3 ways “5-hour rule” is more refreshing than new socks
Never stop learning is the key to success
Written by Sara Crisnaro
Read this post in Italian.
Do you know what Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg and Oprah Winfrey have in common? They are not just incredibly rich… they have also perfectly understood the key to success: a system of constant learning called “5-hour rule”.
It seems that their big secret is carving out a little time every day to learn something new or practice a skill. They become creative leaders because of knowledge addiction that constantly pushes their skills over the top.
According to an article on the business site Inc., Benjamin Franklin consistently invested roughly an hour a day in deliberate learning. He took at least one hour out of his busy schedule every weekday, in order to learn a new skill, read, write, determine goals, or experiment.
Franklin’s learning time consisted of:
- Waking up early to read and write
- Setting personal-growth goals (i.e., virtues list) and tracking the results
- Creating a club for “like-minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community”
- Turning his ideas into experiments
- Having morning and evening reflection questions
This is a success strategy for life that we can all use and that allows us to deal with all kind of aspects of our life, not just business. We are so used to measure our professional day by how much we get done and we forget to evaluate our improvement rate. So, no matter how busy you are, you should try it to be radically more productive and innovative over the long term.
Here are 3 ways to improve yourself using the “5-hour rule” in your routine. Easy and simple tips that will help you to reach your goals and became a successful person.
Don’t bury your failures, let them inspire you. There is no question that one of the most effective learning strategies is a self-examination. Analyzing our failures and mistakes is an effective way to improve ourself, because when we experience the consequences of mistakes, we get a clear message about which of our efforts are working and which are not. Thus, focusing on learning, un-automates our behaviors so we can keep improving them rather than settling.
Curiosity killed the cat…but satisfaction brought it back! The risk would lead to resurrection because of the satisfaction felt after finding out something you are interested in. You should never make do with what you are good at, but you should always look to diversify your skills to spot valuable opportunities. Set aside time and be curious! Read, have conversation, partecipate to mastermind or classes, observe others and learn from it.
It’s never too late for experiments. This can be an opportunity to learn and test your ideas. Whatever your business or craft might be, take the time to test yourself. As Galileo Galilei said in his book “The Assayer”, if you want to truly understand how the world works, you shouldn’t trust what other people say, but instead put what you have learnt to the test. The experimentation’s goal is not to persuade others, but first of all convince yourself.
Stepping outside of your usual routine and daring to be challenged is what the “5-hour rule” is all about. Invest at least five hours every week into deliberately learning, what and how is up to you, but the point is to spend a meaningful amount of time bettering yourself!
