Josh Kaufman

In this book Josh Kaufman claims that you only need 20 hours to learn a new skill. Kaufman also claims that it is the quality, and not the quantity of the time spent that is needed to learn a new skill. Josh Kaufman learned how to do yoga, program, touch type, play "Go," play ukulele, and windsurf. Kaufman introduced the 10 principles of rapid skill acquisition. The steps are: 1. Choose a loveable project. 2. Focus your energy on one skill at a time. 3. Define your target performance level. 4. Deconstruct the skill into subskills. 5. Obtain critical tools. 6. Eliminate barriers to practice. 7. Make dedicated time for practice. 8. Create fast feedback loops. 9. Practice by the clock in short bursts and 10. Emphasize quality and speed. Kaufman also introduces the 10 principles of effective learning. Which are: 1. Research the skill and related topics. 2. Jump in over your head. Identify mental models and mental hooks. 4. Imagine the opposite of what you want. 5. Talk to practitioners to set expectations. 6. Eliminate distractions in your environment. 7. Use spaced repetition and reinforcement for memorization. 8. Create scaffolds and checklists. 9. Make and test predictions. and 10. Honor your biology. To practice yoga Kaufman decided to learn a handful of positions, quality over quantity. To program Kaufman spent his free time learning how to program and update his website. To touch type Kaufman started from the beginning and switched from QWERTY to COLEMAK. To learn how to play "Go" Kaufman got rid of his distraction which was "World of Warcraft." To learn how to play ukulele Kaufman learned the subskills first. And to learn how to windsurf Kaufman took precautions and bought necessary equipment before he hurt himself.

I found this book to be quite inspiring. The steps are useful and make sense! The principles are so easy to understand I don't know why I haven't followed them earlier! (Perhaps because I'm too lazy to make tie and get rid of all distractions.) It was also helpful because of the examples. If he had only wrote the principles I would've been better off but not at full potential. Kaufman didn't master those skills, but he got good enough to the point where if people would ask him to do it he would actually know how to do it. My favorite part was when Kaufman rewired his brain completely when trying to learn how to touch type. Overall this was a good book and if you are looking to learn a new skill you should read this book. You might not need anything but it will still be handy!… (mehr)