5-hour rule, or How to keep up with life?

How often and how much do you manage to read? What new have you learned today? For those who are not full-time students at a university or college, such questions often cause difficulties. If you are a full-time student and these questions still cause difficulties, it’s time to start going to lectures more often and looking at textbooks before you are expelled from university or college.

Of course, reading is not the only thing that helps us move towards our life goals. And today new knowledge can be obtained not only from books. We are announcing our programs “ From Dreams to Goals ” and “ Best Self-Education Techniques ”, which are directly related to our topic today. Today we’ll talk about the 5-hour rule in self-education.

The 5-hour rule – what is it and why is it needed?

So, the five-hour rule is a rule of continuous self-education, according to which you need to set aside at least five hours a week for learning, thinking and experimenting. This is the essence of the 5 hour rule in a nutshell. A classic of the genre is to educate yourself for one hour every working day from Monday to Friday, which will allow you to keep abreast of current trends and keep up with life.

This rule is based on the fact that constant self-education and self-development are important elements of personal growth and career success. The 5-hour rule in self-education can be implemented in different forms. For example, you can read books and articles every day on topics that interest you, listen to audio books or podcasts, watch educational video lessons or online courses, learn new languages, play sports, and communicate with experts in various fields.

It is important to understand that the 5 hour rule in self-study is not rigid and can be tailored to your personal circumstances and interests. The main thing is that every week you spend at least 5 hours learning new things and self-development. This approach will help you expand your knowledge and skills, improve your quality of life and achieve success in your career and personal life.

Who is the author of the 5 o’clock rule? It is believed that this rule was formulated by Michael Simmons, co-founder of the international educational company Empact, which holds various events dedicated to entrepreneurship around the world, including summits at the White House, the US Chamber of Commerce and the UN [V. Elkina, 2018 ]. Due to the specifics of his activity, Simmons was forced to study the biographies of many successful people, and discovered that they all paid increased attention to self-education and independent acquisition of new knowledge.

Thus, many successful people applied this rule in their daily activities long before it was formulated by Simmons in its current form. He only summarized his observations and derived a pattern, formalizing it in the form of the 5-hour rule. Among the most famous personalities of past centuries who paid serious attention to self-education are Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison. Among our contemporaries are Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and many others.

Let us clarify that 5 hours a week for self-education is the minimum from which all those striving for success should start. However, among successful people there are many who devote much more than an hour a day to reading and acquiring new knowledge. For example, one of the richest people on the planet, Warren Buffett, reads five hundred pages of text every day, including corporate reports, and an additional five newspapers, which takes him about 5-6 hours daily [ I. Pavlov, 2022 ].

Why does Warren Buffett need the 5-hour rule every day? Buffett believes that constantly learning and learning new things helps him make better investment decisions and achieve business success. That’s why he regularly reads books, think pieces and reports, attends conferences and meets with experts in various fields. Buffett believes that such training and self-development helps him remain a sought-after and successful investor.

Again, note that Warren Buffett’s 5-hour rule does not limit learning to just reading. It includes various forms of learning new things, such as attending conferences, communicating with experts, conducting your own analytical research, and others.

Actually, the 5-hour rule itself in its original form includes three components:

• Reading and other ways to obtain information.
• Reflections and analysis of the information received.
• Experiments and practical application of acquired knowledge.

Simply put, theory without practice is dead, and practice without a minimum of basic knowledge is dangerous. An investor who doesn’t understand anything about investing risks going broke, a skier who hasn’t learned how to stay on his skis risks crashing, etc.

And even when we have all the necessary knowledge and skills to perform everyday duties, it is important not to stop and move forward, learn and try something new, experiment and create. One hour a day or five hours a week is not that much.

Considering that minus the minimum required 8 hours of sleep per day , we have 112 hours per week at our disposal, 5 hours would be only 4.4% of this time. By the way, we spend about the same amount of time eating, and it never occurs to us to sacrifice this component of our lives. Everything is logical, because proper nutrition is our physical health, and reading and gaining new knowledge is the performance of our brain , which is no less important.

Michael Simmons explained the nuances of the rule he formulated in the article Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Oprah Winfrey All Use the 5-Hour Rule: Top business leaders often spend five hours per week doing deliberate learning (“Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Oprah Winfrey use the rule five hours: Top business leaders often spend five hours a week on focused learning”) [ M. Simmons et al., 2016 ].

