Designing the Perfect Practice Loop

Step one involves figuring out what your loops are. These are the activities you repeat over and over when learning something.

Next, analyze the loop for different parts to see whether you can make improvements. It will result in faster learning.

• Does your loop match the skill or subskill I'm trying to improve? A vocabulary drill that is aimed to improve your words in a real conversation, but only lets you recognize words by their spelling misses the point. You may recognize the words in print, but may not be able to speak them aloud.

• Can you get better, more accurate feedback after each iteration? In public speaking, you could videotape yourself performing the skill to look for mistakes later. 

• Do you understand the process? Repeating an inefficient technique won't make you a master. Sometimes a different method will create better results.

The best way to learn is not to just sit and read.

• Write down what your current practice loop is for something you're learning now.
• Give one idea for how you might improve the loop.