The ten thousand hour rule is modern day conventional wisdom, it’s proponents argue that to master any skill, you have to put in ten thousand hours of practice. The rule was popularized by the best selling author Malcolm Gladwell in his book ”Outliers: The Story Of Success”, although the idea is largely accepted as a brutal fact of what it takes to achieve mastery, it has its fair share of critics. K. Anders Ericsson is the most important critic of the ten thousand hour rule, it was Ericsson’s research Malcolm Gladwell referenced as the source of his ten thousand hour rule. Ericsson appeared on one of the most popular podcasts available, Freakonomics Radio, to clear the confusion and state the correct rules of mastering any skill.

Ericsson was adamant that most people’s understanding of ‘practice’ is vague or sometimes flat out wrong. Popular phrases and quotes about ‘hard work’ are often non instructional and also divorced from the science of expertise. From his landmark study ”The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance” Ericsson argues that the most recent science of expertise is very clear, to master a skill you must use deliberate practice. Ericsson studied expert level performers in music, science, sports, teaching and singing to breakdown how they became world class.

The rules of deliberate practice are as follows:

Clearly Defined Goals – To reach ‘expert’ status at any skill, you have to master the many components which add up to form that specific skill. In sprinting, having the correct technique and timing when coming out of the blocks sets you up for the first quarter of the race. Knowing which exact components you need to improve on brings you closer to mastery. Avoiding Automatic Pilot – Once you have achieved an acceptable level of competence at any task, repeating it for ten thousand hours will not make you an expert. Take typing for example, most people can type using a computer keyboard, but how many can type efficiently and at speed? Ericsson’s point is that to gain mastery, you have to delay the automation of that task as much as possible by constantly practicing at the upper limits of your ability. Method – Ericsson noted that once you have identified a specific skill you would like to master and you understand what practice really means, you need a coach or mentor who can show you the best methods of practicing. The world class performers of the past (runners, sprinters, musicians) wouldn’t qualify for today’s amateur level competitions, why? world class performances are almost always studied, broken down, codified and taught to the upcoming talent. Innovative training methods of the past are today’s standard practice. Understanding how far off your baseline ability is from the world class standard and the correct methods of closing that gap can reduce time spent practicing while maximizing every second used in practice. Time – Lastly, there is no shortcut to mastery. Once you are engaging in deliberate practice with the assistance of a mentor who can give you feedback, Ericsson estimates it takes roughly 10 years to be considered an expert. Scientists, writers, poets and athletes don’t make a notable contribution to their field until after ten years of work. This is where the ten thousand hour rule originates, three hours of practice a day for roughly ten years will equal ten thousand hours. As Ericsson clarified, it takes a very specific type of practice to achieve world class status in ten thousand hours.

Everyone has aspirations to reach expert level performance at something. At the very least, everyone has a skill they would like to improve at. Understanding the correct way to learn a skill is the most important thing you can learn in the knowledge economy.

Here’s a video of Ed Sheeran, one of the most successful artists in the world sharing a sound clip of when he was a less-than-great artist.