Uncovering the Power of the 20 Hours Learning Principle

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This idea was coined by Josh Kaufman, the author of the book 'The First 20 Hours'.

Striking the Right Balance: A student reflects on study methods to achieve academic excellence

You might have heard that mastering a skill requires 10,000 hours, roughly equivalent to 5 years of practice. But what if mastery isn't your goal? If you want to become proficient enough to use the skill effectively and gain value, how many hours would you need then?

The good news is that you don't need to spend 10,000 hours to achieve competency. According to research by Josh Kaufman, the author of "The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything... Fast," it takes about 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice to become reasonably good at a new skill.

By breaking down the skill into manageable components, practicing deliberately, and focusing on the essentials, you can reach a level of proficiency much faster than you might expect.

Students engage in focused study, emphasizing conceptual understanding and deliberate practice to achieve academic success.

For instance, most SPM students studying Chemistry aim to achieve good grades rather than mastering complex equations to become chemists. At the SPM level, their focus is on grasping the basics, earning good grades, and building a solid foundation in the subject. However, challenges often arise when in Form 4.

At the start of the school year, students often buzz with a flurry of agendas, plans, co-curricular activities, sports, competitions, and numerous other events that keep them as busy as bees.

Therefore, most students don’t have enough time to focus and learn new things at the start of the year. After the first monthly test, many realize their basic understanding is lacking. Planning a recovery strategy becomes nearly impossible as more activities and agendas continue to consume their time. Thus, they must follow the flow until the Form 5 SPM trials.

Feeling overwhelmed and guilty about the limited time left to correct mistakes is common. But don't worry! You can master the basics with the 20 Hours Learning Principles.

Trust me, 20 hours is all you need. I have spent years testing this principle with many of my students, and the results have been astounding. Research shows that acquiring competency in a skill takes far less time than we often anticipate.

Students welcome concentrated learning, celebrating their academic achievements and progress on their educational journey.

By approaching Chemistry SPM 2025 systematically, you can climb the learning curve and achieve noticeable proficiency in just 20 hours.

You would be astounded at how good you could get at any skill in just 20 hours. ~ Josh Kaufman

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