Amistod--
"Mastery" is a good high-level book (I reread it periodically) but I do again recommend "The Talent Code" for a slightly more in-depth look at what serious practice looks like. Also interesting from a slightly different point of view is "Choke" by Sian Beilock; aside from a couple of strident chapters on gender differences, it's an interesting look at why people fail under pressure--particularly more "intelligent" people (with a higher working memory). If you find yourself "overthinking" things (I do this A LOT) and locking up under pressure, it's an interesting read.
There's definitely an art to serious practice, making things hard enough that it's just at the edge of your ability. Some things seem to work better than others (for example, learning a physical movement like a new dance step, martial arts kata, or musical piece, I've had some luck practicing it faster than it should be so that I aaaalmost make mistakes, etc). Things like that.
What this winds up meaning is that some things are easier than others to practice. Applying this idea to game is tricky, because practicing that interaction pretty much requires a participant, and generally the only way to find one is to do it in the wild...
"Mastery" is a good high-level book (I reread it periodically) but I do again recommend "The Talent Code" for a slightly more in-depth look at what serious practice looks like. Also interesting from a slightly different point of view is "Choke" by Sian Beilock; aside from a couple of strident chapters on gender differences, it's an interesting look at why people fail under pressure--particularly more "intelligent" people (with a higher working memory). If you find yourself "overthinking" things (I do this A LOT) and locking up under pressure, it's an interesting read.
There's definitely an art to serious practice, making things hard enough that it's just at the edge of your ability. Some things seem to work better than others (for example, learning a physical movement like a new dance step, martial arts kata, or musical piece, I've had some luck practicing it faster than it should be so that I aaaalmost make mistakes, etc). Things like that.
What this winds up meaning is that some things are easier than others to practice. Applying this idea to game is tricky, because practicing that interaction pretty much requires a participant, and generally the only way to find one is to do it in the wild...