Peak · Anders Ericsson

Deliberate practice examples

Curated by · reviewed 2026-05-31

Deliberate practice is focused, uncomfortable, feedback-driven reps at the edge of your ability — not just time logged. Examples:

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5 examples of deliberate practice

  1. Drilling the hard bar

    A musician repeats the four seconds they keep missing — not the whole easy piece again.

  2. Film and correct

    Athletes review each rep on video, targeting one specific weakness with feedback.

  3. 20 years isn't 20 years

    Someone who's 'driven for two decades' isn't an expert driver — comfortable repetition isn't practice.

  4. Coding katas

    Repeating a hard problem deliberately and reviewing each attempt beats churning out easy code.

  5. Speaking past your level

    Language learners improve fastest just beyond their comfort zone, with correction — not by re-reading vocab.

How to spot it in yourself

You'll forget most of this by next week.

That's just how memory works. Lock deliberate practice in with a 5-minute active-recall session — spaced repetition, no signup.

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