Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle, (49) Tip #49, Notes

Post date: Nov 22, 2018 11:51:51 AM

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TIP #49 WHEN YOU GET STUCK, MAKE A SHIFT

When starting out in a new skill, swift progress is made for a while, and then all of a sudden it stops. A plateau is hit. A plateau happens when the brain achieves a level of automaticity. The skill can be performed on autopilot, without conscious thought. The brain loves autopilot, because in most situations it’s pretty handy. It frees the brain for more important tasks. When it comes to developing talent, however, autopilot is the enemy, because it creates plateaus. The best way past a plateau is to jostle the brain beyond it; to change the practice method so the autopilot gets disrupted and a faster, better circuit is rebuilt. One way to do this is to speed things up. Do the task faster than normal. Or slow things down—going so slowly that previously undetected mistakes are highlighted. Or do the task in reverse order, turn it inside out or upside down. It doesn’t matter which technique is used, as long as it knocks the brain out of autopilot and back into the sweet spot.