# Definition Deliberate practice is a type of practice that is specifically designed to improve performance. It is usually characterized by being highly structured and focused, as well as involving feedback and repetition. There is an old adage that some people have 10 years experience in a job and other people have one year's experience 10 times. Not all practice is useful. As you get good at something it tends to become comfortable and you stop learning much as you practice. Deliberate practice is about trying to find ways to make parts of the task hard again, so that you can continue to develop. There are some main steps: 1. Identify expert skills 2. Practice those skills 3. Seek feedback 4. Look for new challenges The idea of 10,000 hours is wrong. It's not the hours but the number of times you do this cycle. Quality practice is essential. The idea is not without it's critics. Outside sports, it is difficult to find many situations where skills can be broken down into the constituent parts for focused training and where consistent feedback is easy to find. [A good video on the subject](https://youtu.be/WbUOY9ioIqw) It also strikes me that this idea of being conscious of key skills is against the idea of the Inner Game of Tennis # training ideas In *Badass* by Kathy Sierra she refers to the Cambridge Encyclopedia of expertise and expert performance ### sub-skill practice Break a technique down until it is something that you currently can't do reliability but can do reliability (95%) in 1-3 45 minute sessions If the task can't be done in 1-3, either break the task down or reduce the criteria. Ideally should be just out of your comfort zone