I know the first thing you’re thinking is, “What is the 5-hour rule?” Well, first off, apparently, the top business leaders in the world apply the 5-hour rule to their daily routines. Top business leaders such as, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, and yes, Oprah Winfrey.

According to Inc.com, the “5-hour Rule” began from Benjamin Franklin. During Benjamin Franklin’s adult life, he consistently invested roughly an hour a day in deliberate learning. This is now known as Franklin’s five-hour rule: one hour a day on every weekday.

Some of his deliberate learning consisted of:
-Waking up early to read and write
-Setting personal-growth goals and tracking the results
-Turning ideas into experiments
-Having morning and evening reflection questions

What all of this means is it’s just really important not to get caught up in the same cycle of day-to-day routines.

I read that if you aren’t coming home from your daily “9-5” to focus on your personal goals, then what are you really doing?

And even if your daily “9-5” grind is your dream job, DO SOME MORE. There’s always more that you can do. A great way to start is by following the “5-hour rule.”

This week try to spend at least an hour a day, READING, REFLECTING, and EXPERIMENTING.

Oprah Winfrey said books are how she became so successful, “Books were my pass to personal freedom.” This is why she began a book club and started highlighting great books to read on her television show, “Super Soul Sunday.”

READ! Try to read at least an hour a day… cut off the television, take out your headphones, and actually READ.

REFLECT! I love reflecting at the end of the day. Ask yourself, “What made me feel good? What made me feel bad?” Grab a journal and write about your daily experiences and how they made you feel.

EXPERIMENT! Yes, YOU CAN DO IT. That idea that you’ve been thinking about… START IT… TRY IT!

According to Inc.com, we should look at the 5-hour rule the same way that we look at exercise… its necessary!

“We need to move beyond the cliché, “Lifelong learning is good,” and think more deeply about the minimum amount of learning the average person should do per day to have a sustainable and successful career.”

Set some time aside for yourself and think of this 5-hr rule as a treat or “me-time.” You never know, it may just become the best part of your day!

Happy Monday!