5 Habits to Expand Your Knowledge Daily

Are you growing, each and every day? Not just physically, but intellectually? Are you actually getting smarter, more knowledgeable, and more comprehensive in your understanding of the world and your place within it?

This level of personal enrichment is hard to come by, yet it can pay huge dividends—especially for working professionals. The more you learn, the more you expand your mind, the better you’ll be at engaging others in conversation; in leading; in solving problems. Thus, it’s no small thing to invest some of your time in learning and mind-expansion, even if it’s just a few minutes each day.

Simple Ways to Grow

And really, a few minutes each day is all it takes. If you want to learn and to grow, it’s as simple as cultivating a few smart personal habits. We’ve got five specific habits that are worth pursuing:

1. Inform yourself. Be proactive in seeking information about the world and about your industry or niche. Make sure there is at least one newspaper—physical or online—that you read daily. Schedule time for it, or do it over morning coffee, but make sure it’s a true habit, not just something you do from time to time. Also subscribe to industry-related blogs, or simply to informative blogs about history, science, or whatever field interests you! Even intellectually stimulating Twitter feeds or Facebook accounts can be helpful.
2. Read fiction. Work 20 or 30 minutes into each day to read some fiction, or just devote yourself to a chapter a day. Make it something you do before bed, or maybe on the train into work each morning. Fiction can have a worldview-opening, mind-expanding effect.
3. Exercise. There is no better way to get blood flowing, brain cells working in overdrive, and energy levels up—all of which contributes to a greater propensity to think critically and to learn. Don’t be surprised if you end up having some of your best ideas or brainstorms during your daily exercise sessions!
4. Watch educational videos. Do you spend your lunch hour at your desk, watching YouTube videos of cats or late night comedians? Try using that time more productively, checking out TED talks, educational videos, or training materials from Kahn Academy or ACES!
5. Record what you learn. Start a journal—doesn’t have to be anything as public or as formal as a blog—and just jot down what you learn, think about, or create each day. Note your ideas, the skills you want to develop, interesting facts you came across—whatever. The act of writing these things down will help them stick.

You can grow your mind. You can grow your knowledge. It’s worth doing, and it all begins with some simple daily habits.