How to Master a New Skill Faster and More Efficiently
Learning a new skill is hard, mastering it is even harder. It takes thousands of hours of training until a skill becomes “automatic” or “unconscious,” which happens when performing it no longer requires significant activation of the prefrontal cortex (brain area involved in thinking) and instead is primarily performed via the basal ganglia (involved in performing habitual actions). Many athletes believe that simply going out and performing a skill over and over is the key to getting to this stage, but here I am purposing a more systematic approach that will help you do this faster and more efficiently.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Fitts-and-Posners-1967-model-of-skill-acquisition-as-a-function-of-the-cognitive_fig3_233446680
The key is to train the skill using different techniques based on the stage you are at in the skill development process (cognitive, associative, or autonomous). The diagram above illustrates how each of these stages relates to your level of experience/practice, working memory/attentional demands, and how that affects your ability to perform the skill “automatically.” Below I will explain the characteristics of each stage more in-depth, and provide practical advice about what you can do to improve.
Cognitive Stage - Beginner
Movements are slow, inconsistent, and inefficient
High activation in the Prefrontal Cortex (thinking region)
Success rate is about 2-3 out of 10
How to Improve
Break the skill down into individual parts, focus on mastering each part individually, then progress to combining them into one fluid motion
Focus your attention internally to perfect the technical requirements of the skill
Receive feedback from a coach or trainer and track your progress. If no coach is available, videotape yourself and compare your technique to credible athletes
Associative Stage - Intermediate
Movements are becoming more fluid and consistent
High Activation in the Prefrontal Cortex (thinking region)
Success rate is about 5-6 out of 10
How to Improve
Focus on performing the entire skill properly, then progress by increasing speed and duration
Focus your attention internally on the more complex aspects of the skill
Receive feedback from a coach or trainer and track your progress. If no coach is available, videotape yourself and compare your technique to credible athletes
Autonomous Stage - Advanced
Performance is smooth and consistent
High activation in the Basal Ganglia (automatic functioning region), not as much conscious thought needed
Success rate is about 9 out of 10
How to Improve
Focus on performing the skill with elite speed and accuracy, then progress to using external stimuli to increase the cognitive complexity and make it more realistic to competition. You can do this by yourself using the free SwitchedOn Training App
Little internal attention needed - learn to focus externally to improve transfer to competition
Receive feedback from a coach or trainer and track your progress. If no coach is available, videotape yourself and compare your technique to credible athletes
If you are in the autonomous stage of whatever skill you are working on, the SwitchedOn Training app is the perfect tool to provide you with an external stimulus that will make your training more realistic to competition. Just choose your stimuli, customize your settings, set it up, and start taking your skill training to the next level!