Dennis Desantis has some interesting writing about the 10,000 Hour Theory, stated in which it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice/training to achieve master level at any activity, be it playing an instrument, sports, etc.
If 10,000 hours sounds like a lot of time, keep in mind that it’s not a switch; it’s a process. On your way to expertise, you will get better and better, and you will feel progress happening all the time.
And most importantly, 10,000 hours is what it takes to be elite. Simply getting good will happen much sooner. But it will not happen without putting in real, focused time.
What are you waiting for?
Of course, there are differing opinions, but it’s still interesting food for thought.
He has some great case studies on musicians who actually did this.
I did a little back-of-the napkin math: If you practiced your new thing for an hour a day only, it would take roughly 28 years to achieve greatness. At two hours per day, more like 14 years. At 3 hours per day, we’re getting dangerously close to “cramping one’s style” but you can get there in about 9 years. So maybe it was true in college – the people who put in 4 hours a day in the studio really did get a quality payoff for their efforts. I was never convinced enough to put that kind of time in – maybe I should have read the article back then.