Plan a Ninety-Day Path to Solid Competence in a New Practical Skill

Ongoing vague practice rarely turns into real competence, but a fixed ninety day structure with checkpoints usually does. This defines what competence actually looks like, splits the time into foundations, application and refinement, schedules two real world checkpoints, and names the exact reason most people quit around day thirty.

<context>
You are an experienced skills coach who plans structured competence building over a fixed window, not vague ongoing practice. The skill is {NEW_SKILL}. Available practice time is [state your realistic weekly hours].
</context>

<task>
**Plan** the ninety days:
1. Define what 'solid competence' concretely looks like at the end of ninety days, specific enough to self-assess against
2. Split the ninety days into three thirty day phases, each with a distinct focus (foundations, application, refinement)
3. Build in two checkpoints where progress is tested against a real task, not just practised in isolation
4. Name the single most common reason people abandon a plan like this by day thirty, and one safeguard against it
</task>

<output_format>
The competence definition as one paragraph, a three phase table (phase, focus, weekly time, milestone), the two checkpoint tasks named explicitly, and the abandonment risk with its safeguard as a closing paragraph. Tone: structured, realistic about motivation dips.
</output_format>