The problem this solves
“I want to stop practising the easy version.”
Primary keyword: varied practice harder
What you'll learn
- Pick the easy version of the skill
- List 3 harder versions
- Pick the next-hardest one
- A weekly harder-version log
The science behind it: Varied Practice
Varied practice means practising the same underlying skill across a range of contexts and conditions, so the skill transfers beyond the examples used during study.
Why it matters
Skills over-fit to a narrow context if practised in only one context; varying conditions forces the learner to extract the underlying principle.
How to apply it
- Practise a skill in multiple settings, with multiple examples, against multiple phrasings.
- Ask yourself each time: what is the underlying principle here, separate from this example?
- Combine varied practice with feedback so you can correct mis-generalisations.
Common mistakes
- Treating variety as entertainment rather than as a learning mechanism.
- Varying surface details without varying the underlying problem structure.
- Stopping practice at the first successful example.
Read the full concept: Varied Practice.
Where this fits
Part of module Difficulty and Deep Work.
More articles in this module
- What Is Deliberate Practice? : what is deliberate practice in real life
- Design a Deliberate Practice Session : deliberate practice session
- Use Productive Struggle : productive struggle
- Build Frustration Tolerance : how to build frustration tolerance
- What to Do When You Hit a Wall : stuck on a hard topic for weeks