What’s the best way to practice to get good at _____

June 3, 2013 8:17 AM

Take your field, your sport, your hobby, your area of occupation and tell me the best way to become really good at some aspect of it. Don’t hesitate to name some form of practice that is heavily monotonous and laborious if it manages to yield awesome results. I don’t care how tedious it is. All I’m interested in are forms of practice or exercises that do elicit measurable improvements in a person’s ability to complete some task or exhibit some skill.

As a child, my piano teacher urged me to play chopsticks on the piano as a way to improve my finger coordination and dexterity. During college I saw a video about the great writer Ralph Ellison which revealed that he used to transcribe the stories of his favorite writer Ernest Hemingway to better improve his own sense of rhythm, style, and pacing..He’d take a story like “A Clean Well Lighted Placed” and write it out word for word to better feel out how such a piece of good writing should sound when it was being written down as opposed to just being read. I tried the same thing and it dramatically improved my writing as well. James Merrill, the poet, used to set himself the task of writing at least one poem according to some stringent verse scheme every day. An actress whose name escapes my mind used to rehearse for her plays by tediously going over every line that was hers. If she missed one, she forced herself to start over again.

Ok that was about artistry. What about sports? During practice, basketball teams will take a large broom and hold it up over a shooting player to simulate what it’s like to shoot against a much taller opponent seeking to block a shot. “Suicides” in basketball require one to run ¼, 1/2/ and the length of the entire court only to come back each time to the beginning before fulfilling each remaining running interval.

A common theme runs here: Doing things again and again gets result. What I’m curious about is what the most efficient way of doing these things over and over again. It’s not enough to just practice. Some forms of practice ARE better than others and some exercises are better at training us to exhibit certain valued skills or traits. What are these forms of practice?

posted by RapcityinBlue to Education (39 answers total)

Spaced repetition for learning facts, often in the context of vocabulary acquisition.
posted by Tanizaki at 8:24 AM on June 3, 2013 [3 favorites]

Samplers are common in needlework of all sorts. Crocheters or knitters may make sampler afghans including squares done with a variety of different patterns, intended to teach and display different stitching techniques.
posted by asperity at 8:24 AM on June 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

In clicker training dogs, the timing of the click is very important and can be really difficult if the dog is moving fast and you're looking to isolate a behavior that occurs in a fraction of a second. To work on your timing, you can practice with the television, clicking every time someone blinks, turns their head, moves their right hand, or does some other unpredictable behavior.
posted by HotToddy at 8:32 AM on June 3, 2013 [5 favorites]

Hundreds of repetitions in front of a mirror of drawing my pistol from the holster and making sure every draw is technically correct and I always have my sights properly aligned every rep. Also doing hundreds of reps of the drills to reload from my mag pouch and clear malfunctions.
posted by kavasa at 8:34 AM on June 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

The mirror is essential, btw. If your form is correct, you should be able to close your eyes, come up from the ready position (pistol out of the holster and securely held in both hands, parallel with the ground, held at about your belly button), open your eyes and have your sights aligned.
posted by kavasa at 8:40 AM on June 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

Scales and modes progressively faster on guitar.
Picking patterns.

Speed is over-rated. Precision counts.

Zen Guitar discusses this. Get a copy. Applicable to other disciplines.
posted by FauxScot at 8:47 AM on June 3, 2013 [4 favorites]

This seemed really stupid when I was in high school, but on the debate team, I really believe the most useful thing I did was run the stairs in the stadium.

Like you see football players do. Run the stairs and think about your case or your speech. Run the stairs while giving your speech under your breath (if you can actually give your speech out loud you aren't running hard enough).

I can't run stairs these days, and now that I can't, I really miss it. Walking is the next best thing. I do a lot of good thinking while I'm walking.