Moreover, Michael Simmons noted that we should treat the 5-hour rule the same way we should treat exercise. Just as we have minimum recommended daily doses of vitamins, steps, and exercise per day for living a healthy lifestyle, we must be more strict about “minimum doses of intentional training for living a healthy lifestyle from an economic point of view” [ M Simmons et al., 2016 ].

Simmons believes that the long-term consequences of a lack of training are just as insidious as the long-term consequences of a lack of healthy lifestyle. The essence and meaning of the 5-hour rule is to prevent negative developments in this direction.

So, we figured out what the 5-hour rule is and why it is needed. Now let’s look at all the components of the five o’clock rule in more detail.

5 Hour Rule: Reading and Other Ways to Obtain Information

Why is it important to read and learn something new every day, devoting one hour or more to it every day? Today, entire studies are being conducted on the topic of why it is important to learn something new every day [ T. Sedin, 2018 ]. Reading and constantly learning new things are key elements of personal growth and development, and these are not just words.

Top 6 reasons to read every day:

• Developing Cognitive Abilities – Reading and learning new things helps develop cognitive abilities such as thinking, memory and attention. This can improve the ability to analyze information and make good decisions.
• Increased self-awareness – Reading and learning new topics helps expand our knowledge and understanding of the world around us. It can help us better understand our own thoughts and feelings, and our role in life and society.
• Developing communication skills – reading and learning new things helps improve communication skills and mutual understanding with others. This allows us to quickly find topics for conversation, better understand other people’s points of view, and learn to communicate effectively.
• Improving Professional Skills – Reading and studying various innovations in your field can improve your professional skills and gain up-to-date knowledge. This, in turn, will allow you to become a more competent specialist and earn more.
• Developing Creative Thinking – Reading and learning new things can stimulate imagination and creativity in solving existing problems and generate new ideas and projects.
• Maintaining emotional health – reading and constantly learning new things allows you to be in intellectual and emotional tone, maintain interest in life, quickly get rid of oppressive anxious thoughts and prevent the decline of brain functions.

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Thus, regularly updating our knowledge base can bring many benefits to our personal growth. In fact, you can find many more reasons why you should read books. As, for example, in the article “Why you should read every day: 10 benefits of reading books” [ The Femme, 2022 ].

In fact, the number of items in such lists depends solely on the level of detail of each reason, and in any case covers the main benefits of daily reading. Taking into account the nuances of our topic, another question can be considered interesting: who earns more – the one who reads fiction or the one who reads specialized literature?

It is clear that earnings depend on many factors, such as profession, level of education, and work experience. However, reading specialized literature will in any case be useful for professional growth and career development, which can lead to increased wages. Reading specialized literature allows you to expand your knowledge and improve your skills in your field of activity, which can make you more competent and in demand in the labor market.

On the other hand, reading fiction allows you to develop creative skills and improve creative thinking , which can lead to new career opportunities or starting your own business.

An indicative example can be considered the example of China, where many years ago they became concerned with the topic of why the Chinese can perfectly master and copy foreign technologies, but have not succeeded in creating their own developments. A decade and a half ago, it was believed that the problem was a lack of reading, especially science fiction and fantasy, and the small number of science fiction writers in China [ Zen.ru, 2023 ].

The genre support program adopted at the state level back then yielded results, and today in China there is not only material for reading, but also for researching the peculiarities of the development of Chinese science fiction [ W. Xiaoxia, 2019 ]. And the products of Chinese brands have long been loved by consumers for their adequate combination of price and quality.

Thus, it is important to find a balance between reading non-fiction and fiction, because both can be beneficial. And let us remind you once again that the 5-hour rule does not set strict boundaries and restrictions on exactly how you will receive information. Audiobooks, educational literature, analytical reports, reviews from experts, studying changes in tax legislation – all this is a source of new knowledge.

5-hour rule: reflection and analysis of the information received

Why is it important to think about and analyze the information received, rather than just read? At a minimum, because if what we read is not rethought, it will remain dead weight in our heads, and we will not be able to figure out how to use the acquired knowledge in practice.

In the article “Why is it useful to set aside an hour a week for reflection and how to do it” you will find specific techniques on how to think better [ E. Estafieva, 2018 ]. In short, we are advised to “throw out” all our thoughts on paper, and then think through our relationships, both with others and with ourselves, because how we will move towards success largely depends on these relationships.

