#27: Continual Learning: The 5-Hour Rule
Hey friends,
In a world where automation is taking over most jobs, old jobs are taken away, and new ones are being created. Continual learning is more important than ever before.
As most jobs are getting automated, new tools and systems are also created. Remote work has opened up a larger talent pool which increases the competition in the job market. To keep up with these new tools and the increasing competition, we need to find a way to learn continually.
Succeeding in an automated world is not the only reason to continually learn, edging out the competition is another reason. The 5-hour rule provides a system for us to learn deliberately throughout our career. The rule states:
Dedicate one hour a day to learning five days a week.
The rule is simple. Make time for deliberate learning for at least an hour a day or 5 hours in a workweek. Former president of the USA, Barack Obama, read an hour a day while in office. Bill Gates, one of the world's richest person, read a book a week during his career. One of the best investors, Warren Buffet, invested 80% of his time reading throughout his career. The world's smartest and busiest people find one hour a day for deliberate learning because "Learning is the single best investment of our time that we can make".
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin
I also want to commit myself to this rule, so that I won't be stuck in my career. I will dedicate one hour each day to deliberate learning. I will be learning and reading in areas that will improve my career skillset and essential skills like public speaking, thinking logically, leadership, etc.
It is easy to tell ourselves that we are too busy to dedicate one hour a day to learning. But If we really want to be relevant in our current world, making time for deliberate learning is the only way to guarantee long-term improvement and success.
Have a great week!
Daniel
My Favourite Things This Week
1 - Article - Reading effectively is an important piece in our continual learning endeavour. This article on Effective Reading shares thoughts on how reading develops, the goals of reading, approaching reading with the right attitude, and developing a reading strategy.
2 - Article - Seth Godin in this article is asking us a very crucial question, What will you do with the time you save? Now that we are ordering in instead of cooking, working from home instead of commuting. How are we going to spend this time we have saved?
3 - Podcast - I was looking to listen to a podcast outside tech and self-improvement. A friend shared this podcast with me on dating. Apparently, some of the relationships we have had should just have ended before we even get into them. I learnt the concept of dating, commitments, and exclusivity which are important to healthy relationships. Listen to it here.
Quote of the Week
Yet those people with the growth mindset were not labeling themselves and throwing up their hands. Even though they felt distressed, they were ready to take the risks, confront the challenges, and keep working at them.