How to Master Skills

Recently, I watched a youtube video from Tim Ferris on how to master any skill.

He describes his process via an acronym called DiSSS:

• Deconstruct (break the problem down)
• Select (think 80/20)
• Sequence (deviating from traditional order might be faster)
• Stakes (create incentives for success or failure)
• Simplify (less is more)

I had trouble remembering this acronym because there are too many 'S's. I thought of a better acronym that's easier for me to remember, which is DEQUE.

• Deconstruct. Same as before.
• Eighty/twenty. Replacing 'Select' with 'Eighty' gives me a nice vowel for my acronym.
• Queer. I could be wrong, but when Tim suggests learning things out of sequence, I think he's actually suggesting to us to not be afraid of learning things in a seemingly odd or 'queer' way.
• Uh-oh. Instead of 'Stakes', I think 'Uh-oh' captures the sentiment of "I need to learn this skill or else I'm screwed."
• Enough. I think 'Simplify' is fine, but using 'Enough' makes my acronym flow a little better (in my opinion).

Unfortunately, another acronym already exists for deque (double-ended queue), but I still find it easier to remember than DiSSS.

Whichever acronym you go with, the more important part is applying it to the skill you want to learn, and it hopefully helping you master it. That is still to be determined for me.