I guess the kernel of that is think about the hard stuff while you're doing something that free up your brain. (You'll often hear people say they have their best thoughts in the shower. Same idea. We all know how to shower, so we're not using our brain meat for the task of thinking about what to do next.)
posted by bilabial at 8:50 AM on June 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

//Suicides" in basketball require one to run ¼, 1/2/ and the length of the entire court only to come back each time to the beginning before fulfilling each remaining running interval. //

I just want to point out that suicides did nothing for my basketball game. The desire to avoid running suicides when I missed a layup or free throw did wonders for my game though.
posted by COD at 8:56 AM on June 3, 2013 [4 favorites]

In horseback riding (at least the English disciplines) an incredibly common recommendation to strengthen your seat and improve balance is to spend a lot of time riding without stirrups, in progressively more challenging exercises (walk>sitting trot>posting trot where you lift your butt up out of the saddle>half-seat where you keep your butt out of the saddle>jumping small fences). It not only builds the specific muscles you need to ride, it also trains you to keep your legs in effective and even contact with the horse and use that whole leg to keep your balance, rather than balancing on your stirrups. There are similar exercises that require you to essentially give up one aspect of your "periphery" (riding with no reins, riding with your eyes closed) and focus everything back on your core and seat.
posted by drlith at 9:21 AM on June 3, 2013 [4 favorites]

The basic element of wheel thrown pottery is the cylinder. Spending hours (and pounds of clay) perfecting the cylinder is the best way to improve at any form, because the basic ability to throw consistent, thin walls applies to anything else you might want to make as well. I've studied with a few different teachers, and the one who insists on throwing only cylinders for the first month or two produces the most skilled students, no contest.
posted by snorkmaiden at 9:26 AM on June 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

I took a welding class from a master welder who told us that when he transitioned into the work (I think he was a general shop gofer at first or something) they put him in front of a large metal plate and just had him draw lines across the plate for hours on end.

When I was really getting in to cooking, I spent an afternoon with a cold skillet and a bag of dry beans flipping them over and over and over again until I could toss a pan full of food in the air and catch it all. I've occasionally cooked the same meal three or four times in a week to nail down particular technique or recipes.
posted by backseatpilot at 9:36 AM on June 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

When you're learning juggling, throwing a single ball up in the air over and over and over again, learning where the hang is (that moment between moving upward and falling downward) is the most important thing to begin. You want to time your throws and catches by the hang, and not worry about where you think the ball is going. If you watch where it hangs, you'll know where your hands need to be.
posted by xingcat at 9:41 AM on June 3, 2013 [4 favorites]

You've just written the perfect essay. Now get its word count. Take 10% of this. Remove that many words from your perfect essay, without changing the meaning, to the extent that's possible, and see that it wasn't perfect after all. You could potentially keep doing this until you reach some optimally minimal length, and the result will be a far superior piece of writing.
posted by seemoreglass at 9:41 AM on June 3, 2013 [12 favorites]

When I was teaching myself to touch type, I would put on music that I was familiar with, and type the lyrics. Start with slow songs, train yourself up to faster ones (Weird Al's "The Saga Begins" was my goal, with 98% accuracy).

In marching band, we practiced roll-stepping by balancing things (lyres) on our heads while marching. It forces you to keep your steps even and your head up, and also encourages you to know where you're going at any one time, so you can focus on your pace rather than your direction.

For machine sewing, you draw lines and curves and squiggles on a piece of paper, then sew over it without any thread in the machine.
posted by specialagentwebb at 9:52 AM on June 3, 2013 [3 favorites]

Rote learning is vilified by educators, yet it is quite effective and lasts a lifetime. Times tables learned by rote are in the mind forever.
posted by Cranberry at 10:21 AM on June 3, 2013 [4 favorites]

Spaced repetition using an app like Zyzzyva for learning most probable/high impact scrabble vocab is a good one,. Practicing with the apps programs listed here is good as well.
posted by lalochezia at 10:24 AM on June 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

Rote learning is vilified by educators, yet it is quite effective and lasts a lifetime. Times tables learned by rote are in the mind forever.

Yes, a thousand times. Please forgive a second comment, but this comment cannot be stressed enough. It is a common belief that "rote learning squashes creativity". The fact is that a large base of knowledge is absolutely essential for creativity to occur. MacGyver could only think of amazingly creative solutions because of his wealth of knowledge regarding the physical sciences.

