You Have Time： 12 Ways to Educate Yourself Daily

If you're anything like me from a couple of months ago, you think you don't have time to learn. You have a full-time job, family commitments, a social life, hobbies, all the stuff that sucks up your energy and leaves no time to learn the things you want to learn. At least, that's what I used to tell myself. But then a few months ago, I decided to make learning a priority, despite my time constraints. And I can now confidently say that my excuse of having no time to learn was complete bullshit. I've discovered so many ways to squeeze learning into the nooks and crannies of even the busiest days, which is what I want to share in this video. So with that being said, here's 12 simple learning habits you can include in your daily schedule to help you learn consistently. You don't have to integrate all of these habits, that would be a bit insane. Just try out a few to see what works best for you and then integrate those into your daily routine. Okay, so the first way is a fantastic challenge if you want to become more creative and stimulate your brain in all the right ways in about 30 minutes or less per day. And that is the Bradbury Trio Challenge. So Ray Bradbury, the famous novelist of Fahrenheit 451, gave his listeners in a lecture too for the next 1,000 nights to read one short story, one poem, and one essay. He specifically recommended this challenge to aspiring writers, but I think it's a great option for anyone who wants to develop literary and intellectual range at a consistent pace over time. The idea behind the challenge is that after 1,000 days, you'll have stuffed your head full of ideas and metaphors and new ways of thinking, which Bradbury says will seep into your writing. But of course, if you're not a writer, it will just make for some very interesting conversations you can explore with other people. I'll link his lecture in the description since he gives a bunch of poem and short story options that can help you get started with this challenge. The second habit is one I only recently started doing and probably won't ever stop. And that is reading a novel every night before bed. Reading novels is a fantastic choice, especially late at night, because you don't have to use a ton of brainpower. You can just let your imagination do most of the work. And while it might not feel like you're consciously learning while reading fiction, these books educate you in tons of ways that you won't even consciously notice. They will increase your empathy by forcing you to think and relate to the characters and consider how they feel. They will expand your vocabulary by introducing you to new words. And they will increase your knowledge by exposing you to new ideas. When it comes to reading fiction, there's technically no right type of book to choose. All of them will expand your imagination and teach you new things in some sort of way. But with this being said, I definitely still recommend broadening out and choosing different types of genres to read to expand your horizons. Now, the third habit is one I've actually been doing for several years now, which is reading a nonfiction book every morning. So I always set aside roughly 30 minutes to read while I drink my coffee in the people. 30 minutes allows me to read 20-ish pages every morning, which translates into finishing a book about every two weeks, which is 24 books per year. As a comparison, the average American reads 12 books per year. So doubling that number is definitely a feat. Now, for most of the time I've been reading nonfiction, I've primarily stuck to self-help books because I enjoy them. But I've recently started picking up different types of books, like science-y books or books covering social issues. I recently finished reading Jesus and John Wayne and Invisible Woman, and they were both highly enjoyable, highly informative, and highly infuriating. What you read, though, is ultimately up to you what you enjoy and what your learning goals are. Next up, we have watching TED Talks during your breaks, like a snack break or a lunch break during your workday. I really like TED Talks, especially when it comes to learning about social issues. For example, some of their most recent videos on their YouTube channel cover social media usage, free speech, and climate action. Just a couple of days ago, I watched a TED Talk from Adichie on the dangers of a single story that touched on stereotypes and the danger of viewing specific people or cultures in a specific light that's painted by the media or other people. It was a really interesting watch and definitely made me question my own biases, so I recommend giving it a watch. I'll link it in the description if you'd like to check it out. The next learning habit is super important for staying informed on what's happening in your country and around the world, and that is reading one news article from a trusted source as well as an opinion article every morning or every night, whatever you enjoy more. Ground News is a really great option for staying informed while also revealing blind spots in the media and making media bias explicit. I'm not sponsored by them, I just think they are a great resource and I personally use them to consume news. In addition to one news story, though, reading an opinion article is a great supplement where a person gives their opinion on something in a concise and persuasive manner. These pieces are designed to make you think and weigh different perspectives so you