Sometimes we know a concept well but we miss opportunities to apply it.
This is the difference between theory and practice.
I recently caught myself in this situation. Too greedy and finally inefficient.
A learning experience
I started learning chess a year ago. It’s an exciting game and the learning possibilities are endless.
I’m also passionate about learning languages. I speak 5 of them, 3 of which I learned as an adult. So I’m trying to use this skill and transfer it to chess. And there is a lot in common.
One of the techniques I often use for language learning is “spaced repetition.” It’s pretty easy on paper.
This consists in writing down and repeating what you are learning at different frequencies. The more you know the answer the less you repeat, and the less you know the answer the more you repeat.
I discovered Chessable, a site that allows you to use “spaced repetition.”
The site is well done and encourages you commercially to buy different books. As the field is vast, “opening, middle game, end game…”. You have hundreds of opportunities to crack.
But here is the counterpart of that. The more new books you start, the more repetitions you have and the less chance you have to finish one of your courses.
And as it’s often the case, it’s easier to start than to finish.
So what’s the solution?
The cure for my case. Focus on one course at a time. Get to the end before starting a new one.
This concept is very well explained in the book “The ONE Thing by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan .” Recognize what needs to be done and focus until it’s done. And then start over with the next thing to do.
“What’s the one thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
– Gary Keller
It’s amazingly simple. Conceptually, we all understand it. But like me, we often tend to slip and get tempted by all the distractions.
There is one thing that doesn’t let itself be distracted. It moves forward without ever questioning, in all weathers and against all distractions. It’s “the Time.”
And ours is limited. So let’s focus on what we want to achieve.
Good learning.
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