I think it is also worth noting that learning can be repetitive yet not be rote. If you learn a lot of fact but view them as interacting components of a larger whole, the learning will not be rote, even if you have to repeat the task many times. (such as the pottery cylinders or welding lines) By themselves, the exercises might seem meaningless but they are actually integral and essential components.
posted by Tanizaki at 11:08 AM on June 3, 2013 [10 favorites]

Hi. I'm learning math, and reviewing the Pre Calculus and Trig before I retake the placement exam.

Some tips I've learned that have helped me along the way (particularly from Mefi folks):

1. Write out all the steps in the problem. If this means that one problem takes up an entire sheet of paper, so be it. There's a reason I have a six inch high stack of scrap paper from work on my desk.

2. Do all the problems, not just the ones assigned to you in class. This was helpful for me in class, when I was taking them.

3. Do a little bit, often. Don't try to cram it all in, as that just doesn't work.

4. This is the biggest one for me - if something is frustrating to me, and/or I'm getting angry or depressed over the math (or something else), WALK AWAY. Come back to it another day. Because then the little mistakes will be made, which will complicate the big mistakes, and when you get 6 as the answer when it's really pi, it's easy to go 'oh, screw it all!' and give up. When all you need is an hour/night/weekend off from it all. Take the break you need, and come back.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:34 AM on June 3, 2013 [6 favorites]

When my mother was learning to write in cursive as a child in Catholic school, the nuns had her and her classmate draw loops, like a cursive lower-case L, on notebook paper over and over, trying to make them perfect. She had beautiful handwriting.

When my ex-boyfriend was learning to drive, his father took him to a parking lot and made him drive in circles backwards. It really helped him become comfortable backing up, doing three-point turns, and parallel parking.
posted by kat518 at 11:46 AM on June 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

A ballroom dancing teacher had us dance with a posture-holding contraption that forces your body upright and still, regardless of what your feet are doing and regardless of the extra weight on your back. We spent most of a class session with this, just so we would know what our goal was when dancing without it. Apparently when she learned, they didn't have these gadgets - instead, they wove students' arms through a folding chair to create the same effect!

When learning to repair bicycles, the first task I was assigned was dismantling old junkers. It provided the shop with spare parts and gave me a great tactile understanding of bikes. It was in some sense a rote task, but it was also immediately productive. (And very satisfying - it won't unscrew? Get a bigger wrench and whack it with a mallet!) This works with most machinery. You become an expert by taking it apart and seeing how it's broken. You also have to memorize torques and bearing counts and thread pitches, of course, but again - you learn them best by using them.
posted by sibilatorix at 12:00 PM on June 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

Good dancers of latin american styles spend hours walking or just shifting their weight from foot to foot to get beautiful, fluid hip motion. Everything else follows from that basic motion. You use a mirror or a video recorder and, if you're lucky, a couple of super critical friends.

In the style of singing I trained in had an exercise book by Vaccai that I used to practice for hours. It had little exercises to practice particular intervals and rhythms. It was a formalised practice of all the things my teacher taught me and it was maddening - it should be so easy, but when you strip away the actual song and concentrate on what the exercise was about, you discovered you were doing it badly, and then you just had to listen to yourself and do it over and over again until you got it right. And then do it 100 more times.

I think many of the examples people are providing fall into a few basic categories:
* Building fitness by repetition or by extreme versions of what you need to do
* Building technical ability by focussing on a tiny detail and then practicing it mindfully and repeatedly until you have a better feel for what works
* Building muscle memory by doing what you can already do many times until you can do it fluently and without thinking

The second and third may or may not overlap - singing long Bach runs and gradually speeding up is an example of the third but won't necessarily improve my ability to sing in general.
posted by kadia_a at 12:04 PM on June 3, 2013 [3 favorites]

For writing: keep a journal. Write every day. Chronicle, describe, brain dump, sketch, list.

Read constantly in your area, and do writing practice or writing every day.

