In this episode, I share key points from a brilliant article by Michael Simmons about compound time. He implores you to think outside the box and look at somewhat contradictory things that super successful people like Oprah and Warren Buffett do that seem counterintuitive to success.

Simmons proposes that this “counterintuitive” behavior, like slowing down, working less, taking some chill time, working on prioritizing and to-do lists, is actually extremely beneficial and maybe even the key to their success. Let’s break it down into 6 key tips:

Tip #1: Start keeping a journal today. It will change your life.

Many studies have shown the many benefits that come with keeping a journal each day, but why not try for a more active form of journaling, by using prompts, instead of just freewriting? Simmons cites Benjamin Franklin who asked himself, “What good shall I do this day?” every morning and ended his evenings by asking himself, “What good have I done today?” as well as Arianna Huffington and Oprah Winfrey, who both start their days by counting their blessings and writing lists in their journals of what they are grateful for. And remember, journaling really isn’t just for gratitude lists - it’s just as good for you when you’re taking notes, writing down observations, sketching - literally whatever it is that helps you make sense of life. Leonardo DaVinci filled tens of thousands of pages with sketches of art, observations and notes, ideas. Albert Einstein filled 80,000 pages, and President John Adams had kept 51 journals by the end of his life. And have you ever noticed that after writing down your thoughts and experiences, you actually feel clearer and more focused? Well, researchers call this “writing to learn” - a process that helps bring order and meaning to our experiences. It’s a great tool for knowledge and discovery because our brain can only really manage three separate complexities at any given moment, so writing things in a journal really helps you see things in your life clearly. I’ve actually kept a workout log since I was a teenager since high school, but it doesn’t really matter which areas of your life you start keeping track of, just that you know that writing them down is an essential tool for noticing patterns and getting more focused in your daily life.

Tip #2: Nap’s are where it’s at! They dramatically increase learning, memory, awareness, creativity, and productivity.

According to nap researcher Sara Mednick, author of “Take A Nap! Change Your Life,” “With naps of an hour to an hour and a half… you get close to the same benefits in learning consolidation that you would from a full eight hour night’s sleep.” People who study in the morning do 30% better on an evening test (if they have taken an hour-long nap). In fact, taking afternoon naps might optimize evening sleep for those suffering from insomnia!

Unconvinced? Well, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Leonardo Da Vinci, Margaret Thatcher, and Bill Clinton are all famous nappers.

Additionally, studies show that napping doesn’t just boost your productivity, but your creativity as well. After all, Salvador Dali, chess grandmaster Josh Waitzkin, and Edgar Allen Poe were all fond of using naps to induce hypnagogia, a state of awareness existing between sleep and wakefulness that could take them to greater heights in their creativity.

Tip #3: Walk every day, even if it’s just for 15 minutes.

Most people forget how powerful the simple act of walking is, but trust me, you do not want to let yourself slide with this one! Just 15 minutes of walking does wonders for you, enhancing your brain function, immune function, and fat metabolism.

Charles Darwin, Beethoven, Charles Dickens, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, Gandhi, Steve Jobs, Aristotle, and Winston Churchill were all were notable walkers. Also, we now have scientific data that proves that taking a walk literally does refresh your mind and body, as well as boost your creativity. Plus, it can even extend your lifespan! Check out this one 12-year study focusing adults over the age of 65, who walked for 15 minutes everyday, which reduced their mortality by 22%.

Tip #4: Reading is one of the most beneficial activities we can invest in.

Winston Churchill is one of many, many notable people who love to read. He spent several hours a day reading about history, philosophy, biographies, and economics. Unsurprisingly, the list of US presidents who were also bookworms is looong: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, JFK, and Theodore Roosevelt of course, who would read one book in a day on a busy day, and two to three when he had enough time during a free evening.

Other notable readers? Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban (3+ hours a day), billionaire entrepreneur Arthur Blank (2+ hours a day), billionaire investor David Rubenstein (6 books a week), Disney CEO Bob Iger, who gets up every morning at 4:30 to read, and Oprah Winfrey, who credits reading for much of her success (and was so advanced as a young child because of her literacy level that she skipped two grades in school!).

Reading books isn’t just a pleasurable and educational activity, they improve your memory, increase your empathy, and de-stress you too. Bottom line: yes, reading books takes time, but it’s 100% time well spent.

Tip #5: Conversation partners lead to surprising breakthroughs.

Joshua Shenk makes a strong argument in his book Powers Of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs that the foundation of creativity is social, not individual. Citing academic research on innovation, Shenk focuses on famous creative partners like John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Marie and Pierre Curie, and Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky actually began working on their then-new theory of behavioral economics (that won Kahneman the Nobel Prize) during long daily walks they used to take (which surely sparked their creativity and cognitive function), and J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to meet at a pub on Monday’s share their work and discuss writing with one another. Check out the book, and think about the people in your life who spark your creativity and really stimulate your mind...

Tip #6: Success is a direct result of the number of experiments you perform.

Mistakes feel, naturally, super discouraging. No one ever feels good after messing something up. But being discouraged never helps you. Failing is ok. Learn to love failure! Look at Thomas Edison: it took him 50,000 botched experiments until he had success with a model of the alkaline storage cell battery, and then 9,000 tries until he perfected the light bulb. When he died, he had almost 1,100 U.S. patents!

All you need to do is experiment. And then experiment some more. Try. Try again. And again. Einstein utilized thought experiments (for example, he would imagine himself chasing a light beam through space) as a method to help his imagination as he worked on creating scientific theories. And Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.”

We live in a frantic world where most people are hyper-focused on work, work, work. But these “top performers” that Simmons refers to are deliberate in how they spend their time and where they put their focus. A lot of that focus is on compound time: the things that create the most long-term value.

Follow their example and invest just one hour out of your day on compound time: read a book, take a walk, sink down into a nap, call a friend and have a fun and interesting conversation...just do something. And don’t even dare to think you’re wasting your time, because that couldn’t be further from the truth! Stepping away from the things that stress you out is a great way you can invest in your future, and it also happens to be how some of the world’s greatest thinkers and leaders spend their time, so try it out - there’s clearly something to it.

TIMESTAMPS:

Brad talks about the best use of your time in order to enhance productivity. [03:35]

Keep a journal. [05:57]

Overtraining can cause digestive system problems. [09:01]

Taking a nap will not compromise your evening sleep patterns. [11:46]

The big high energy workouts might not be as beneficial as taking a 15-minute walk. [17:01]

Reading is one of the most beneficial activities we can invest in [21:02]

Put down your phone and try face-to-face conversations with other people to make a solid social connection. [25:41]

Keep experimenting. Don’t be afraid of failing. [27:50]

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748 Rob Rae, A cappella and Auvik