How To Study One Hour Per Day

From now on, studying has to become as important to you as eating is. Your food will keep you alive today. Your books help you to buy food in the future. 

To make it simple, let’s use this rhyme: The more you learn, the more you earn 🙂

Ready to start studying for one hour per day?

We all have time to study daily

To grow in life, we have to study. You and I learn new things and grow. I’m not saying that you have to get a degree in many different fields. Often the act of daily reading helps you to grow. 

For example, reading books helps you to learn different viewpoints of other people. This allows you to become more empathic. Reading reduces stress. It also helps you to sleep better. 

Reading daily and studying every day is a habit you should create for yourself. You already have many different habits. You read social media on your phone. You probably watch tv, Netflix, or Youtube daily. Switch any of these streaming services and social media for actual reading. 

When you start doing that, your life will change. You learn new things and you grow. 

What I mean by studying

Studying is taking information from books and learning to apply that in your own life. You could be studying a new language. Or learn to invest. Or take notes on work-related topics. 

You read, take notes, and apply what you read to enrich your life. 

I find it very useful that I can learn from so many people just by reading a book. The number of mistakes I did not have to make… It is mind-blowing that by simply reading a book I can learn!

And think about how cheap this education is! You grab a book and you learn from other people. No need to travel. You can do it all in your own time in your chair :).

What is your WHY?

Your why is important. You have to be clear about why you want to study.

Do you study to get a better job? Or do you study to impress others? Or is it for a presentation? Or is it to stay up to date in your field of expertise? 

Know Your Why!

How much time should you study?

Once you know why you are studying, you probably know what you should be focusing on. Will it be the top 10 books to give you general knowledge? Or do you read academic books? Or perhaps journals or articles?

After that, you have to find the time to study.

I have no idea how much time you work or spend time with friends and family. Still, the time you study should be worthwhile. 

This means that studying for 10 minutes per day is nice, but it will not help you move the needle. 

Allow yourself about an hour each day. Michael Simmons (the founder of Empact) says that we should read 5 hours per week. He calls this the 5-hour rule. 

I know that most people don’t invest this time in studying right now. 

24% of all people said they haven’t read a book in the last 12 months! 

Luckily the average number of books read per year in America is 12. That is one per month. Are you reading this much?

If not… how can you afford to not read?

Luckily, the people who visit our website are already reading and studying. You should be already reading about one book per month. 

Let’s do a little math

Reading 1 book per month… That means you read about 8 to 10 pages per day. Reading one page takes 1 to 2 minutes. So the reading part only takes 10 to 15 minutes. 

When you take some notes and memorize the best parts you use 20 minutes more. 

By implementing what you learn, you take 15 more minutes. The total time is about 50 minutes. This leaves you 10 minutes to re-read parts and have a little bit more time to memorize and implement. 

Know that this is the way most people don’t read. They simply read for 20 minutes and they feel they are done. No notes, no implementation. Just reading and hoping they remember.

It is important to do more than just read. 

You should actively grow by using what you read. Create a mind map of your notes. Memorize facts and quotes. Become a better person!

Gates, Musk, Buffet, and you?

Bill Gates read for about 1 hour a day. Elon Musk was reading 2 books a day when he was young (according to his brother). Warren Buffet reads 5 to 6 hours each day (about 500 pages).

You can join this elusive group of people. You can become a lifelong student. You can take in the same knowledge they do. It is up to you to make a choice.

Oh… and even if you don’t like to become part of this group… here’s a nice fact.

People who read 30 minutes a day increase their lifetime by 23 months on average. This is according to a study conducted by Yale University School of Public Health).

Now that you know reading daily is important, and you should create a habit of it, here’s how…

How to Study One Hour Per Day

Reading and studying are both physical activities. This means you have to find the time to do this. Studying is about having the right Time Management. You have to be able to find an extra hour each day. 

Successful people know how to do this and study daily. I will help you find your one hour of study time.

As I said before, studying daily is a habit. This means that in the beginning, you have to probably put it on your to-do list. The average person needs this to remind himself to study. 

When is the best time for you to study?  Do you know when your brain can take in new information easily?

The first thing you should know is that you don’t have to study for 1 hour at once. 

You can take 15 minutes in the morning to read 5 pages and summarize them. You can take 15 minutes at night to take care of 5 more pages. That is a total of 10 pages in one day. It only took you 2 times 15 minutes!

Take 5 minutes during the day to re-read your notes. Take another 5 to 10 minutes to implement what you read. Take small steps! Set a trigger in your life to remind yourself. 

For instance, every time you wake up, you read 15 minutes. When you like to read social messages you go through your notes and think about something you wrote. 

Or you could simply set an alarm and block time in your schedule. 

Remember that it is all about daily practice! You have to take your current schedule and block time to do this. You already do this by watching Netflix or other services. 

TIP: If you don’t feel like reading all the time… find out if there are documentaries on Netflix or perhaps on Curiosity Stream! Make sure you don’t just passively watch. Take notes and use what you learn!

Studying has to become a daily activity. By doing this daily, you can go through an incredible amount of information over time. 

Here’s a simple schedule you can use as a starting point for your daily reading:

Step 1: Wake up 15 minutes earlier

I know… your morning time is precious. I get that. Still, this is the easiest time you can get to read and study more. 

Go to bed 15 minutes earlier and you won’t even notice this (after the second week 😉 ).

One thing that is interesting to try is creating audio notes. Use 5 minutes to read out your notes and record them. You take your notes with you during the day. Add them to your phone and you are (literally) good to go!

Talking about audio notes… subscribe to a podcast related to your studies. Listening instead of reading is a good way to take in extra information. You can even get audiobooks that help you in your studies!

Step 2: During the day Go through your notes and apply what you learned

This takes 5 minutes of your time during the day to go through your notes. Use another couple of minutes to actively use that information. 

This could mean you practice a few lines in the language you study. Or you test a cognitive theory. Or you write a short piece of computer code. Use your information to make it stick!

On your way to and from your work, listen to your audio notes, audiobooks, or a related podcast. This helps you to review your notes differently. You may learn something new or hear familiar information in a new outline.

Step 3: During the evening take 30 minutes to study 5 to 10 extra pages

Use your evening time to read even more. Are you normally watching the tv? Use half an hour to study. 

Don’t study immediately after a hefty meal. Your brain gets sleepy and you will not be able to take in much information. Have a light meal and use your time wisely. 

Think about it. It is 30 minutes that you have to invest at night! The rest of the evening is all yours!

You can use this time to read. You can also memorize information or take more notes. In short… go deeper or expand your general knowledge.

You may even take time to prepare for your next morning session. 

What you should learn from this

This is a simple schedule. You can probably use this in your own life. If not, adjust it to meet your needs.

• The main point is: start studying daily!
• Take one hour each day
• Use your commute time to study. Make your car your mobile university. 
• Use audiobooks to supplement your reading.
• Create audio notes from your mind map or other notes.
• Don’t do one study session for one hour. Break it up in multiple sessions.
• Make studying daily your next habit. It will pay for itself a hundredfold!
• Put in place or share your lessons learned. It will make it easier to memorize and understand what you studied.

WARNING! Be sure to check your trainer, doctor, partner, or yourself before you do what you read. There is a negative effect to this. You might become smarter, reduce body weight, and earn more money over time. Only proceed if you want this! 

REMEMBER: Doing something is better than doing nothing! Growth is a daily thing. If one hour doesn’t work… go for 55 minutes 🙂