Don’t be confused by the fact that they advise setting aside an hour a week for reflection: this fully “fits” into the 5-hour rule, which involves three components of self-education and self-development: learning new things, thinking and experimenting. Thus, thinking and analyzing the information received is an important step in self-education, and there are many reasons for this.

Top 5 reasons to think:

• Better memorization of information – thinking and analyzing the information received helps to consolidate it in memory, moving it from operative to long-term memory.
• Better understanding of information – thinking and analyzing the information received allows you to better understand its meaning and context , and, accordingly, use it more effectively in life and work.
• The development of critical thinking – the process of rethinking itself activates the brain, forms new neural connections, which contributes to better analysis and making optimal decisions.
• Search for practical application – reflection allows you to summarize information and draw conclusions, discover significant relationships and patterns, which facilitates the further application of knowledge in practice.
• Development of creative potential – thinking and analyzing the information received allows you to come to your own exclusive conclusions and stimulates the emergence of new ideas, many of which can become the key to solving a particular problem or mark the beginning of a new project.

We can say that systematic reflection is the key to our productivity [ S. Zykova, 2016 ]. Whether we reflect on what we read or in the context of what we read about life, at this moment we will be distracted from current affairs. Such a “reboot” may be useful for the brain in the short and long term.

5-hour rule: experiments and practical application of acquired knowledge

The 5-hour rule in self-education states that every week you need to devote an hour to learning new knowledge, skills, and developing your skills. And we have already begun to say that any knowledge, even the most necessary and relevant, will be useless if it is not applied in practice. Experiments are very important for this as they help us test our knowledge and practical skills in real life.

Experiments can help us see exactly how we can use what we’ve learned and what ideas work best. In addition, experiments allow you to discover weaknesses and errors, which will help you improve further.

Why is it important to apply the acquired knowledge in practice? This allows you to verify their usefulness and effectiveness, as well as deepen your understanding of the material and remember it for a longer period. When we learn new knowledge and concepts, we learn about them theoretically and abstractly. But putting this knowledge into practice helps us see how it works in real life and understand how it can be used to solve real problems. It also helps us see which aspects of the theory we have mastered and which require more work.

In addition, putting knowledge into practice can help us remember it better. Studying theory without practice can lead to us forgetting a significant part of what we have learned within a few days. But when we put the acquired knowledge into practice, we actively use it and strengthen our neural connections, which helps us remember the material for a longer period.

Finally, putting knowledge into practice helps us develop our skills and improve our productivity and performance. When we regularly put our knowledge into practice, we become more confident in our abilities and learn to solve complex problems more effectively. In general, applying the acquired knowledge in practice allows us to become more competent and successful in our activities.

So, let’s summarize why experimentation is so important for the 5-hour rule and why you need to put this knowledge into practice:

• Deepen your understanding of the material and remember it for a long time.
• See which part of the material has been learned well and which requires additional effort.
• Check how knowledge works in real life.
• Understand how to use knowledge to solve problems.
• Understand the usefulness of the knowledge gained.
• Become more confident in your abilities.
• Learn to solve complex problems more effectively.
• Become more competent and improve your qualifications.

In fact, this is why we acquire new knowledge so that we can then apply it in practice for our work or hobbies, personal and work goals, increasing competitiveness in the labor market and simply for our own pleasure. That is why it would be short-sighted to leave a studied theory without practice.

How to organize an experiment and move from theory to practice? Each area may have its own nuances. For example, if you’re learning a new foreign language , experiments might include practicing speaking with native speakers, reading articles, or searching for information in the foreign language you’re learning on the Internet.

If you’re learning new programming skills, experimentation might involve creating simple programs or contributing to open source projects. If you’ve learned a new recipe, you can gather the ingredients you need for it and try cooking it.

As you can see, experiments help us not only deepen our knowledge and skills, but also make them more applicable in real life. They allow you to better understand how we can use our new knowledge and skills to achieve success in our careers or personal lives.

So, we have looked at the 5-hour rule in self-education. However, this is not the only 5-hour rule that helps you be successful, efficient and productive.

Robin Sharma’s 5 Hour Rule

Canadian writer, one of the most famous experts in North America on motivation, leadership and personal development, Robin Sharma, came up with his 5-hour rule. This refers to 5 o’clock in the morning, when, according to Robin, the special period begins.

Robin Sharma calls the time from 5 to 8 am the “golden hours” when people are full of strength, energy and maximum focus. And if you manage this time correctly, you can do in a day what takes other people weeks.

