73. How to Get Better at Something
Episode 73
You want to get better at something — maybe it’s a skill for school, a project for work, or a personal goal you’ve been chasing. But how do you actually improve? How do you really, truly get better at something?
In this episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I share a two-pronged approach to improving at anything. Whether it’s academics, communication, creative skills, or even fitness, this strategy works. You’ll learn how to combine conceptual understanding with real-world practice for faster, more reliable progress. Every time.
What You’ll Learn:
✅ Why you need two different approaches to get better at anything
✅ The difference between “thinking about” a skill and actually practicing it
✅ How to apply this two-pronged method to school, work, or personal goals
✅ Why most people only use one side of the strategy (and how to fix that)
✅ Practical examples of using this strategy to learn faster
🎙️Other Episodes + Resources Mentioned
Episode 64: How to Do Hard Things
Episode 67: Why Critical Thinking Matters
✏️Get my FREE parent training: How to Help Your Student Handle School Like a Pro — Without Study Frustration, Assignment Overwhelm, or All the Drama (If you’re the parent of a high school or college student, this training is for you.)
-
The following transcript was autogenerated and may contain some interesting and silly errors. But in the name of efficiency and productivity, I am choosing not to spend my time fixing them 😉
73 How to Get Better at Something===
[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to the Learn and Work Smarter podcast. This is episode 73 and today we're talking about how to get better at something.
Whether you are a high school, college, or graduate student, or you are a professional in the workforce, or perhaps both, at some point you are gonna need to get better at something.
Now, of course there are a ton of scenarios in which we just naturally get better at something simply because we are doing it every day and we learn as we go.
Every day that you show up to your [00:00:30] econ class, you get better at econ class. Every day that you show up to your office to do your job, you get better at your job. But what we're talking about today is different. Today's episode is about how to get intentionally better at something that you really care about, whether it's, you know, there's a deadline attached or not, and how to make sure that your progress is obvious and measurable.
I'm gonna walk you through a simple but powerful two-pronged approach for improvement, and by the end of this episode, [00:01:00] you're gonna have a framework that you can apply to anything you wanna get better at, whether it's for school or work, or just for you. All of the resources I mention today, you can find in the show notes at Learnandworksmarter.com/podcast/73 because this is episode 73, so let's go.
[00:01:30] All right, so let's just jump into the heart of today's episode. This two-pronged approach that I mentioned at the beginning. Prong one, we get better at things by thinking about them and understanding them better conceptually. Okay, and [00:02:00] then prong two, we get better at something by mechanically and physically doing the thing. Also known as practice. We very rarely get better at something if we only ever think about it and read about it and talk about it, but never do it. And then very rarely do we ever get better at something if we only ever focus on the brunt muscle of doing something without fully understanding the concepts and more abstract framework [00:02:30] behind what we're doing.
And here's something important to understand just right from the start. This is not a one and done situation and not a one and done approach like prong one, prong two, you're done. It is a cycle. We move between learning and practicing, learning and practicing over and over again as we level up. That's normal, and that's actually the goal of this entire approach.
We're gonna talk about that a little bit later in the episode. Now. I'm gonna work through a couple examples today, starting with [00:03:00] one that all of us know, and that is the act of riding a bicycle. So if you remember the very first time that you were on a bike or maybe that you taught somebody to ride a bike, whether you knew it or not, both parts of this two-pronged approach were in action.
My kids are teens, but when I taught each of them how to ride a bike, we gave a pep talk beforehand. Something like, you know, hold the handlebar. These bars here steer the bike. These are the brakes on the handlebars that you squeeze if you want the bike to stop, these are the pedals. Keep pedaling 'em so they [00:03:30] don't fall over.
And if you think you're gonna tip over, put your feet down, something like that. Now, if I just plopped my kid in front of a video about how to ride a bike and made him read a book on how to ride a bike, but I never put their bum on a bike, they'd have a real hard time riding a bike. Now, I know that that is a very basic example, but let's take it up a notch.
