Build a regular AAR cadence, not just crisis-triggered reviews
Reviews triggered only by problems create a negative-events database; a regular cadence captures ordinary learning that compounds.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Reviews triggered only by problems create a negative-events database; a regular cadence captures ordinary learning that compounds.
- Why it works: Deliberate practice theory holds that improvement is driven by systematic, feedback-rich engagement with performance — not by accumulated time. A regular review cadence provides the feedback loop that makes experience into expertise; absence of regular feedback means experience simply accumulates without converting to skill. Crisis-only reviews bias the learning database toward what went badly, missing the positive feedback that builds confidence and reinforces effective practices.
- Evidence: Backed by observational / correlational evidence.
- Avoid: Running AARs only after failures or crises, which feels like the review has a punitive function and reduces willingness to engage honestly with what caused the gap.
Why it works
Deliberate practice theory holds that improvement is driven by systematic, feedback-rich engagement with performance — not by accumulated time. A regular review cadence provides the feedback loop that makes experience into expertise; absence of regular feedback means experience simply accumulates without converting to skill. Crisis-only reviews bias the learning database toward what went badly, missing the positive feedback that builds confidence and reinforces effective practices.
How to do it
- 1Choose a cadence appropriate to your primary domain: weekly for high-frequency activities, bi-weekly for projects, monthly for slower-moving work.
- 2Schedule the review in advance — do not rely on motivation to initiate it.
- 3Keep each review short (15–20 minutes) to maintain the cadence.
- 4Track themes over time: recurring gap patterns are higher-leverage than one-off events.
What the evidence says
ObservationalDeliberate practice research emphasises structured feedback as the mechanism of expert development; regular review is the individual-level analogue to coach-provided feedback.
Honest caveat: Deliberate practice research is primarily in domains with clear performance standards; the regular-review principle is a generalisation to broader life domains.
- — Ericsson, Krampe & Tesch-Römer (1993), deliberate practice and expert performance, Psychological Review
Common mistake
Running AARs only after failures or crises, which feels like the review has a punitive function and reduces willingness to engage honestly with what caused the gap.
IX Coach maintains a regular review cadence with you — not only after setbacks — and builds a longitudinal view of patterns so that recurring gaps become visible over time.
Practice this with IX Coach →