Robin got this impression from observing people who have achieved success in a variety of fields. He summarized his observations in the book “The 5 O’Clock Club,” which contains many examples from life [ R. Sharma, 2019 ].

The stories of the characters in the book are very diverse, as are the characters themselves, but they all have one thing in common – an early rise. Just getting up early, of course, is not enough; you also need to work on your goal. However, without getting up early, according to Robin, we are missing out on a lot.

“What about owls and larks? – one of the readers will think. Larks, of course, are as energetic and productive as possible in the morning, but what about owls?” According to the author of the book, everyone can learn to get up early and be energetic at the same time.

The idea that the world belongs to larks, and owls need to somehow adapt to it, is not new for a long time [ K. Lukacher, 2017 ]. This is partly true: banks and offices are open from 9 to 18, many cafes and shops open at 10, the work shift at the plant begins at 6, 7 or 8 in the morning, depending on the specifics of production.

On the other hand, in the entertainment industry the main peak of activity is in the evening: performances in theaters begin at 18-19 hours, concerts at 19-20 hours, nightclubs open for entry no earlier than 22 hours. In the morning, all of the above establishments are closed, and this does not mean that the artists, sound engineers, and DJs working there are completely unsuccessful people. By the way, for the most part, at 5 am they are either fast asleep or have not yet gone to bed.

However, if your line of work is not in the leisure and entertainment industry and you have to get up early, it may be worth studying the book “The 5 o’clock Club” in order to learn how to wake up with enthusiasm, rather than disgust, and spend the morning hours more productively , than now. How to spend? The author of the book smoothly leads to the idea that the first hour of the morning should be spent on reflection, and this completely “fits” into the previously discussed 5-hour rule.

We will not rehash the entire book, encourage everyone to get up at 5 am and get too distracted from the topic. It’s better to focus on those thoughts from the book that “intersect” with our topic today. Thus, the three-step formula for success presented in the book deserves attention :

The steps consist of training and development, improving skills, and conscious choices, which ultimately lead to increased income. The term “granularity”, which is present in the diagram, means attention to detail, when a person does something not just for the sake of doing something, but understands why each action is needed and what result it leads to.

The book pays special attention to the monetization of knowledge or, as the author prefers to call it, “capitalization of intelligence”:

In short, it is not so much what knowledge or talent you have or the extent of your talent that matters, but how you use your knowledge and talents. The author considers this one of the “secrets of the makers of history.” Other secrets, such as concentration , daily self-improvement and personal practice of mastery, are no longer secrets, but we don’t think so often about the fact that knowledge is the new money.

Meanwhile, the “knowledge economy” is gaining momentum and dictating its own terms. And in order for the 5-hour rule in self-education to work as desired and lead you to success, it is worth mastering the basic skills of the “knowledge economy” [ Rubrain, 2021 ].

6 basic skills of the “knowledge economy”:

• Identify knowledge that will be valuable in the future in a timely manner – as technology develops, the need for specialists with certain knowledge will arise. It is important to have time to become that specialist.
• Quickly learn new skills – opportunities that open up are fickle and “go away” quickly, so you need to have time to take advantage of the situation.
• Communicate the value of your knowledge – the ability to convince others of the value of your knowledge and skills is an “income multiplier” because “money is made through people.”
• Convert knowledge into money – among the ways to convert knowledge into money, the most popular are a well-paid job, opening your own business, developing an industry website, selling knowledge as a consultant and strengthening the professional reputation necessary to implement all of these methods.
• Invest in further education – determine your self-education goals in advance and, in accordance with these goals, make a list of books to read, podcasts to listen to, online courses to study. Then 5 hours a week for self-education can be used as efficiently as possible.
• Learn to study – in this case, the value of every hour of reading will increase many times over. The rate of learning determines how quickly you accumulate knowledge.

Let us clarify that speed should not come at the expense of quality. So, if you decide to master, say, speed reading , it is important not just to increase your reading speed, but to make sure that you do not lose the idea of ​​the story. And, of course, there is no need to rush anywhere if you are reading fiction that you want to “savor”, prolonging the pleasure.

This kind of reading fits perfectly with the 5-hour rule because, as we’ve written before, reading fiction helps develop creative skills and improve creative thinking, which can lead to new career opportunities or starting your own business.

We wish that every hour of your life be filled with joy from what you do. We invite you to our programs “ From Dreams to Goals ” and “ Best Self-Education Techniques ”, and we invite you to answer the question on the topic of the article: