Upskilling In Tech (The 1 Hour Rule)

I’ve been in the tech space for three years. It’s a very competitive environment that requires you to constantly be on your toes, upskilling as much as possible. Naturally I’ve developed my own way of constantly learning which took me from newbie programmer to Fullstack web and mobile app developer and future DevOps engineer. I’ve learned and mastered my tech stack to a reasonable extent which includes: ReactJs & NextJs for web frontend React Native for Android and IOS. NodeJS (ExpressJS and AdonisJS) for the backend MySQL and MongoDB for database AWS cloud services for deployment/hosting How did I do it? I dedicated at least 1 hour a day to learning. Even back in my school days, when I had to attend lectures, do assignments and study for exams and I felt too tired to work on my tech skills, I just had to remind myself “It’s just one hour”. I’ve also found that it’s best to have that 1 hour session first thing in the morning because that is when you are least tired, it’s easier for your brain to soak in new information. Benefits of Learning for Just 1 hour a day. 1 hour of maximum focus with zero distractions is much better than 8 - 12 hours of learning that’s mixed with distractions from social media and other factors in your immediate environment. You can happily go about the rest of your day knowing that you’ve already dedicated a whole hour to improving your skills. Since it’s such a short period of time that ends quickly, you can anticipate the next 1 hour session the following day. 1 hour is enough time to learn enough without overloading your brain with too much information. Any information you try to assimilate beyond the 1 hour mark will probably have a hard time sticking. You are leveraging the 80/20 principle which suggests that 80% of results come from just 20% of your efforts. Someone who spends 6 - 8 hours a day learning will be most focused in only the first hour or two, the remaining time will be spent learning with distractions like social media, getting hungry or thirsty, getting tired and falling asleep, etc. You can further boost your productivity within your 1 hour session by dividing it into two 25 - 30 min sessions with a 5 min break in between where you leave your desk and go outside, at the end of both sessions, you barely feel like you’ve done any work at all. I’m a big believer in the 1 hour rule as a way for tech professionals to stay constantly improving, avoiding stagnating in the fast paced tech world.

Apr 2, 2025 - 00:58

I’ve been in the tech space for three years. It’s a very competitive environment that requires you to constantly be on your toes, upskilling as much as possible.

Naturally I’ve developed my own way of constantly learning which took me from newbie programmer to Fullstack web and mobile app developer and future DevOps engineer. I’ve learned and mastered my tech stack to a reasonable extent which includes:

ReactJs & NextJs for web frontend
React Native for Android and IOS.
NodeJS (ExpressJS and AdonisJS) for the backend
MySQL and MongoDB for database
AWS cloud services for deployment/hosting

How did I do it?

I dedicated at least 1 hour a day to learning.

Even back in my school days, when I had to attend lectures, do assignments and study for exams and I felt too tired to work on my tech skills, I just had to remind myself “It’s just one hour”. I’ve also found that it’s best to have that 1 hour session first thing in the morning because that is when you are least tired, it’s easier for your brain to soak in new information.

Benefits of Learning for Just 1 hour a day.

1 hour of maximum focus with zero distractions is much better than 8 - 12 hours of learning that’s mixed with distractions from social media and other factors in your immediate environment.
You can happily go about the rest of your day knowing that you’ve already dedicated a whole hour to improving your skills. Since it’s such a short period of time that ends quickly, you can anticipate the next 1 hour session the following day.
1 hour is enough time to learn enough without overloading your brain with too much information. Any information you try to assimilate beyond the 1 hour mark will probably have a hard time sticking.
You are leveraging the 80/20 principle which suggests that 80% of results come from just 20% of your efforts. Someone who spends 6 - 8 hours a day learning will be most focused in only the first hour or two, the remaining time will be spent learning with distractions like social media, getting hungry or thirsty, getting tired and falling asleep, etc.
You can further boost your productivity within your 1 hour session by dividing it into two 25 - 30 min sessions with a 5 min break in between where you leave your desk and go outside, at the end of both sessions, you barely feel like you’ve done any work at all.

I’m a big believer in the 1 hour rule as a way for tech professionals to stay constantly improving, avoiding stagnating in the fast paced tech world.