20-Hour Rule
With focused practice, you can become reasonably good at most skills in just 20 hours.
Also known as: 20 hours rule, Basic proficiency rule
Category: Concepts
Tags: learning, skills, productivity
Explanation
The 20-Hour Rule, popularized by Josh Kaufman, counters the discouraging 10,000-hour narrative by showing that basic proficiency in most skills requires only about 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice. This is roughly 45 minutes a day for a month. The key is practicing intelligently: deconstruct the skill, focus on the most important elements, remove barriers to practice, and commit to at least 20 hours. This makes skill acquisition accessible and demystifies the learning process.
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