The Power of an Hour  By Garrett Davis

I have found the single hour to be a fascinating duration of time. This is because it can so easily be wasted, or so effectively used to produce substantial results in just about any endeavor. One can sit in front of the television or surf the net aimlessly for an hour before it is even detected that such time has passed. On the other hand, one can make significant advances towards an important goal in a single hour.

In this post I will show you how you can realize significant improvements in your life by simply changing just a single hour of your day, everyday. I’ve found the following plan to be practical and powerful. I’ve been using it for years and have enjoyed substantial growth and progression towards my goals by concentrating for just one hour per day, everyday, on whatever it is that I want to learn about or improve upon.

This approach will start with a desire of your own. What kind of value would you like to add to your life? A new discipline or hobby? How about learning a new language, taking up jogging, or learning how to better invest in the stock market? How about reading more, developing your writing skills, or dare I say, writing a book? Whatever it is that you chose will be a reflection of the particular ways in which you would like to enrich your life. Only you are the true knower your dreams and aspirations.

An aspiration, however, is simply a hope or ambition. What we need is to transmute aspirations into goals. A goal is much more than a desire. It is infinitely more powerful. A goal has clear parameters. It involves a plan of action.

I suggest the starting point for this plan of action be a 1 hour per day allotment of time that you will dedicate to working on or at you goal.

The following are some examples of activities or disciplines that you could become quite proficient in by using the single hour per day plan:

• Fitness. If you do not already dedicate one hour per day, everyday, to fitness then take a moment to think about the improvements to your health and well being that would be realized if you did so. Many of the top people in the fitness industry spend no more than 1 hour per day actually exercising. They do it with persistency and efficiency, and that is key to their success. What I will suggest to you here, though, is that you don’t even have to exercise for a full hour per day to abide by this plan. Try exercising for a half hour per day and then using the other half hour to log you work out and prepare a healthy meal. In a year from now you’ll be glad you did!

• Reading. Doing so for one hour per day, everyday, can enrich your life tremendously. There are many mediums of information to choose from but none measure up to the offerings of the written word. Not only can reading frequently increase your actual intelligence, but it grants you access to the highest quality of information, given that you chose accordingly. The written word is the medium of the intelligent. My main point here, though, will be to point out just how much reading you can get done with just one hour per day, everyday. This can really add up quite quickly:  Assuming that you read about 20 pages per hour, this will add up to about a book every 2 weeks, figuring the average book to be approximately 300 pages in length, which would accumulate to over 22 books in a single year. The average American reader reads about 6 books per year. A study was just released concluding that the most people spend less than 7 minutes per day reading. You will be well ahead of the curve.

• Investing. This is a big one. I advocate creating multiple streams of income, for obvious reasons. This is how most wealthy people became wealthy. Such individuals take the money they’ve made in one area and invest it into another. This can simply mean taking the excess money that you make from your job and investing it into the stock market. Though there is no doubt that Wall Street can be a tricky place, I’m certain that one hour per day of homework in this discipline can yield substantial returns, as I practice this myself and have profited handsomely. If you’re a total beginner, I recommend that you start with a subscription to The Wall Street Journal. Most of the time you can get the first year for under $100. Reading it daily is a great way to learn about the market and business in general. Your time and money will be well spent if you read even just one article per day from it. I also recommend that you read Jim Cramer’s books. You do not need to spend more than one hour per day on the stock market if you use your time wisely.

Those, of coarse, are just a few examples of how a 1 hour per day program can be used to enrich your life. The list is by no means exhaustive, but rather simply meant as a catalyst for your own thoughts.

Speaking of "concentrated time", your concentration is absolutely essential in applying this idea successfully. The hour that you spend must be a fully concentrated hour. This may mean turning your phone off, or tactfully warning your family or roommates that your time will be occupied. In most cases if they see that you’re serious about whatever it is that you’re doing, they will respect your time alone.

Eat, use the restroom, get a glass of water, scratch your itches; Do whatever you have to do before you start so that you won’t have to do those things during your concentrated hour. If you find your mind wondering, then stop and refocus yourself. And remember, If you are working and your mind is on play, or if you are playing and your mind is on work, then you are neither truly working nor playing. The more you practice concentrating in full one hour increments, the better you will become at doing so.

The one hour per day system is effective and reasonable. However, if concentrating on your desired activity for one whole hour per day, everyday, seems at first too daunting, then I still recommend that you get started right away but in smaller increments. You're better off compromising the duration of time spent on your goal then sacrificing the goal itself. This may be appropriate for the person who wants to start exercising but hasn’t done so in many years. Starting now is what is most important. I would rather you start today and persist for 10 full minutes than not at all. There’s no shame in starting small. There is shame in not starting at all due to fear or procrastination.

Also, do not assume that you are too busy. You have time for that which you truly want to have time for. One of the great things about this plan is that in executing it you will be practicing focusing your concentration. This will help you to get other things done in less time. Also, if you watch any television at all, then you must have extra time. Television is the single biggest and most common waste of time in modern society.

Remember that time is absolutely your most valuable asset. This is because you can never get it back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. So use it wisely! Efficiently utilizing just a single hour each day can help.

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