During undergrad, one of my favourite courses, if not my favourite course, was anatomy. Since Kinesiology is the science of human movement, for me, anatomy represented the foundation for developing a deeper understanding of the subject moving forward; pun intended. I’d spend hours rehearsing the tongue-twisting Latin nomenclature of muscles and bones, trace their outlines over my body using a pen, and test my new found knowledge in the weight room.
I may not have realized it at the time, but my approach to learning anatomy provided me with the perfect blueprint to ensure I continued developing new knowledge past my post-secondary career, despite the busyness life threw my way.
Irreplicable Times
Reflecting back, university was such a privilege. To think that we had a few years where our sole focus was to soak in as much knowledge as possible from some of the brightest minds in the world, while being surrounded by peers who shared our natural curiosity and ardor for learning, is in hindsight, such a dream.
Whether it was begrudgingly reading a textbook that curated years of information into a few pages or darting across campus for back-to-back lectures, university provided a safe space to spark creativity, nurture curiosity, and cultivate reason.
Though the immersion of deliberate learning in the workforce is more shallow, the importance can’t be underscored. McKinsey estimates that up to 375 million workers will need to learn new skills as human information is expanding every day. Yesterday’s best practices are stale today.
However, marred with the growing swath of responsibilities that come with life—which now more than ever is a blend of both personal and professional—workers are finding it more and more challenging to carve out time for focused learning. Data from Salesforce’s internal employee survey finds that 60% of their workers feel they have limited opportunities for workplace learning even though it helps with their productivity and loyalty.
Unfortunately, a lack of time isn’t the only impediment to our growth at a time where learning is vital; our biology is also working against us. In her book Neuroscience for Leadership, author Tara Swart cites that our brains get “lazy” by the age of 25. Rather than forming new neural connections in response to situations, we rely on pre-programmed pathways to do our thinking.
The Five Hour Rule
Given the confluence of factors working against us, it would be easy to throw in the towel and allow our mental acuity to taper with age. Fortunately, there’s a straightforward hack that practically anyone can put into practice to help maintain a learning mindset.
Practiced by the likes of Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Mark Pooperberg (my disdain towards his company might have gotten the best of me there), The Five Hour Rule is a wonderfully simple concept to implement. The goal is to dedicate one hour of intentional learning every day of the workweek.
That’s it. Four percent of your day is all you need to commit to.
Read, Reflect, Experiment
The Five Hour Rule codifies learning into three buckets: reading, reflecting, and experimenting.
Reading is pretty self-explanatory; I mean, you’re doing it right now. Intuitively, it’s also one of the most universally accepted ways to improve yourself. In his study of over 200 self-made millionaires, Thomas Corley found that 86% of them claimed that they read to learn, not just for fun. Though paperback is still an option in today’s world, we’re spoiled with new mediums to consume information through podcasts and audiobooks. Whether print or audio, to have access to the wisdom of global leaders, world-renowned experts, and individuals with more life experience for a couple of bucks on the dollar, is value at its finest. Personally, it’s a bargain that I indulge in regularly—seriously, Goodreads might be my favourite social media platform. Even if I walk away with one new idea, concept, or novel thought, it’s money well spent.
Reflection is the second tenet of learning within The Five Hour Rule. For some, this might be the haziest of the bunch as it can take the form of blankly staring at a wall with your thoughts or taking up a daily journaling practice. Regardless of the approach, reflection is a crucial component of learning as it allows us to grow from past mistakes and assess what we’ve done well. Blogging is one of the main ways I reflect as it provides me with the opportunity to calcify my learning, codify it, and share it with others.
Finally, experimentation is about tapping into our inner scientist to assess what is and isn’t working factually. It’s an opportunity to practice new ideas that might be game-changers. For example, Gmail exists because of Alphabet’s famous policy that encourages workers to spend 20% of their time tinkering on personal projects. But, not all experimentation needs to be as grandiose as a multi-billion dollar application. For example, my wife made pancakes the other day only to realize we were out of milk. Rather than whine about it, she reached for the half and half, and voila, problem solved. Though it was a forced experiment, she took it as an opportunity to learn and now, milk might just play second fiddle in our recipe.
The beauty of the Five Hour Rule is that each aspect triggers the next, like a set of dominoes for personal growth. Read to acquire new information, internalize information by reflecting, and convert information into knowledge through experimentation.
Compound Learning
In finance, compound interest is the single most important concept related to wealth creation. By taking advantage of interest earned on your interest, gains are exponential, and the path to financial freedom is smooth. However, central to the formula’s success is committing to small actions, at consistent intervals, with unwavering discipline. Adhering can be the difference between retiring with luxury or without dignity.
Much like dollars, learning compounds also. Over time, with regular “contributions,” our ability to connect ideas in new ways expands, we can draw upon patterns across domains, and novelty within our thoughts blossoms. Just as money begets money, knowledge begets knowledge.
People and their behaviours are influenced by their environments. In a world where social interactions are reduced and brainless relaxants are in the palm of our hands, our environment practically pushes us from fostering an environment where we can grow to one where we stagnate. However, if we can muster up the grit to commit a small fraction of our days to improve ourselves, the dividends will undoubtedly carry us forward in life.
Quarter Life Views 