can come away with a broader grasp of the issue at hand and a more informed opinion. As to where to find them, you can find pieces on the New York Times, Politico, or even websites like Substack or Medium. For the sixth habit, we have a site that can help you improve your vocabulary while also helping feed people. Instead of scrolling on TikTok when you're bored, you can use the website freerice.com where for every correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program, which is pretty freaking cool. For habit number seven, we have listening to audiobooks as you commute to and from your work. You can use an app like Audible or you can go to your library, get a free library card, and then download the Libby app to borrow audiobooks for free. I personally can't pay attention to audiobooks for ----, but if you can, it is a great option to blow through fiction or non-fiction books that you don't necessarily care to take tons of notes on. If you have to commute, you might as well swap out music for audiobooks so you can learn as you do something you have to do pretty much every single day anyway. Next up is a habit that is both great for your health and your brain, and that is listening to lectures that don't require a ton of visual attention during walks. There are tons and tons of health benefits of walking every day, which makes it a great thing to do on its own, but putting on a lecture can make your walk much more enjoyable and also help you learn. You can find lectures or audio files on Yale or MIT OpenCourseWare or even just on YouTube. For habit number seven, we have listening to podcasts while doing chores. I love podcasts, especially history podcasts, so whenever I have to do chores, whether that's laundry or dishes or cooking or even showering or working out, I usually put one on. My go-to podcasts are Dark History and How to Take Over the World. I just finished an episode on Thomas Jefferson, which was really good. I recommend it. Link in the description. But anyway, these podcasts make my chores, which I have to do, much more entertaining and much more enjoyable, and I get to learn as I do them. Okay, so the next way to educate yourself is simple. After a long day, instead of doing what most people do and just sitting on the couch and throwing on a TV show or a movie, put on a documentary instead. I like documentaries a lot because many of them have insanely high production values, which makes for a really great watch that entertains you through high-quality storytelling and visuals. You can find documentaries on YouTube or Netflix or on CuriosityStream, which has thousands of different options. All right, so every single one of us at one point or multiple points during the day has to go on the toilet for an extended period of time. Now, many of us use this time to scroll on TikTok or scroll on Reddit, which I do way too often, which is entertaining but also a complete waste of time. Toilet time is quiet time, which makes it a great opportunity to learn. I highly recommend whenever you gotta do the do to put on a crash course video and make your way through one of their many series on business, chemistry, ecology, economics, history, and so much more. These are videos that will give you a basic understanding of the big ideas in a major field of study while also being highly entertaining. So if you have a goldfish attention span, they'll be perfect for you. Each series is around 30 to 40 videos long, with each video being around roughly 10 minutes long. So that means if you go to the bathroom twice per day, you could finish a series in under a month, which is pretty good time. Anyway, the last learning habit I kept for last because this one will be the most time-consuming and hard to do, but will have the most payoff, and that is taking online courses before and after work. This is the best option for gaining depth and true understanding in any subject that you want to learn. It requires more time investment and active review to actually remember what you're learning. Now I say before and after work simply because breaking up your study sessions makes it more manageable and so you can separate acquiring new information with reviewing old information. So you could acquire new information in the morning and then review that information later in the evening or vice versa. You can use Yale or MIT OpenCourseWare to find courses to follow that will have free recordings or exams, which is what I'm currently using, or you can find courses on websites like Udemy or Coursera, which would also include stuff like quizzes or assignments. No matter what you want to learn, there's most likely affordable online material that you can find by searching for it on Google. And with these 12 ideas, you can make educating yourself a daily part of your routine. And yes, all of these habits still require intentional effort, but nothing worth having comes without it. And the most important thing I want you to take away from this is if you want to learn, then you have to actually prioritize learning like I did, because what you prioritize is what you actually make time for. And if you want to dive deeper into learning anything you want but in a structured way, then reading maps are a really great option to help you learn. And you can go watch this video I created on how to create your own personalized reading map here. Thanks so much for watching this video. Don't forget to like and subscribe, and I will see you in the next video. Bye-bye.