In issue 103 of One Daily Nugget, we featured Cal Newport’s take on why many elite achievers in competitive fields like classical music seem to be leading such relaxed lives: It’s not about the number of hours you spend practicing, but about the amount of practicing you put into every hour.

In response to Newport’s blog post, an accomplished pianist agreed that he and other strong students in his department did indeed practice fewer hours, yet made up for it in how they practiced. Newport published the pianist’s account of his own experience as a separate blog post that holds valuable lessons on how to accelerate one’s growth by engaging in deliberate practice. Read on!