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Debunking the "1,000 hours of practice" myth
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Posted by Dr Andus
Nov 12, 2011 at 02:44 PM
Ken wrote:
With regards to concentration,
>that’s a whole different matter. No software is going to help me concentrate if I my
>brain is preoccupied. That’s a matter of discipline.
I wonder if something still could be done about helping concentration and facilitating eureka moments at the level of software. Quite often the most productive aspects of software are the particular practices people have developed in using them, however that is rarely codified or put into manuals and help files. That is why these sorts of forums are important because once in a while people may share such productivity gems.
E.g. the other day I had to move from data to an outline and I was experiencing a writer’s block because the task just felt overwhelming. Even after several attempts to distill things, I still had about a 20,000 word chunky outline in Scrivener, when my final paper can only be 10,000 words. Eventually the breakthrough came by using concept mapping with VUE. Instead of trying to read through the 20k outline again, I decided to visually represent the main themes and relationships on a single concept map. That still ended up very complex, so I opened another VUE document on another monitor, and created a distilled version of the complex one. The two monitors and the two VUE maps allowed for a particular type of reflexivity, which helped me break my productivity problem. I could then use the final VUE map to start a skinny outline in Bonsai. Then I realised, I better create a third VUE map where I actually model the process I used to break my writer’s block (from analysis to outline), so I can remember it the next time I’m in trouble.
It would have been nice if something at the level of software could have prompted this reflexivity. E.g. a “Stuck?” button in Scrivener, which could ask a few simple questions and then suggest “Have you tried creating a visual model of your outline? Try using two monitors. Don’t forget to model the process that helped you overcome your writer’s block and save it here.” Stuff like that…
Posted by Dr Andus
Nov 12, 2011 at 02:53 PM
Dr Andus wrote:
>It would have
>been nice if something at the level of software could have prompted this reflexivity.
>E.g. a “Stuck?” button in Scrivener, which could ask a few simple questions and then
>suggest “Have you tried creating a visual model of your outline? Try using two
>monitors. Don’t forget to model the process that helped you overcome your writer’s
>block and save it here.” Stuff like that…
I suppose what I’m advocating is some kind of an intelligent innovation model where users’ experiences are directly fed back into some kind of a knowledge base that is fully integrated with the software itself, so interesting ideas about how to use the software productively are readily available, rather than having to wade through online knowledge databases or lurk in user forums (not that I don’t enjoy lurking here :). It would be just quicker if the software offered some intelligent solutions that are specific to the problem.
Posted by Chris Murtland
Nov 12, 2011 at 06:32 PM
Playing a musical instrument also involves physical dexterity and coordination that is absent from knowledge work (assuming you can already type extremely fast).
Deliberate practice doesn’t just mean the opposite of random - it means consciously working at the edge of one’s abilities to increase the failure rate (and therefore the learning rate). This seems more applicable to acquiring skills than productivity in general. While you need some time to learn and stretch yourself in any endeavor, in most settings a daily, several-hour morning and afternoon session of that is going to be the opposite of productive, because your output is going to be greater from skills you already have than from ones you are still learning.
I think focusing is pretty much an act of the will. Software may make it easier once you’ve decided, by hiding distractions or providing a function like hoisting, for example. But you still had to decide in the first place to hoist that particular topic or start that minimalist editor instead of checking email, reading feeds, etc. Of course, you can set up your environment and workflow to make that choice easier, and being consistent over time can make it a habit. But I think it’s still willpower and habits rather than specific software that make that work.
Chris
Posted by Dr Andus
Nov 12, 2011 at 07:23 PM
Interesting points, Chris. I suppose I linked concentration to productivity in my post because I find that the two are related in some complicated ways. Yes, if you don’t concentrate (because you lack the discipline or the software and hardware setup makes it easy to be distracted), your productivity will suffer. However, in my example I was talking about the opposite experience: I hit the wall productivity-wise and couldn’t find a way of moving ahead, therefore I was more likely to be distracted and lose my concentration (as that was less painful).
But I’m all for software offering distraction-free environment options (such as the excellent full-screen view in Scrivener) or easy hoisting in Bonsai.
Posted by Chris Murtland
Nov 12, 2011 at 08:41 PM
Yes, I do agree that concentration is a key to productivity. I was just reacting to the initially posted article and the fact that “practice” may not translate directly to productivity in general (although considering the possible parallels is interesting).
In my own case, I think I’ve given up a bit on info management software ever becoming exponentially or profoundly more useful in my lifetime, so I’ve tried to refocus my efforts on improving my own ability to focus in spite of technology rather than due to technology. Similarly with managing tasks - I can spend my time fiddling around with myriad algorithms and sorting to get software to present the right task at the right time (and one that I just happen to feel like doing right when it is presented), or I can use my judgment, intuition, and willpower in the moment to decide what to do and then do it. Software is still in the mix, but I have lower expectations of it. I guess I am going through a CRIMP rehab phase.
I think your idea of having other users’ feedback and workflows fed back into the program somehow and presented as guidelines or tips based on the current task would be great. Or an app could just embed this forum. ;-) The problem is associating a bunch of forum threads to a specific real-time use case… but I do find the “here’s how I use software X to accomplish task Y” to be very illuminating and useful. And I think as your particular insight on a particular workflow problem illustrates, you have to be able to capture your personal insights somehow in a way that will let you take advantage of the lesson learned if a similar situation comes up in the future. Maybe a personal procedures document/outline that actually gets updated and referred to as one works… And perhaps a community resource of specific workflow recipes?
Chris