Before I was 15 years old, I had already written several pages of personal writing every day for 6 years. In my teens, I wrote out long passages from books, quotes, and song lyrics (which really helped me learn the purpose of line break and breath in poetry). When I was writing all the time, I could almost feel a million words mark coming up, like an odometer. Flow was the marker.
posted by Riverine at 12:51 PM on June 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

The best thing you can do for your editing skills is to read: read widely, read deeply and broadly, read all the time. No prose too low or too high, read everything, and read constantly.
posted by fiercecupcake at 1:27 PM on June 3, 2013 [4 favorites]

In music, scales. Every scale. So many scales. There is a reason piano teachers make you practice your scales. Because if you have your scales down, playing almost everything becomes so tremendously easier. Sight reading is much easier, difficult keys are much easier - because all the notes are already there in your fingers. So when you sit down to play Bach or Beethoven or something, you are recognizing and playing patterns you already have down instead of trying to string together a bunch of disparate elements. You are looking for variation on a theoretical theme, which is way easier than trying to keep track of sharps and flats. Scales also help with finger strength, coordination, dexterity and such - but the theoretical aspect is really key (no pun intended).

If you learn your modes and exotic scales too, even the 20th century stuff becomes way easier. Oh, look at this crazy nonsense melisma of notes here. I'll have to learn this random thing. Oh wait, that's just the octatonic scale. Ha Igor, you can't fool me!
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:49 PM on June 3, 2013 [9 favorites]

I was taught that the secret to classic draftsmanship is to master the simple forms, and a great way to do that is to take a single form like a cylinder and rotate it over and over on its axis, front to back, back to front, top to bottom, bottom to top. If I know I'm going to be waiting somewhere I'll sometimes bring a pad and pencil and practice this.

“Suicides” in basketball require one to run ¼, 1/2/ and the length of the entire court only to come back each time to the beginning before fulfilling each remaining running interval.

I did this in fencing, too, except instead of running you are using toe/heel movements to make the smallest steps possible -- Too big! Start again! -- so it takes forever to get to and from the line.

Rote learning is vilified by educators, yet it is quite effective and lasts a lifetime. Times tables learned by rote are in the mind forever.

I am convinced that the reason I still don't know my 8s is because they came at the end and once we got to the 9s (which are easy) I never had to continue repeating them.
posted by Room 641-A at 1:50 PM on June 3, 2013

As an engineer, one thing I like doing when I have the time is to explain to myself why I'm making each decision in a design. It's critical to write it down or type it out. That way you're forced to think about what you're saying. I treat it as a informal conversation with myself, and I write that conversation out as I go along.

"Why do I need to figure this particular thing out next?"
"I did this as opposed to this because..."
"Now I'm going to do this."
"Well, that idea sucked. Make sure sure you don't do that again. Let's try this next."

I list my sources for tidbits of information I use as I go along, and I write down what things I need to look up or sources I need to check when I get a chance. It's takes time, but it fixes all that swirling information in my mind, so I don't have to recreate my logic and re-find my sources later. Since I tend to crystallize my thoughts better when I'm explaining a concept to someone else, treating it like a conversation gives me that effect when I'm by myself.

If you feel comfortable, I'd suggest typing this all out. It's more integrated to do calculations and sketches and write your notes all in the same place by hand, but you lose the ability to easily search your own past notes if you write things out. Hand calcs (subsequently scanned) plus typed notes (which reference the filename of your scanned hand calcs) is probably the best combo.
posted by KinoAndHermes at 2:35 PM on June 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

At least for physical practice, do things again and again, but do them correctly -- always keep to your limits -- or just to edge of your limits. You push the boundaries, but not repetitively.

To use juggling as an example again: when learning 5 balls, start by holding 5 balls and throwing 1 and catching it again in exactly the right spot. Do that 10 or so times. Then do 2 with exactly the correct timing, 10 times. You might work yourself up to doing 10 good throws, 10 times in a row this this way.

