There is a difference between becoming an expert vs becoming reasonably good at something:  An expert means reaching the lop level in one's field. Being reasonably good at something means you have moved from 'grossly incompetent,' and can now handle that activity reasonably well. If your goal is to have a reasonable understanding of some field, you can achieve your learning goal in 20 hours.

Becoming Reasonably Good

The major obstacle in learning anything new is not intellectual - it is emotional.The fear of sounding stupid stops us. In reality, you can learn anything if you wish to with a little daily practise over a repeated period of time.

Overcoming the barrier to learn

It is not humanly possible to practice all in a twenty-hour stretch.A distributed practice learning method is achievable. It would roughly mean 45 minutes of practice for a period of thirty days in a row.For instance, writing every evening for 30 minutes can give you a reward of a 25 000-word book in a 5 - 6 week period.

Practice for 20 Hours

Remove any obstacles that may distract you from practicing your sub-skill. Television is the biggest culprit, followed by smartphones.Learning something new will come with some frustration. That will be a time to safeguard yourself from any distractions so you remain focused on learning the skill.

Remove Barriers to Practice

<ul><li>Break the skill into various small parts, remembering that every big skill is a collection of many sub-skills.</li><li>Identify the essential sub-skills needed to give you the maximum advantage.</li><li>Practice the most important part that you have discovered, using the 80:20 principle in your learning.</li></ul>

Deconstruct the Skill

The Pareto principle states that 20% of your activities (even lesser) deliver 80% results (even more) in almost every area of your life.

80/20: Pareto's principle

“The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice”.

You don't need to become an expert before you start to learn any sub-set of the major skill. You just need to learn enough, so you can self-correct when you make mistakes.

Learn Just Enough

"Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can, there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did." In this world, where we hear about concepts like the 10,000 hour rule to become an expert in any skill, the promise of learning something new in under 24 Hours seems too unrealistic, rather crazy.

80/20: Pareto's principle

Similar ideas to 80/20: Pareto's principle

The 80/20 Rule

3. Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything

Use the 80/20 Rule