Deliberate practice is a concept from the psychologist Anders Ericsson's research on expertise. It is not just repetition: it means working at the edge of your ability on specific weaknesses, with full concentration and feedback. Ericsson's research also observed that even top performers rarely sustain more than about four hours of it a day.
Why it matters
It explains why deep work has a ceiling. Truly demanding concentration is limited, so the aim is to protect a few high-quality hours rather than to stretch focus across a whole day.
How to apply it
- Pick one specific skill or weakness per session.
- Work in focused blocks with full breaks between them.
- Get feedback quickly — tests, reviews, comparing against a standard.
- Track hours of real practice, not hours at the desk.