Let's say that you wanna learn a foreign language, for example, just for the sake of ease here, we're gonna say. Spanish. Okay. The best approach would be to learn the language [00:04:00] conceptually, starting with some grammatical frameworks and maybe the alphabet. And then from there you have to understand how to conjugate, you know, the endings of different verbs, and you have to know how those endings change depending on the tense and who is doing the verb.
Okay. Unless you're learning Spanish as a native speaker in full immersion, like because you were born in Spain, okay? We don't just learn these things by hearing them. We have to intentionally study them and learn how the [00:04:30] tenses and the conjugations work together. That's part one. But then if all we ever do is read about Spanish grammar and maybe listen to Spanish podcasts as I love to do, but we never get in the ring and try to speak it, we're not gonna get better at it.
Now, I don't mean to ruffle any feathers here, but that's why I am not the biggest fan of Duolingo and apps that are just one dimensional like that, because not only is there very little teaching in those apps, but you're missing all of part two. Clicking an answer to a multiple [00:05:00] choice question does not teach you Spanish to any degree of functional fluency.
So read about it, study it, learn the framework, maybe watch some explanatory videos, maybe some podcasts, and then get out there and speak it. That is how you get better at Spanish or you know, at any foreign language for that better.
Now let's talk about work. Let's say that you wanna get better at, I'm just gonna pick an example that's like relevant to me, video editing.
All right. Maybe you [00:05:30] work for the marketing department, or you're helping a company with their media, or you run your own business and you're doing some kind of video, as most businesses do these days. Obviously there are some super simple apps out there that you can learn quickly for basic, like super basic video editing projects like on your phone.
But let's say you wanna learn something more robust like Adobe Premier Pro, okay? So you're gonna learn the quickest by coming at it from that two-pronged approach. Prong one is [00:06:00] maybe to watch some beginner tutorials. Maybe start by getting some of the vocabulary right and figure out, you know, what the different editing tools on the software interface do.
For example, the difference between like a, like a clipping tool and a ripple edit tool. You might even have a friend who's good at Premier Pro and they can teach you some very basic things. Now all of that is really helpful and essential to getting better at Premier Pro. Learning how it works, learning the different tools, um, their names.
Learning how the interface is set up, with the [00:06:30] functionality of different things is perfect. That is all part one, but then you have to actually get in there and play with some video footage. Take some random video footage from your cell phone and import it into Premier Pro and start playing around with it.
Try out the tools for real. Try to make edits for real. Mechanically and physically get in there and practice the thing you want to get better at. You have to practice. You have to practice doing the thing you wanna get better at, at an unreasonable number of [00:07:00] times, but get in there and get your hands dirty.
All right. Now let's look at an example that's maybe a little more abstract. It's still a skill, but it's not like speaking Spanish or learning, you know, video editing. But let's say it's communicating. All right? So let's say you wanna become a better public speaker, or at least a better speaker in some kind of crowd.
Awesome. Alright, so what would the first step be? What would part one look like? Maybe that [00:07:30] starts with some simple research about tips for public speaking. Maybe you get granular in research tips for engaging an audience, or tips for better, um, like vocal articulation. If you wanna get better at spontaneous communication, well then maybe research some active listening strategies, because I'm convinced that the better listener you are, the better communicator you are.
You might watch some videos of engaging speakers. You may even wanna start taking some notes on what you learn and [00:08:00] maybe reach out to someone you know whose communication style you admire. Ask if they'll meet with you for a 10 minute phone call or a cup of coffee, and straight up ask 'em how did you get good at communicating?
Or maybe you just watch how they do it. And again, take notes on their body language and their voice and their intonation and their eye contact. What are they doing with their hands and how, you know, how long they're pausing, when they increase their volume, when they slow down or speed up. That is all part one.[00:08:30]
Now I feel like I can hear some people being like, that's. Bananas. Like, I would never reach out to somebody and say, you know, how do you, how do you communicate? Well, but listen, the, the whole point of this entire episode is how to get better at something. And so that takes a different level of strategies than just saying, okay, well I'm just gonna like low key, improve at a natural organic rate at this thing.
