On any given day, from the time you woke up until the time you climbed back into bed… how many times did you: open up a book (a real book), write down a page of your thoughts, take 20 minutes to work only on a new skill/hobby, or focused solely on exercising?

I don’t expect anyone on a typical day to partake in each of the tasks I listed above. I know you’re busy, life has its routine, plus there is this issue of work.
However, regardless of how busy someone is, I know most of us have at least 20-30 minutes to spare. So instead of within a day, how many of these have you done in the last week?

I’m safely going to assume if you’re reading this newsletter, you’re subscribed to The Weekly Standard, and probably are a fitness enthusiast, athlete, or have some sort of exercising routine.
If you don’t… well you should.

I'm not going to get into all the science stuff in this article. But reading from a book, writing stuff down on paper, and learning/practicing a new skill/hobby is not only healthy for the brain, it’s almost required for new and old neuron pathways to fire and work. This is happening for so many reason, but I’ll only list some:
-It takes friction to get to the end of a book, to actually write, and to establish a new skill. The pay off is delayed.
-More often than not, you have to use your imagination and problem-solving to actually progress.
-Half of the time you’re living in boredom. As much as it seems to suck while you’re there, boredom is basically brain food. It’s good to be bored.
-We don’t learn anything without some struggle and failure in the mix. From having to take a minute or two to figure out how to pronounce a word, to learning how to hinge correctly in a deadlift. It matters.

The one for one rule is simple. For every X amount of time you spend watching or scrolling something, you spend that same amount of time on one of the tasks listed in the intro paragraph.
If you’re so busy, how were able to finish that show on Netflix? What is your screen time at this week? Interesting…

It’s tough at first. The friction is real. You’ll want to put the book down and flip on the TV, or halfway through the first section of learning that new language you’ll want to start scrolling on Instagram. Fight the urge for the set amount of time. Don't overdo it or push yourself too much. Get the 20-30 minutes in, and move on. Eventually it gets easier. The struggle is still there, but you've made it a habit and part of the routine now.

Hobby… Skill… Side Hustle?

Hobbies and skills are great to have. You don't have to do this side-hustle thing that seems to be the narrative now on social media, or you can't have a hobby without being perfect at it. You won’t be perfect, and that’s a good thing. Take the time to actually learn something and strive to be the best you can. If you’re so focused on being “perfect" you will burn out and you won’t even enjoy it. Part of what makes this stuff so great for you and your brain is the enjoyment that comes from the progress, the delayed dopamine, and the flow state you typically fall into the more you do something.

So pick up a hobby or skill you've always wanted to do. Devote even five minutes a day to solely doing that.
I’m pretty sure some cool things will happen.

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