Habit technique · Practice & repetition · 10–30 minutes
Deliberate practice
Level: Advanced · Free — no account needed to read
Improve by working on one specific weakness at a time, with feedback, just beyond what’s comfortable.
Why it may help
Repetition keeps a habit going; targeted practice makes you better at it and can move you past plateaus.
When to use it
- A skill habit has plateaued
- You want to improve, not just maintain
- Practice has become repetitive
How to apply it
- Identify one specific weakness.
- Design a short exercise targeting it.
- Get feedback — a recording, a teacher, a check.
- Repeat, then pick the next weakness.
An example
Daria added one speaking session a week to her language practice, targeting the skill she avoided.
The common mistake
Making every session deliberate practice, which can burn you out.
Practise it
Name one weakness in a skill habit and practise it once this week.
What the evidence says
Evidence mixed: Some studies support it and others do not, or early findings shrank when researchers tried to repeat them. The lesson explains both sides.
Deliberate practice is linked with expertise in many studies, but later research found it explains less of the difference between people than first claimed.
Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy (v1) codes: 8.1, 2.2.
Sources
- Ericsson, Krampe & Tesch-Römer (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.100.3.363
- Peak — Anders Ericsson & Robert Pool (2016)
Problems it helps with
- “I don’t see any progress.” — You’ve been at it for a while, and it doesn’t feel like anything is changing.
- “My habit became boring.” — It still happens, but it feels flat, and you’ve started skipping it.
Lessons behind it
- Progression without breaking the cue — Add challenge or variety to a habit that has gone flat, while keeping its cue steady. (6 min · Intermediate)
- When progress stalls — Plateaus are normal. What to check, and what not to conclude. (5 min · Intermediate)