If you’re interested in improving your craft I would highly recommend the book ‘Peak’ by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool.
It comprehensively proves that not all practice is equal and that the superior form of practice is ‘deliberate practice’. Which means practice that is purposeful and challenging (because let’s face it the best growth comes when outside our comfort zones).
For example if you want to become a rapper you could easily get lost in the whole gestalt of rap songs.
But after watching a short YouTube video of famous rappers praising Eminem I noticed that a common aspect of his style mentioned was – wordplay.
Now that’s perfect for deliberate practice because that is a specific area of rap. You can create very focused practice sessions off that insight.
And the same is true for any artist.
What specific techniques make them great and how can you practice those techniques could be crucial to your improvement.
Because let’s face it time is moving in one direction, we might as well use it wisely.
Thomas Duggan 