Okay. That's one approach too. But we're talking about there is a skill, there is something that you [00:09:00] want to you know, get better at at a rate that's faster than just, you know, a natural progression. So that means the strategies you use have to be different. That means reaching out to people who are better than you at the thing you wanna get better at, and asking them for advice.
all right, so that is all part one. And then what would part two look like? Because remember, you can read a thousand books and watch a thousand speeches about good communication, but unless you get out there and talk to people and practice communicating, you're not gonna get [00:09:30] better at it.
So for part two, put yourself in as many situations as possible for you to practice the skill. Go to social events with the goal of speaking to, I dunno, at least three people. When you go out to dinner with your friends. How about you're the one to propose making a toast? You could even record yourself on a video or even just, you know, a voice recorder with nobody watching, and then play back and give yourself feedback on what you heard.
Yes, people do this. The more situations you can [00:10:00] put yourself in where you practice the skill, even if it's hard, even if it's uncomfortable, even if you don't wanna do it, you'll get better at it. Now here's the thing about this two-pronged or yeah, this two-pronged process. This is really important. So if you zoned out, come back to me.
It does not work like this. Okay? Do part one. Do part two over and done right now. You're really good at the thing. Ha. If only it worked that way. As I said at the beginning of this episode, it's [00:10:30] actually a cycle. There's part one and then part two and then maybe a little bit more part one and then maybe a little more part two.
And then you keep going through the cycle, honing in on more specific areas that you wanna get better at in the broader category of the thing that you're trying to get better at. So I'll, I'll give you an example. 'cause I feel like that may be a little confusing. So going back to our learning Spanish example.
Let's say that you wanna start with a basic level of Spanish. Great. So you [00:11:00] do some research on basic vocabulary and probably just present tense conjugations with some basic verbs, maybe some common expressions, like, hi, how are you, please? And thank you. What time is it? Things like that. And then for part two, you would get out on the field and you'd practice that.
You'd practice conjugating as many verbs in the present tense as possible and saying, hi, how are you? And what time is it to as many people as possible? And you're gonna get better at that the more you practice that. But then let's say that you [00:11:30] wanna learn past tense. Cool. So Google the Spanish conjugations for past tense verbs, and maybe add on a few more expressions and mix them up with your present tense conjugations.
See if you can handle it in real life. Go find a Spanish speaking friend, or go to a location where you might be asked to speak Spanish like a certain restaurant or a certain part of your city and practice. If those options are not available to you, practice in the mirror or in the shower or on your walk.
But if you don't practice and you only read and [00:12:00] research and think about it, you're not gonna get any better. Okay? And then the cycle continues with every next level of Spanish you want to unlock.
Same for video editing. Let's say that you watched some helpful tutorials and had your friend give you a quick rundown of some of the basic stuff inside, you know, premier Pro, and then you edited some simple sequences. Cool, but now you wanna start working with graphics and B roll. Awesome. That's when you would return to part one, right?
The cycle piece. You do [00:12:30] your research, you understand conceptually how these things work. When you should use B-roll. When you should not use B-roll. Don't take in my advice. I hardly ever use B-roll. I just like sit in front of my camera and talk, whatever. How do you blend it seamlessly with your main footage, all that stuff.
Again, you would watch some videos, maybe even go to the Premier Pro like support forums and learn a little bit about how these things work. That's all part one. Then you have to at some point open up a new video project and get in there and start playing around. Nobody cares if you [00:13:00] mess up. Okay. Try adding B roll.
Practice the transitions, practice the timing, practice, practice, practice an unreasonable amount of times, and then you continue like this until you get better. And then maybe you wanna learn some other element of video editing. Great. Well then you repeat the cycle again and again and again.
Now I do have an important point to make.
I recommend that there is more practice than research. There obviously has to be some research because I just spent half this [00:13:30] episode talking about the importance of understanding, you know, conceptually how something works. But the most rapid progress occurs when you spend twice as much time getting your hands dirty and doing the actual thing you want to get better at. Twice as much time practicing. Now I know we all know the expression practice makes perfect and I am, you know, definitely not the first one to say that it should actually be practice makes progress, right? I didn't, I didn't come up with that, but that is the golden truth.
