Where do you get your information? That question is more relevant than ever these days with more and more AI-generated content that might or might not be real.
You know what is real and reliable? Your local library. Our libraries have great, carefully curated collections. And if you live in Jefferson County, you have access to every library in the entire county through the Jefferson County Library Cooperative (and if you don’t live in the county, you still can access this for a small fee). Then, of course, there’s online access through Libby and Hoopla with thousands of titles about everything just a few clicks away.
I was reminded of the importance of libraries recently when I was reading The Daily Coach, and I came across a piece about Thomas Edison—a lifelong learner who was serious about his books.
When Edison was just 14 years old, he went to work on the Grand Trunk Railway, selling newspapers, magazines, cigars, and candy to passengers traveling between his hometown of Port Huron, Mich., and Detroit. He started at 7 a.m. each day and returned home late in the evening.
In addition to money ($8 to $10 a day, of which he gave his mother a portion), the job afforded Edison time to read. Each day, when he arrived in Detroit, Edison would head to the newly opened Detroit Public Library and read all sorts of things—technical journals, magazines, scientific papers, and newspapers for information on electricity, chemistry, engineering, mechanics, building materials, drugs, water and gas, railroads, metals, power, physics, mining, music and much more.
He said, “My mother taught me how to read good books quickly and correctly, and this opened up a great world in literature. I didn’t read a few books; I read the library.”
Edison was practicing what is now called the Five-Hour Rule—the idea of spending at least one hour each workday learning something new or practicing various activities to become more proficient. This is how lifelong learners operate to not only gain knowledge but also to stay current.
Here’s how to apply the Five-Hour Rule to your daily life:
- Decide when to read. Do this when it best works for you; schedule an hour per day on your calendar to better yourself. Treat this time like it’s an important meeting—because it is.
- Find information sources. Books and magazines are great sources for information, but so are podcasts and audio books. And these allow you to efficiently learn about subjects while doing a repetitive activity like driving or exercising or cleaning your house.
- Find ways to remember. For most of us, writing what we have learned is the best way to retain information. Read, review and write down what you’ve learned. Learning is more than remembering information. You must be able to use what you’ve learned.
- Expand your learning horizons. Read new stuff! Explore new interests and push yourself outside your comfort zone. A friend of mine has grown to love reading on her iPad, because she can quickly click on a word or concept or historical event she doesn’t know and have immediate access to information; she does this even when reading novels.
- Do it every day. Practice the Five-Hour Rule consistently. This means having the self-discipline to stick with it, even when daily life interferes. Think of this time as an investment in yourself. Set short- and long-term knowledge goals. The short-term one can simply be the goal of learning something new every single day. We all can do that.