5-hour rule: The secret sauce to success for Elon Musk, Bill Gates

Elon Musk and Bill GatesPremium
Elon Musk and Bill Gates
2 min read . Updated: 15 Aug 2022, 12:38 PM IST Sounak Mukhopadhyay

You can progress both personally and professionally by following the 5-hour rule.

Listen to this article

The 5-hour rule advocates actively learning something new or engaging in a variety of activities for at least one hour each workday. You can progress both personally and professionally by doing this as you pick up new abilities and information. Additionally, it might assist you in keeping your knowledge of specific topics current.

The 5-hour rule's central tenet is that investing at least five hours a week in deliberate learning can have enormous long-term advantages, regardless of how successful or knowledgeable you are. The majority of those that use it divide the time into three different categories:

Reading

Reading regularly might help you unwind and gradually increase your knowledge. You normally need reading goals, which could be expressed as a specific number of chapters per day or books per month, in order to use that time as effectively as possible.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk reads to learn how to construct rockets. On the other hand, Bill Gates is known for bringing books on vacations and is believed to read at least 50 volumes a year! Just start reading a book. A slow reader? Check out a chapter. Are you a new reader? Pick up books that are written simply. simply get going.

Experimenting

You can utilise your five hours to learn and absorb knowledge, as well as test out new hypotheses. You can become more innovative and creative by putting your academic knowledge into practice. You can even utilise failed experiments as a teaching tool.

SpaceX wouldn't be the first private firm to launch a rocket into orbit and have it land on Earth unharmed if Elon Musk hadn't dared to try new things. Without Jack Ma's experimentation with Alibaba, Goldman Sachs and Softbank would not have become Alibaba's original backers. He even suggests using the information learned from books in practical situations.

Analysing

Analysing information is known as ideating. The five hours you have available each week can be used to read and then reflect on the knowledge you gained from the books, in addition to reflecting on various occurrences at work or in your personal life.

After finishing the book, try to put your thoughts in writing. The ability to effectively reflect on the events of the day and take appropriate action will become apparent over time. You can also write down any queries you may have in your head. At the same time, it assists you in learning new information and updating previously learned material. It aids in the growth of both your current and new skills.

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Subscribe to Mint Newsletters
* Enter a valid email
* Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
Close