After that, you might start from 5 throws and go by 5's or 10's, but the principle is the same -- always attempt to get reps of the desired behavior. Work your way up to what you can do, and slightly beyond but *no farther*, otherwise you'll just be learning mistakes. If you find yourself dropping all the time, you're pushing yourself too quickly.

I guess that applies in the non-physical realm as well. If you're working on something and it's just not clicking or flowing, back up. You may not be good enough for it yet. Go back to the elements you can do "sort of" well and make those perfect. It's also much less frustrating.
posted by smidgen at 3:20 PM on June 3, 2013 [3 favorites]

I have a very strong visual memory, and I believe I owe it to doing jigsaw puzzles as a child with my grandmother.
posted by Ideefixe at 3:37 PM on June 3, 2013

Although nobody really loves to do it, playing arpeggios, scales (3 octaves, all keys, all types of minor, etc.), octaves and tenths will really, really help violin technique. As will doing Sevcik-style bowing exercises. Practicing in front of a mirror to address postural and positional problems, especially during shifting, is very important.

If you're taking advanced science classes, take notes during class (but don't bother with multicolored pens or whatever), and then THAT EVENING (before you forget what you heard), re-write your notes more coherently whatever way looks good to you. When it comes time to study for an exam, write your own study guide by synthesizing the important parts of each lecture in to a summary packet. This is an extremely effective way to retain information without rote memorization.

If you write complex technical material of any sort, you MUST read what you have written out loud to yourself at least 6 hours after you think you are done writing it. You will find tons of terrible wordings and mistakes. It also helps to get a screenreader to read it out loud to you. An editor helps even more but there's a lot you can do on your own. Never consider anything you have written "done" until you have reviewed and edited it many hours after finishing writing.

I suspect that the fastest way to become a good scientist is to have impeccable lab notebook skills from day 1. I know a lot of scientists including myself and none of us did this - we all had to learn the hard way how crucial it is to keep good records. Ultimately everything you do as a scientist is wasted if you don't write down the appropriate data. Knowing what information is actually important enough to record is not nearly as obvious as you might think, and people tend to screw up for the first several years.
posted by Cygnet at 5:23 PM on June 3, 2013 [4 favorites]

Oh, and here's some really specific stuff about learning a new piece of music (on violin in my case). I got these instructions from a really amazing teacher of mine.

Best way to learn a new piece (never move on until you have mastered each step):
1. Play one page, with every note as a whole note and whole bow, no rhythm, no vibrato, no dynamics. If you are out of tune, do not simply correct the note you are playing, return to the previous note and practice the transition without adjustment until it is perfect on the first try.
2. Play the page in rhythm but extremely slow, using one note per bow. Use a metronome.
3. Play the page in rhythm but extremely slow, using one note per bow, adding in vibrato and dynamics. Use a metronome.
4. Play the page in rhythm, as slow as possible while using correct bowings, using vibrato and dynamics. Use a metronome.
5. Play as written.
6. Start over with step 1 on the next page.
posted by Cygnet at 5:30 PM on June 3, 2013 [5 favorites]

I played basketball at a fairly high level back in the day despite a distinct lack of height or natural talent. And as I age I have had to continually readjust my game so that I can still contribute when I play pick-up ball.

The two things that I work on and have improved even though I am more out of shape and less athletic now are my corner 3 point shot and my rebounding. Here is how I improve these two skills:

Rebounding is like 60% effort and want-to, so you can get better at it by just deciding to. The rest of it is instinct for where the ball is going to be, which is mostly mental and which you can actually improve by watching basketball and paying attention to where the ball goes when certain shots are taken from certain spots on the floor. You can even study statistics that tell you much the same thing, but watching helps you develop more of a feel. You can develop muscle memory by having a friend shoot from various spots on the floor and trying to predict and grab rebounds before they bounce. Jumping higher may make you a slightly better rebounder, but even in the NBA most rebounds are gathered below the rim. Oh and box out.

