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Reading *Peak Performance* by Stulberg and Magness, I came across a very interesting passage that more or less summarize the art of peak performance:
**Stress + Rest = Growth**
# Stress
Deliberate practice, a term coined by Anders Ericsson, the proponent of the now famous 10,000 hour rule, states its the quality of the time you spend on something that determines if you are any good.
For example, just because I've been sleeping all my life doesn't mean I am best in the world at it. Some 20 somethings have insomnia and yet they have been sleeping all their lives.
Same goes with spending habits, those who run into debt. We all spend money every day, how come we are not experts at spending money on the right things i.e. investing.
## A Better Definition
The best definition I came across came from a Coursera course I took called Learning How to Learn by University of California San Diego. The definition went:
**The act of practising on the parts (of the skill) you find most difficult.**
Hence, this is where the stress plays the role.
# Rest
The most common advice on resting comes in 4 forms:
1) Pomodoro Technique which suggests 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest.
2) The Ultradian Rhythm. Researchers found that we humans operate in cycles of 90 minutes. So, the practice is 90 minutes of work, followed by 20-30 minutes of rest.
3) Sleep for 7 to 8 a day. The 90-minute cycle applies here as well. So try to get to bed at 10 pm, fall asleep by 10.30 pm, and wake up at 6 am (total of 7.5 hours of sleep).
4) Recharge and unwind. For some, this may be a long bath. For some, this may be a mid-day nap. For me, it's having a total day off work on Saturdays.
## Another quote on learning and performing:
**“It's not what you know, it's what you do consistently.” - Tim Ferriss**
To be good at anything, you need to not only to know what you are doing but to also do it consistently day-in-day-out.
While it is fun to know you are good at something, every other day you ought to find some aspect of your skill to test and stretch.
# What You Need to Know
Remember that just because you have been doing the same thing for 10 years doesn’t mean you have 10 years experience.
It means that you have 1 year of experience 10 times.
To avoid this, work on the parts of the craft you find most difficult and don't forget to rest in between high intensity sets, have enough sleep and find time to recharge.
Also, remember that when learning a new skill, it’s not what you know, but what you do consistently.
Practice consistently to really get good at what you do.
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