The 20-Hour Rule: How to Rapidly Learn Any New Skill (2024)

FAQs

The 20-Hour Rule: How to Rapidly Learn Any New Skill? ›

The 20-Hour Rule suggests that it takes approximately 20 hours of deliberate and focused practice to become reasonably competent in a new skill. While 20 hours may not make you an expert, it's enough to become proficient and confident in the basics of a new skill.

Kaufman's 20 hour rule goes a little like this: A person can learn any new skill by dedicating 20 hours of planned practice time to that skill. Breaking down practice sessions into 45 minutes of practice a day can lead you to learn a new skill in as little as a month!

Because it's easy to get frustrated and give up on a skill at the beginning, Kaufman recommends you commit to doing at least 20 hours of deliberate practice. This is the 20-hour rule. (Shortform note: If basic competence is your goal, then 20 hours of deliberate practice can likely get you there.

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

The first step toward automaticity is repeatedly learning small sets of information. If you're playing basketball, for instance, that might mean shooting the same shot over and over. The key here is to go beyond the initial point of mastery.

This concept is known as the 20-Hour Rule and has been popularized by author Josh Kaufman in his book "The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything... Fast!" The 20-Hour Rule suggests that it takes approximately 20 hours of deliberate and focused practice to become reasonably competent in a new skill.

This Rule recommends switching activities every 20 minute as a way to improve engagement during training.

The concept, popularized in his book "Outliers," suggests that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to achieve a level of mastery in a particular field. While the rule has garnered both support and skepticism, its influence on how we view skill development and proficiency cannot be denied.

What is the five hour rule deliberate learning? ›

The 5-hour rule is a concept that advocates dedicating at least five hours a week to deliberate learning and skill development. This encompasses activities such as reading, reflective thinking, experimentation, and goal-setting.

The 5-hour rule is the concept of spending at least one hour every workday consciously learning new things or practicing various activities. Doing so can help you gain new skills and knowledge, which can lead to both personal and professional development.

A college student must study 2-3 hours per week outside of class for every credit hour. That is 24-36 hours for a 12-credit hour course per week, which is about 5-6 hours per day, depending on if you study every day or six days per week.

The maximum number of hours you can spend studying every day is about 11 hours if you also devote time to your health. However, the recommendation is to spend just over five hours daily on a 12-credit hour course and 6 hours daily for a 14-credit hour course.

To keep students engaged, you must win the battle for their attention every 10 minutes. I call this the 10-minute rule. Every 10 minutes I use what I call a “hook” to refocus my audience on my topic or message. I also organize my material in a hierarchical fashion, because that is how the brain processes information.

Although 13 hours may not seem like a lot, it maintains a delicate balance between your varying course load and your life circ*mstances. Anything more than 20, and your grades take a hit. When you work at least 40 hours a week, you do not have enough time to manage your studies and personal life.