Maybe you have seen the social media postings on “exercise snacks.” The idea is that rather than dedicating a long block of time to movement, we can do small, hourly workouts that will yield much more of a benefit. Think running up the stairs to work, or holding a plank every hour. Movement frequency is the key here. I want to suggest the same approach to learning. We need to be learning constantly; if we don’t, our brains and relevancy tend to shrink. This usually means reading, although it could also include listening. In the past, I’ve thought of this as a dedicated time before bed—when I am often too tired to remember anything—or a block on the weekend solely for bookishness. The latter never seems to work so well either.
One of my good friends, and a secret mentor of mine, has been the head of design for several huge multinational fashion companies. I recall meeting him in his office a few years ago and noted a couple of fascinating things. The first was that his office did not have a window to the outside; rather, it was in the center of the floor with glass onto a hallway. Less distractions. The second was that behind his desk was an immense and wildly varied collection of books on everything from astronomy to human behavior. As I walked in, there was an open book on his desk and a highlighter in his hand. This is a heavily scheduled, high-demand person who is also highly curious and loves to learn, although he cannot take large blocks of time to do so. His solution is micro-learning.
Rather than doomscrolling, you could take those extra five minutes to read something new. If you do this four times a day, that is 20 minutes of reading, and in the course of a month, you can probably get through two books. This is something I try to do between appointments. The same for audio versions of books, which is what I do in the sauna. As I have often said, so much of this how-to-live-healthier-longer thing is really about time management. How does one fit all these things in? Break them into smaller bites that can be snacked on throughout the day, be it exercise, learning, or connecting with a friend. Use the transitions in your day to engage with your body, learn something, or ping a friend. We all have the same 24 hours; we may not be able to control all of them, life happens, but we probably have some windows in our day we could use to improve our future selves.
Onward and upward,
David Stewart