The corner three is one of the most efficient shots in basketball and if you can hit it consistently you can contribute to your team even if you otherwise are pretty bad. I don't have any strategies here besides just shooting a lot of them but one thing to be aware of is your feet. Its easy to step out of bounds or over the three point line (which turns an efficient shot into a bad one). So when you practice, focus on getting your feet right quickly and consistently. It will help. Also throw in some pump fakes before shooting or jab steps so you get used to shooting in rhythm in different situations.

Being good at these two skills can disproportionately benefit how well your team does, a lot more than shooting over brooms to simulate contested jump shots (exactly the kinds of shots you shouldn't be taking anyway).
posted by AceRock at 6:15 PM on June 3, 2013

I am only good at 5 things:

friendship

fucking

carrying heavy objects

computer related stuff

figuring people out and helping

each of these skills requires paying attention, being mindful, staying in the moment, and listening
posted by bobdow at 6:44 PM on June 3, 2013

On wind instruments: silent practice. You play the piece/exercise/scale/whatever without blowing, until you can do it perfectly. Then when you play it for real it's as if you already know it. This way you don't have to worry about several things at once -- fingering, dynamics, articulation, etc. -- and can concentrate on one at a time. For extra credit, name each note aloud as you finger it.
posted by zeri at 7:37 PM on June 3, 2013

The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle is a great overview of this subject. He outlines "deep practice," "ignition," and "master coaching" as the drivers for how people are able to maximize their effort to achieve the best results.
posted by Nerro at 6:06 AM on June 4, 2013

Tai Chi - combines balance, strength, patience and meditation in 15min a day.

The most memorable handshake of my life was with a Tai Chi instructor. It was like shaking hands with an oak tree.
posted by j03 at 6:43 AM on June 4, 2013 [3 favorites]

For woodworking, projects are often significantly more motivating than doing something just to learn it; it's much more fun to build something than to actively practice.

So you pick a project that requires more skills than you currently have, but not too many more. You don't start with a chair (chairs are possibly the hardest projects!); you start with a spice rack, a simple box, or maybe a cutting board.

If you want to get better faster, you intentionally pick projects that repeat the skills you're having issues with. One example might be getting a finish correct, or making a full closed miter joint.

Some people like to repeat steps they screw up. (Miscut a board? Get a new one.) It makes them get each step just so. Other people like to force themselves to work with their mistakes, as it gives a stronger incentive to not screw up... and sometimes, you've gotta work with a mistake, so it doesn't hurt to practice.


But; progressively harder projects that require a progressively larger set of skills. Which generalizes back to a lot of things.
posted by talldean at 8:15 PM on June 4, 2013

Room 641-A's comment:

I am convinced that the reason I still don't know my 8s is because they came at the end and once we got to the 9s (which are easy) I never had to continue repeating them.

reminds me:

When you're memorizing a passage of text or a poem, start at the end. Learn the last phrase first, then the last sentence, then practice the last two sentences, and so on.

That way, when you've got the whole thing down, it gets easier as you go along.
posted by kristi at 1:54 PM on June 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

Mindful repetition is always better than just going through the motions, every time you preform a task you're either adding to your ability or detracting from it

Enjoy what you're doing otherwise practice will always be a chore and you'll only get so far.
posted by chelegonian at 5:48 PM on June 8, 2013

I've forgotten this one way to often. When you have a weird problem with a computer, tablet, smart phone, or other tech the first thing to do is save your work and restart the application or the whole system.

One of the most important things about being a bartender, waiter, cook, etc is to have decent, comfortable shoes - possibly insoles as well. Saying "behind you" and otherwise keeping other staff aware of your having trays,sharps, hotstuff and things that can't be jostled is very important. Waiters and bartenders need to be able to read customers and adjust style accordingly.

Being a helpful person involves recognizing that some people do not want your help and not being invested in whether they take your advice or utilize your solutions.

Don't assume that when people are upset with you that its really about you, but also don't assume the opposite.

When learning anything new don't be frustrated by confusion. If there is any personality trait that is functionally close to being a learning disability its being irritated by confusion.
posted by logonym at 8:47 AM on June 10, 2013 [2 favorites]