How to learn anything… fast

Author and business adviser Josh Kaufman reveals a new approach for acquiring new skills quickly with just a small amount of practice each day.

Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to master a new skill. 

Today, when so many of us find ourselves with less and less time and energy to spare, it is all too easy to procrastinate on new learning projects. And to make matters worse, the early hours of practising something new are always the most frustrating. That's why we may start each New Year resolving to learn how to speak a new language or play an instrument, but our best intentions soon fall by the wayside, when the going gets tough and we find it so much easier to watch TV or surf the web.

But author and business adviser Josh Kaufman argues that it is possible to go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing well with just 20 hours of deliberate, focused practice.

By showing how to deconstruct complex skills, maximise productivity, and remove common learning barriers, Kaufman offers a realistic and achievable approach to skill acquisition -  and shows that it is possible to learn just about anything, fast - and have fun along the way.

Speaker: Josh Kaufman, business adviser, learning expert and author of The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything… Fast. (Penguin Portfolio, 2013)

Chair:Julian Thompson is the director of enterprise at the RSA.

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