The 10,000-hour rule is a concept popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Outliers. It’s described as taking approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve mastery in any field, be it music, sports, medicine, or even art. Gladwell suggests this amount of practice is a common factor among highly successful people in their respective fields.
If we were to translate 10,000 hours into days, then:
10,000 hours / 24 hours per day = 416.67 Days
So, 10,000 hours is approximately 416.67 days.
And if we convert 416.67 days into years, then:
416.67 days / 365.25 days per year = 1.14 Years
In other words, achieving mastery in a field would require 1.14 years of your life.
If my daily drafts were to continue, then I’m certain I would achieve that. But it’s important that the hours factored into the equation are deliberate practice, not regular practice.
And in my case, I’m not sure what counts as deliberate practice.
So, I propose a different rule, one that factors regular practice and that is not backed up by any evidence: the 10,000 day rule.
This new concept would have a broader engagement with a field, including a wider range of experiences and learning opportunities over a longer time span.
Although the 10,000 day rule is a longer path to mastery since it doesn’t require deliberate practice, it makes up for it by emphasizing the value of a long-term commitment and experience rather than just intensive experience.
Put another way, it’s a focus on consistency.
If we were translate 10,000 days into years, then:
10,000 days / 365.25 days per year = 27.4 years
So, 10,000 days is nearly 3 decades.
I’m fine with writing every day for 30 years.
We can consider this the final milestone of this project.
And, fortunately, I wasn’t the only person crazy enough to suggest this concept.
Here’s my inspiration for the day.