The Neuroscience of Effective Practice

I recently delved into the art of drawing basic mandala designs, which have gained immense popularity for their mindfulness and relaxation benefits. Here is an example of a mandala:

Source: Alesia Kozik/Pexels

I first looked up basic mandala designs and went about practicing a few.

After dedicating approximately 20 minutes to practicing, I noticed an improvement in my mandala drawings. Though subtle, there was a noticeable increase in my confidence and precision, resulting in a neater and more refined final product compared to my earlier attempts.

If there is one thing that separates a great artist or sportsperson from an amateur one, it is practice. Practicing deliberately to enhance performance is not only crucial for acquiring expertise in an activity but it is also imperative. Studies indicate that while deliberate practice might not be the only factor that comes into play, it is an absolutely necessary one if someone is to achieve high levels of expertise in a domain.

Not All Practice Is Created Equal

Gaining expertise through practice involves more than just mindlessly repeating a task. For instance, one may spend several hours practicing a musical piece, but without deliberate practice, the results may be short-lived or inconsequential.

Experts emphasize that deliberate practice encompasses three fundamental aspects that differentiate it from rote repetition: attention, rehearsal, and repetition. By paying close attention to the task at hand, rehearsing with a clear goal in mind, and repeating the process with purpose, we can achieve proficiency and long-lasting results. It can also help to pair deliberate practice with reflection on problem-solving processes.

How Does Deliberate Practice Help?

While deliberate practice is an important and perhaps necessary component for achieving expertise, it is important to know that its impact varies across different domains, with certain fields such as music and sports showing a greater dependence on it than others.

In addition to helping us achieve expertise in a subject matter, deliberate practice can have the following benefits:

1. Practice enhances long-term memory retention of new information. When we practice recalling and applying new knowledge, we are more likely to remember it permanently.
2. Practice helps us eventually apply our knowledge automatically and without much thought. Repeated deliberate practice can thus help to free up cognitive resources, which can allow us to handle more challenging tasks.
3. Practice not only improves problem-solving skills, but also enhances the ability to transfer skills that we practiced to new and complex problems.
4. The cognitive gains we experience from practicing can often motivate us to continue learning.

The Neuroscience Behind Practice Effects

Sportspersons, musicians, and artists often speak about how, as they practice a skill, it seems to become second nature. While they might colloquially refer to this as muscle memory, it involves a structure called myelin, which insulates nerve fibers and increases the speed and efficiency of nerve impulses. The more we practice a skill, the more myelin we produce around the neurons involved in that skill, making them communicate faster and better.

One of the remarkable effects of practice is that it can alter the brain’s structure by enlarging certain areas that are involved in the practiced skill. A famous example of this is the “London cab driver study,” which showed that the intensive training that cab drivers undergo to learn the complex routes of London and earn their licenses leads them to have bigger hippocampi than average. The hippocampus is a key part of the brain for memory formation and recall.

How to Practice Most Effectively

• Avoid rote repetition. Rather than mindlessly repeat new information, incorporate the principles of deliberate practice into your learning routine. Pay attention, rehearse in a goal-directed manner, and repeat.
• Break down a complex task into its constituent parts. Don’t start by trying to replicate an intricate and complex mandala. That’s a formula for disappointment, and you’re likely to never pick up your gel pens again. Start with practicing basic patterns, and once those become better and automatic, you can move to experimenting with combinations of these patterns.
• Start slow. I mean, literally. If you are trying to draw a basic mandala pattern, make sure you are starting to learn by moving your pen slowly and mindfully across the page. Speed can come later. This is why, very often, classical musicians insist their students start practicing playing one note per beat, and only then moving to faster tempos and more complex rhythms.
• Don’t move to the next step without perfecting the first one. If I am unable to play a complicated piece on the piano at one note per beat, I should not even try to play it at two notes per beat until I have mastered the first step.
• Patience is key. When we witness experts in their element, their abilities appear seamless and natural, which can be discouraging when we struggle to grasp the same skill. However, we often overlook the countless hours they put into practicing to attain such mastery. Instead of growing restless for immediate perfection, recognizing the beauty and significance of the learning journey can inspire us to dedicate our time and energy to mastering new skills.