The 2-hour rule | Applying the genius of Einstein and Nietzsche (4 min. read)

Hi Steemians! Today, I'll be sharing another strategy to sharpen your mind. I have heard of this rule a few times, but I only discovered the importance of it yesterday.

I was not able to go on Steemit yesterday because I was lining up to get two (2) government ID's that I need for my upcoming employment (wish me luck!). Despite setting up an appointment and printing my application form beforehand, I still had to wait for hours and hours falling in line.

Even back when I was unemployed, I still made good use of my time (blogging, taking online courses) - so being stuck in line without Internet access was a little annoying.

	But still - I had my book with me, so I read my book as I patiently waited for my number to be called. I kept reading, absorbing as much value as I can from the book.

I kept reading, beginning to think about how I can apply the principles. I was able to understand what the author is trying to tell the readers. More importantly, I began to daydream.

Hey, Daydreamer

"Albert Einstein was 16 years old when he first flirted with the idea of special relativity. He was a daydreamer."

Most of society's groundbreaking ideas came up during idle times. Rene Descartes was just lying around on the bed when he noticed a fly roaming around his room. He began to wonder how he could tell the exact position of the fly. Soon after, he realized that the position of the fly can be described by its distance from the walls. Voila, the Cartesian plane was born.

	Isaac Newton, the dude who discovered gravity, was just sitting under a tree until an apple hit his head. You know what happened next.

The Two Hour Rule

Knowing this concept, we must let our minds free once in a while. While waiting in line, not only was I able to jot down loads of ideas in my planner, I also used the time to create short-term and long-term plans. Zat Rana, one of the top authors of Medium.com, challenges us to block out two hours per week just to think.

I call it - purposeful daydreaming. Nietzsche attributed much of his ideas to the many hours spent just letting his mind wander. He reportedly "strolled around in nature for hours and hours on end to make sense of his ideas." It's not that he was "idle"; he was intentionally daydreaming, but with a purpose in mind.

Of course, daydreaming is not enough; it is just the beginning of something new. Outside of your two hours, you should be executing and hustling based on what you set yourself to do in those two hours.

	No gadgets, no electronics, no distractions - just you and your goals

It is not necessary that you take two hours to do this. Our minds work differently. Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, says that he only needs his shower time and airplane trips to "daydream" and find inspiration for his new ideas. But if you want to challenge yourself - make it two hours.

If you can spend long hours on Facebook, why not spend some hours creating your own personal mission statement? Why not set your personal goals for the week? Then maybe go back to Facebook ;)

I hope that this article has inspired you to take some time and review your goals. Comment down below - what was the last big idea that you had?

ALSO if you are interested in the book that I mentioned, I will be writing a book summary of Be a People Person by John Maxwell on my Steemit blog after I finish reading the whole thing, with the hopes that you learn something from it :)

If you have found value in this blog, please give an upvote / resteem - it would really mean a lot to me and it helps other steemians get value from this as well :) Otherwise, please do give a feedback on how my future posts can be improved! Either way, thank you for reaching the end of this post, and please follow my account as I'll be creating more articles like this. 'Til next time :D

---

Sources:
[1] Zat Rana's Two Hour Challenge
[2] Descartes and the Fly
[3] Gary Vaynerchuk, #AskGaryVee