Feeling Stuck? Developing a New Skill Might Be the Key
The 20-hour rule for acquiring new skills
I first learned about the 20-hour rule a year ago and thought it was rubbish. I couldn’t believe it was that simple: you could learn any new skill by practicing for just 20 hours.
Only after trying it myself I changed my views drastically, and now I believe this can be a game changer for anyone.
Acquiring new skills can change the way you see yourself and also how you interact with the world. If you are feeling stuck along your journey, it may be a new skill you need to learn to reach the next level.
Why learn new skills?
As Albert Einstein famously said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.”
Learning new things and acquiring new skills compound in us through the work we put out in the world.
We are the sum of our actions, and a set of micro-skills backs every action. Acquiring new skills can change how we and others view ourselves. It can make the difference between somebody who is not good at investing to somebody great at investing or from someone who is not charismatic to somebody who is.
Yes, you can learn to be more charismatic. You just have to break down what charisma means in a set of micro-skills. You need to do things that charismatic people do: learn to look people in their eyes when you greet them, shake their hand firmly, and address them by their first name. Taking these actions will make you more charismatic in your interactions.
The same is true with having more humor. Learning to be funny is a skill you can develop. One way to do it is to join an improv class. I know it helped me. Apart from making you think on your feet and getting you way out of your comfort zone, you will learn how to be funny — creating humor in the gap between expectation and delivery that all there is. You just need to practice it.
What is the 20h rule all about
The 20-hour rule is simple. It states that you need approximately 20 hours of deliberate and focused practice to become reasonably competent in a new skill. The 20 hours will not make you an expert, but it is enough to become proficient in a new skill.
I wanted to start writing blog articles about management and leadership about 10 years back, but I never got to it. It took a lot of work to start. Something was holding me back. I found excuses like needing more time, thinking I lacked experience, or unsure what to write about.
Behind all of these excuses was the real reason: I was afraid to fail publicly. What would others think of my writing? What if it is no good?
The first time you try something new, it will be hard, and you will suck at it. You need to keep going because it will get better.
We are all scared of failing publicly. The more experimented you become in an area, the harder it is to start something new.
This holds up a lot of people in their development. When you are young, it is easier because you probably suck at most things, so you need to face the challenges to become better. There is no other way. Once we reach mastery in a certain area, it is easy for us to just stay there.
We are creatures of comfort. We avoid starting new things and going back through the uncomfortable journey of starting out.
We should force ourselves to start something new every couple of years. I know very successful people who try to reinvent themselves once every 5 years, and I think that has to do a lot with their success.
Being comfortable with discomfort helps you take advantage of new opportunities.
You will be less afraid of starting out. It’s like a muscle that you train. You don’t need to change your entire career. Start learning to play an instrument, become a coach, or learn a new language.
I see many people stuck on a path that they want to go on because they identify as not being good at X, where X stands between them and where they want to go. They go on for years and years and sadly trade the short-term pain for long-term gain.
How I used the 20-hour rule to start writing and how you can use it to learn anything
The 20-hour rule does not involve just practicing in a vacuum. It involves deliberate practice, assessing, and improving your craft. There are some specific stages that you need to follow for the learning to happen.
Decide if you really want to do it
You need to be clear with yourself if you want to try this out and if you are willing to do the work. It may be something that you find interesting but not enough for you to pursue. That is great and case closed — you don’t need to feel any sense of regret. You just deliberately decided not to pursue this and have time for other things.
In my case, I decided to give writing a try. I set a target to write an article every couple of weeks. I still had multiple teams to coordinate and new products to ship while also landing a tech stack revamp and a new UI for the Fitbit App. I didn’t have time only for writing, so I needed an achievable goal. An article out once every 2–3 weeks seemed doable.
There will be discomfort. Just push through it
Starting something new is always hard. Nobody wants to feel like a beginner, especially after getting good at something. Find the time in the day when you will have the most energy to push through the discomfort.
I knew it would be hard. I would feel uncomfortable and frustrated and I would need energy to push through it. One thing that worked well for me was that I scheduled 1.5 hours immediately after waking up for twice a week.
When starting up, use time when you have the most energy to push through the discomfort. Try to set up your environment in a way that will serve you.
My rule was that I blocked that time just for writing. I was not allowed to do anything else, I could stare at the ceiling but not engage in any other distractions: social media, playing video games, watching TV, or doing other work.
By facing total boredom, I forced myself to write. This was a good way to remove distractions from my environment so I wouldn’t find excuses not to do the work.
You need to reflect and assess
You don’t just need to do something for 20 hours and expect it will magically work out. There is a bit more to it. You need to have moments to reflect on your work and assess how it goes. This feedback loop is invaluable because, without it, you will not get better.
I was following other writers to observe their craft. I also gave drafts of my articles to friends for a second opinion. I used apps like Grammarly and Hemingway to get suggestions on my writing.
You need to develop a sense of what success looks like for what you do. That way, you can correct your course and become better at it.
Search for ways to improve
When you are starting in a new field, every idea is valuable. Almost everyone with some experience in the field will be able to teach you important things. The more you develop your skills, the more you must filter and question things out.
Apart from the things I mentioned, I didn’t shy away from googling how to write better articles and insights on this topic.
What now?
After 20 hours, the first thing that happens is that you don’t need to put in the same amount of energy to continue. It becomes something that you just do if you want to. You also get a good idea of what success looks like and what is the next level.
At this point, you can decide if it is something you want to continue to pursue or change. The issue with making this decision before reaching the 20-hour mark is that you don’t know if you drop something just because it feels uncomfortable or you don’t want to do it.
After 20 hours of writing and publishing a few articles, I realized I enjoyed it. Apart from coding, I have stumbled upon a new activity that can put me in a state of flow where the hours pass.
Walking into the new year, think about what new skills you would like to develop that will improve your career, health, or relationships. These may be game changers for your life.
What’s next for me? I want to learn to sell. Acquiring the skill of selling may unlock all sorts of future possibilities for me. As Naval Ravikant said: “Learn to sell and to build. If you can do both, you will become unstoppable.”
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