--- title: 4 Ways to Learn Anything in 20 Hours description: The key is to practice intelligently. canonical: https://time.com/4255801/learn-anything-20-hours/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-21T12:00:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:35.604Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 4 Ways to Learn Anything in 20 Hours og:description: The key is to practice intelligently og:url: https://time.com/4255801/learn-anything-20-hours/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b47ba49ac4652c8/69888aaca988ca4ed96b6f2a/woman-hands-piano.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5124 og:image:height: 2882 og:image:alt: woman-hands-piano og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 4 Ways to Learn Anything in 20 Hours twitter:description: The key is to practice intelligently twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b47ba49ac4652c8/69888aaca988ca4ed96b6f2a/woman-hands-piano.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 4 Ways to Learn Anything in 20 Hours > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=3adbe8d9-9d27-4612-b93b-b91d33d682bd&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How to Find Motivation in Music [Watch (HLS stream): How to Find Motivation in Music](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LCpXYXxf.m3u8) (1:23)  _Published 2016-01-07_ by [J.D. Meier / Sources of Insight](https://time.com/author/sources-of-insight/) ## J.D. Meier / Sources of Insight Mar 21, 2016 12:00 PM UTC  USA, Utah, Lehi, Young woman hands playing piano USA, Utah, Lehi, Young woman hands playing piano Getty Images by [J.D. Meier / Sources of Insight](https://time.com/author/sources-of-insight/) ## J.D. Meier / Sources of Insight Mar 21, 2016 12:00 PM UTC _“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”_ — Mahatma Gandhi What if you could learn anything in 20 hours, what would you learn? Would you learn how to dance? Would you learn a new language? Would you learn an instrument? In the TED talk, [The First 20 Hours — How To Learn Anything](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY), Josh Kaufman explains how to practice intelligently and how to learn any new skill in 20 hours. It takes 10,000 hours to achieve mastery in a field. But it only takes 20 hours to get good at something, if you practice intelligently. Via [The First 20 Hours — How To Learn Anything](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY): --- > “” --- **1\. Deconstruct the skill** Break it down. If you want to learn a new skill, the first thing you need to do is break it down into small action steps. Via [The First 20 Hours — How To Learn Anything](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY): --- > “” --- **2\. Learn Enough to Self-Correct** Take action and get started. Start practicing the new skill you want to learn so that you can generate feedback and start correcting yourself. You need to start to recognize what good looks like or what good feels like, so you can change your approach as necessary. This is how you will create your learning loop. Via [The First 20 Hours — How To Learn Anything](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY): --- > “” --- **3\. Remove Practice Barriers** Get rid of whatever gets in the way of your ability and motivation to practice. Make it easier to practice, by getting rid of distractions. Via [The First 20 Hours — How To Learn Anything](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY): --- > “” --- **4\. Practice at least 20 hours** Keep making small improvements over 20 hours. Spend about 45 minutes a day for a month, and focus on continuous improvement and learning. Your little improvements will compound over the course of a month. Via [The First 20 Hours — How To Learn Anything](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY): --- > “” --- **20 Hours Gets You Over the Frustration Barrier** If you can invest 20 hours to learn your new skill, this will help you get over the initial “frustration barrier.” It’s this “frustration barrier” that holds so many people back from learning new things, exploring new interests, or realizing their potential. It’s not skill that holds you back. You are up against yourself. The biggest barrier is emotional. If you can get over the hump of feeling incompetent or silly or awkward, you open new doors and you are on your way to a life of learning. Of course, mastery is a whole other level. But the big idea is don’t let the big learning curve of mastery get in the way of the much smaller learning curve of getting good at something. Keep learning. _This_ [_article_](http://sourcesofinsight.com/learn-anything-20-hours/) _originally appeared on_ [_Sources of Insight_](http://sourcesofinsight.com) ## Transcript [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ SOUND ] [ MUSIC ] You have to pay attention to the music you're choosing to motivate yourself. [ MUSIC ] If you're looking for motivation, you need to play motivating music. You turn your phone on with your favorite song [ SOUND ] and you just [ SOUND ] you walk. [ SOUND ] [ MUSIC ] Remember when Rocky was really big in that Da da da da da da da da da da da. [ MUSIC ] Your shoulders would go back. You'd get that feeling. You have to find your Rocky song. [ MUSIC ] And whatever your Rocky song is, play it. Every morning, every walk, whatever it is, you need your theme song. 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