Mastery requires roughly 10,000 hours or 10 years of practice and experience. So, practically speaking, is it possible to get to your 10,000 hours faster? That’s what we explore in this video.
Video Highlights:
- 00:00 – 10,000 hours is how long it takes to become an expert in anything
- 00:11 – If you choose a specific area of focus you can achieve goals faster
- 00:27 – How to streamline your life
- 00:45 – Short-term sacrifice for long-term results
- 01:11 – 11 tips on how to streamline
- 03:21 – How to eliminate distractions
- 03:32 – 11 tips on how to eliminate distractions
- 05:52 – The Music Entrepreneur Code is waiting for you…
Transcription:
So, if you aren’t already familiar with the idea of 10,000 hours, that’s basically how long it takes to become an expert in anything, including learning any skill or learning an instrument.
Now, if you’re intently focused on the specific area that you want to get good at, then I don’t necessarily think that it requires 10,000 hours, but it’s still a good metric to aim for. So, that’s about 10 years of effort.
In this guide, we’re going to be looking at how to streamline your life. And, that’s really the first point. How to streamline, how to simplify, how to make things easier on yourself. There’s definitely some things we can do practically, so that we can reach those 10,000 hours faster.
You’re definitely going to have to think in terms of short-term sacrifice so that you can get long-term results. A lot of people are just focused on instant gratification, what they can do now to be happy, what they can do now to get a quick hit of dopamine.
Short-term sacrifice, long-term results. Click To TweetBut if you think long-term and do the things that you need to do today to get to where you want to go, really it’s going to create a lot of long-term happiness in your life.
But you’re probably not going to put any of these things into motion unless you’re really dedicated and serious about accomplishing what you want to achieve. These are just suggestions and ideas. You’re welcome to take them or leave them but many of these things I’ve done myself so that I could streamline my life and focus on the things that I wanted to.
You can cancel your Netflix subscription. I’m sure you can find many other ways to entertain yourself and really binge-watching is not conducive when you’re trying to get your 10,000 hours of practice.
Stop eating out. Save some money. Eat at home. You’ll be healthier, and you’ll feel better, and you won’t have to drive back and forth between different places.
Find a cheaper cell phone plan. I find that a lot of people are not fully optimized in this sense, and could probably live with a cheaper plan or a cheaper cell phone.
You can skip the movies, because it costs quite a bit of money these days. And, you end up being tempted by hot dogs and popcorn and so forth.
Cancel your Prime membership. Do this so that you aren’t tempted to buy anything on Amazon.
Sell anything you don’t need. That includes music gear you haven’t touched in a year or longer.
Sell you car and buy a beater. 10-year-old cars really aren’t that bad. And, you can usually get them for about $3,000 to $5,000. You can put a lot of money back in your pocket, especially if your car’s still worth something. If not, that’s okay.
Move into an apartment or a smaller space that doesn’t cost you as much if you aren’t already in an apartment.
You could even consider moving back home, if your parents are alright with that.
And, having gone through all these steps, you should be able to reduce your hours at work, because it’s going to put a lot of money back into your pocket, and you’re not going to have as many expenses. So, if you reduce your hours at work, you’re going to have more time to practice.
Basically, we just want to do anything that you can to reduce expenses and put money back in your pocket.
Do anything you can to reduce expenses and put money back in your pocket. Click To TweetNext thing we can do is eliminate distractions. And, there are many today. And, I would guess, for most people, it rhymes with “base hook.” Here are some suggestions and ideas. Take them or leave them.
Turn notification off on your smartphone. This is really easy to do in your settings and you don’t want to be constantly bombarded by emails, texts, WhatsApp messages, Messenger messages, so on and so forth. Your time is valuable. You can answer them when you are focused on answering them, rather than answering them immediately.
Ignore social media. You don’t need it while you’re practicing and learning your instrument.
Create a quiet space where you can focus.
Put a “No Interruptions” sign on your door if you find it helps.
Skip wing night. Stop going out to the bars and having wings with the buddies. You don’t need to do that.
Stop partying. Really, every single weekend, if you’re partying, you have to recover from the partying, and the hangover, and so and and so forth. Just stay focused.
Time block. In other words, set aside a certain amount of time for practice in your schedule, set aside a certain amount of time for eating, set aside a certain amount of time for communication, and so forth so that you know what to expect.
Try to aim for single channel communication. Like I said earlier, you get emails, you get messages, you get texts, you get phone calls… If at all possible, just narrow it down to one medium and make it easier on yourself.
Clear the clutter from your environment. There’s always a lot of things that end up distracting you from your task. And, really you don’t need all those memories, and ideas, and projects hanging in the balance that you haven’t touched in forever just sitting on yours shelves, on your desk, on the floor or wherever. Just eliminate it if you haven’t touched it.
Disconnect from the internet. You can do this at select periods of times. It’s not a bad idea to unplug your modem at night. Probably help you sleep better too.
And, if you must, consider moving. Sometimes moving to a new environment where you don’t know anybody, and also somewhere that’s cheap and affordable is going to help you a lot and help you regain your focus.
The Music Entrepreneur Code is waiting for you. So, look for the link in the description or at the bottom of the page to keep learning more.
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