The more you do something, the better you're gonna get at it. So if you're [00:14:00] dead set on getting better at something, you've gotta go out and create opportunities for you to do the thing, you know? Let me give you a few more quick hit examples to drive this point home, because we all like examples.
If you want to become a better writer, start by learning the mechanics, maybe sentence structure, different essay formats, how to hook a reader, keep 'em engaged. That's the conceptual part. That's all part one. Okay. Or prong one, whatever. I forget what I'm saying at this point. Prong one, and then you actually have to write, and I don't just [00:14:30] mean when you have a school assignment or a blog post due, I mean create opportunities to write. Create your own opportunities. Journal entries, summaries of things that you read, rewrites of your favorite book endings.
And then the ninja move is to get feedback on your writing and incorporate that feedback into the next writing piece that you create. Do you wanna be a better thinker? Cool. Learn how. Research, critical thinking frameworks, argument structures, decision making models. I talk about some of these in episode 68, and I have a new [00:15:00] thinking focused episode coming soon. And then a practice, you know, thinking intentionally. Take a belief you hold and you know, hold the opposite side for 10 minutes in your head. See if you can develop the opposite perspective and AR of an argument that you hold dear and sell it to yourself.
Go for a walk and think through a single topic without distractions. No earbuds. Practice thinking the way you would practice a sport. See the pattern? Conceptual understanding first and then deliberate, messy real [00:15:30] world practice. And while you can absolutely make incredible progress on your own, I do wanna share one more strategy that can take your improvement to the next level.
And that is working with a coach, a mentor, a teacher who's already excellent at the thing you wanna get better at. One way to do this, if accessibility is a problem, is to seek out the top five experts in the things you wanna get better at and study them. Okay. Maybe you wanna get better at guitar. Cool.
So you might wanna study Carlos Santana and [00:16:00] Jimi Hendrix and George Harrison. Obviously, you're not gonna hire them as guitar teachers, but you can find hours and hours of video footage of them playing, and you can find interviews where they talk about their strategies and their approaches. Or you could hire a guitar teacher.
A good guitar teacher is gonna explain the theories and the concepts and the strings and the chords, and then they're gonna provide the opportunity for you to practice while giving you feedback. Working with a coach or a trainer also keeps you [00:16:30] accountable when it's really, really easy to say, not today.
All right. Now, if you wanna be a better runner, you can read some books about nutrition and stride and equipment, and you can go out for your daily runs, but if you really wanna uplevel it, The way you do that would be to hire a trainer so that all of your practice is focused and gets you more return on your investment.
If you wanna get better at any academic skill of any kind, studying, for example, you need to start by learning what real studying is and what [00:17:00] real studying is not, and learning specific study strategies that are based in cognitive science, and then learning about different study strategies for different kinds of content.
And then you have to get in there and use these strategies on your own material for your own tests. If you're a student inside SchoolHabits University, this is exactly what you get, a full year of coaching with me, where you don't just learn study strategies, you actually practice them with support and feedback and structure, and helps you improve [00:17:30] way faster than trying to figure it all out alone.
Whatever the thing is that you wanna get better at, you have to do it. And you have to do it a lot, and you have to do it when you don't want to, and you have to do it when it's hard and you have to do it knowing that you're gonna be really, really bad at it in the beginning. You just have to do it. Not a single person that you know who's good at something, got good at that thing without an unreasonable amount of practice. Alright, my friend. That [00:18:00] brings us to the end of today's episode. I think it was a short-ish one.
If you found this helpful or if you thought of someone else who's working hard to level up in some kind of area, would you take a second to share this episode with them? It is as easy as tapping the little arrow wherever you're listening or watching this and sending the link in a quick email or text.
I appreciate you being here with me today. Your time matters and investing it in yourself like this matters even more, and as always, say it with me. Never [00:18:30] stop learning.
