planning. Your goal is to set specific and realistic goals. Ignore everything besides the step you’re about to take. Focus on the HTML and decide how much time you want to devote to it. It will be a ballpark guess, as you don’t yet know how complicated the material is. But it’s OK. We’re just establishing some ground rules.

Let’s say you’ve decided to spend one hour a day for two weeks on HTML, and your goal is to be able to create a well-structured website. It’s a great plan and you’re ready to start learning. If, after a week, you feel you know enough, adjust your schedule and get to CSS. Similarly, if after two weeks, you’re not yet comfortable, it’s fine. Change your strategy accordingly.

Always take it one step at a time and have a fairly detailed plan for the next week or two, as well as a bird’s-eye view of your ultimate goal.

#productivity #self-improvement #education #programming #machine-learning