# What do you do to deliberately practice?

Also related: [Humans Are Not Automatically Strategic](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PBRWb2Em5SNeWYwwB/humans-are-not-automatically-strategic)

At the beginning of Tyler Cowen and David Gross's recent book, [Talent](https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Identify-Energizers-Creatives-Winners-ebook/dp/B08R2KNYVX/), they mention an interview question Tyler used for new hires:

> Daniel recalls that he first learned from Tyler this question for prospective hires: "What is it you do to practice that is analogous to how a pianist practices scales?" You learn what this person is doing to achieve ongoing improvement, and perhaps you can judge its efficacy or even learn something from it. You also learn how the person thinks about continual self-improvement, above and beyond their particular habits. If a person doesn't practice much, they still might be a good hire, but then you are much more in the world of "what you see is what you get," which is valuable information on its own. If the person does engage in daily, intensive self-improvement, perhaps eschewing more typical and more social pursuits, there is a greater chance they are the kind of creative obsessive who can make a big difference.

When I read this, I opened a new [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/) file and tried to write down what I do for deliberate practice. I couldn't think of anything; I don't do anything to deliberately practice skills I have.

As I thought of what I might *start* doing to deliberately practice, I realized that while I had some conception of my comparative advantage (high charisma and extroversion) relative to the skilled people I regularly interact with, I had no plan to practice that, *even though I knew a good drill for practicing public speaking*. I also realized that I had no idea how to deliberately practice certain skills—what does, say, Tyler Cowen do to deliberately practice his skill at searching for talent? (EDIT: a friend linked [his post on it](https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2019/07/how-i-practice-at-what-i-do.html))

I'd like to see what it is that *you* do to deliberately practice. If, like me, you realized that you don't deliberately try to improve the skills you regularly use, hopefully the other responses can provide some ideas for possible new habits.

Examples:
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If you wanted to improve your social skills or public speaking, you could try recording yourself giving a speech or having a conversation and then seeing what specific things you could have done better. [^r1l4ld0wg6m]

Similarly, an extracurricular program at [my old school](https://www.nysmith.com/) had a speaking drill for interview practice:

*   The teacher provides a question: something like "What issue in the world do you wish more people were aware of?"
*   Everyone takes turns standing in front of their peers and giving their response.
*   You have to talk for a minute straight. Once you start, if you pause for too long or say "um" too many times you have to sit back down.
*   When you're finished, the teacher provides feedback on how you did.

In some areas, "deliberate practice" might just mean "actually doing the thing you're trying to practice." Stephen King always tries to write at least ~2000 words per day, which may be the best way to improve your skill at writing. I would guess that practicing a skill like alignment research or entrepreneurship might be similar, but I'm not sure. Breaking down something like "alignment research" or "entrepreneurship" into smaller chunks like "understanding the research of others" or "pitching to investors" may also help.

Again, I'm interested in seeing what you do to deliberately practice, or other notable examples of deliberate practice.

[^r1l4ld0wg6m]: I'll be trying to teach social skills/extroversion to a friend of mine using How To Make Friends And Influence People, the drills mentioned here, and personal feedback.