Time isn’t the #1 metric for success, effort is.
A 3-step strategy based on what outcome you produce, rather than what time you spend.
Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers brought up his now-famous 10,000 hour rule, whereby any individual with a hint of talent (according to him) and being at the right time at the right place, could achieve master-level skill in any competence he or she had chosen to spend 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. Anders Ericsson talks about the very same thing.
Since I heard about it, 4 years ago prior to starting my degree, it’s been super present whenever I have taken decisions in regards towards my own development, especially as a drummer/musician. Every time I schedule my weeks, I am careful to fill up every single hour, thinking TIME put in would mean future success. And yes, I have devoted a lot of time, most of it certainly in the last three years, to working on my craft, directly or indirectly (band practices, recordings, reading…). Fact is, I have used time as the main metric to judge whether I was doing the right thing or not. And don’t get me wrong, everyone has to put a lot of time in to become a master at whatever they choose to do. But here is where the deliberate side of practice kicks in.
Lately, I have felt rather frustrated about me reaching a plateau in my drumming level, and especially with my uni work, as I have not seen a clear correlation between the time blocked in my calendar to be devoted to writing my last submission, and the tangible progress I am making (well-researched, thought-through words).
SO… I was cycling back home the other day, talking to myself as I always do, and wondering what life could look like in 1–3–5–10 years doing what I am doing right now and where that is leading me to. And I had to stop because this realisation struck me so hard:
It’s not the time I put in, but the effort, what will dictate future success.
I can’t help to feel a bit gutted about such realisation, feeling silly about all the times I have chosen to prioritise the time spent on a task, rather than analysing the output/result I have to come out of that time spent. Yet, I feel quite grateful as feel I have got a better chance of achieving mental clarity through the following process:
1. Prioritise your tasks
At the beginning of the day, or any writing or practice session, look at everything that needs to get done (providing you have some weekly/monthly/termly goal-setting system put in place either for you or by you). What is the most important thing you need to get out of the way? What is the thing that if you only that done, you will still be content with the progress made at the end of the day? Get that done first. Then list the rest in order. Feel free to add desirable tasks if you happen to be extra productive, but being self-aware of your capabilities and acknowledging how much effort is required to undertake the primary task is needed is key here. Nonetheless, be prepared to be flexible. There is a lot of information you are yet to discover, so be open for this.
2. Ask yourself: what is the output I need to produce? SMART goals.
Now you have the to-do’s in front of you. What is the outcome desired? Therefore… what is the effort needed to get there? As you undertake the task, is you have a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & Time-based, you will receive immediate feedback as you progress, because you have benchmarks to compare it to.
3. Schedule time accordingly
Now, more often than not, we do need to schedule a time frame to complete a task, we have got deadlines & other commitments, so it’s more than likely necessary to adjust our task to fit between a certain time-window. This is when goals & self-awareness come together. Be realistic & open. If you don’t get it done, have a backup scheduled time to make it up, and if you finish early, well done! You either underestimated your capabilities or the effort needed to produce the outcome you desired. Then you can crack on with the following, less important tasks or call it a day! But remember, EFFORT COMES FIRST.
Ask yourself: what, when & where do I need to put my effort in? The answers, if you are consistent and persistent, will set the path for the future version of yourself you aspire to be.
Now the secret is: what if you can spend a huge amount of effort + a great amount time on what you want be a master at? It’s not a matter of choosing, but the goal is to go with effort & time, quality & quantity, for the best chance at achieving success possible.
