This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The First 20 Hours" by Josh Kaufman. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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What skill do you want to learn? How should you go about choosing among the countless options?
Skill acquisition expert Josh Kaufman provides a step-by-step process for mastering the basics of any new skill with only 20 hours of practice. His system favors efficiency, so the first step is to choose a skill wisely and then attach a specific goal to it.
Continue reading to learn how to take the first step toward learning a new skill in a way that sets you up for success.
What Skill Do You Want to Learn?
You’ve decided you want to pick up a new skill. So, what skill do you want to learn? Kaufman suggests you choose the skill you’re most excited about. The more interest you have in a skill, the more motivated and focused you’ll be and the faster you’ll improve.
(Shortform note: Interest is a state of engagement that acts as an “approach urge”—it encourages you to approach new things. It also counteracts your “avoid urges,” which compel you to stick to what’s safe and familiar. In other words, when you’re interested in a skill, you’re more driven to engage with it as opposed to procrastinating or avoiding it altogether. Interest enhances learning because it affects how you feel and think. It makes you feel energized and captivated. You also pay closer attention to things, process information more efficiently, and can work harder and longer on the task at hand.)
Kaufman advises against trying to learn multiple new skills at the same time. Acquiring skills requires focus and concentration, and switching between different skills distracts you and slows down your progress. Concentrating your time and energy on one skill allows you to improve as fast as possible.
(Shortform note: While multitasking might feel productive, it actually increases the time you spend on a task by a significant amount. In Eat That Frog!, Brian Tracey explains that people can only focus on one thing at a time. Once you switch your attention to something else, you need 17 minutes to fully refocus on the task you’ve been working on. Thus, by concentrating on one skill without interruption, you’ll be able to learn it in half the time than if you switched between multiple skills.)
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Here's what you'll find in our full The First 20 Hours summary:
- A simple and effective method for learning almost any skill in 20 hours
- The misconceptions that hold us back from learning new skills
- Actionable tips to help you optimize your skill-building experience
