Note: This article is based on the work of Darius Foroux, who tells us about the Munger technique for improving yourself.
The following contains some advice from the University of Berkshire Hathaway by the investor Charlie Munger: "Munger coined the term ‘Mental compounding interest.’ For this, He made the decision that the world could buy the rest of his time, but he would sell himself the most productive hour of the day to improve his mind. This may appear selfish, but it works." He adds, "The ability to be trustworthy would make it nearly impossible for you to fall short of your goals."
Since I have learned it, I call this idea ‘The Munger Technique.’ But whenever I mention it to my students, team, or friends, they assume that Munger is talking about the morning routine, which is wrong. Munger stated that he sold himself the most productive hour of the day and invested it to improve his mind.
When do you improve your mind?
If you think about this for a second, you will realize that it has nothing to do with the morning routine. For the past several years, the personal development community have been paying extra attention to the morning routine. However, personally, I don't like mornings to the extent that I don't have a strict morning routine. Of course, I avoid checking my emails, watching the news, or consuming useless content. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that I have a pre-work routine.
However, I surely know that some people like to be organized:
- Waking up at 7 A.M.
- Drinking water.
- Meditating.
- Writing down diaries.
- Reading a book.
- Going to work.
Things must be in this order. But this isn't it for me since I start working right away, and as long as I can manage to eliminate any distractions, I consider it a productive day.
However, Munger's advice raises these two questions:
- When must you improve your mind?
- How do you improve your mind?
For me, improving my mind means improving my basic skills, such as writing, persuasion, and decision-making. So I read books, take notes, and interrelate everything that I learn. When trying to improve my mind, learning must come first, followed by implementation.
But when should I work on improving my mind? Until now, I thought I should do it in the morning, as the majority think that early morning hours are the best. However, this isn't always true.
What is your most productive time of the day?
One cornerstone of my beliefs is that life is a cycle, as I learned by observing successful investors such as Howard Marks. They often assert that it's a daily process since stocks rise and fall a lot. However, if you look at the stock market over the past ten, twenty, or thirty years, you will notice a steady upward trend.
These days, similar to the stock market, it's possible to feel good one day and exhausted the next. For this reason, I'm not a fan of morning routines. Expecting yourself to feel the same way on a daily basis is simply unrealistic.
I totally understand why people are drawn to morning routines. There’s a general belief that it will make your day better. But for me, this isn’t true since sometimes you wake up with less energy or you may have an emergency. If you have children, your morning energy will be drained by them. However, no matter how you meditate, you will still be tired or have to deal with your problems. There are many reasons that prove the inefficiency of morning routines. However, Munger's technique always works.
Adopt a Water Mindset
If we adopt the investor's mindset and realize that life is full of ups and downs, how can we be trustworthy in the long term? Adopting what I refer to as the "Water Mindset" will help us achieve this. This method's name is derived from the martial arts actor Bruce Lee's principle, which states, "Empty your mind. Be formless and shapeless, like water. You put water into a cup; it becomes the cup."
Munger's technique will help you become like water. Sell to yourself the most productive hour of the day, as one day it may be early in the morning. However, the next day, it may be in the afternoon. What really matters is that it's your most productive hour of the day. This technique has drastically changed my learning process. As a result of applying it, I no longer feel frustrated if I can't do my tasks in the morning since I simply realized that it wasn't my most productive hour.
When it comes to improving your mind, you need to be in a relaxed and flowing state, feeling relaxed and energized. As Munger says, “This may appear selfish. but it works. In the long run, it will add to your reliability when you improve your mind gradually, which results in a compounding mental interest that makes it more difficult to fail at anything in life.”
I've realized over the past few months of applying this technique that my most productive hour is often after dinner, especially if I've productively worked that day. I'll have dinner, rest a bit, have a cup of tea, and then indulge in my most productive hour.
In the past, I often watched videos on YouTube or scrolled through the internet. Oftentimes, you can't determine which is your most productive hour, as you must be conscious and always keep adjusting your habits to match your energy.
In conclusion
Your most productive hour may be immediately after you wake up. However, as long as you adopt a water mentality, you will adapt to it. Therefore, try Munger's technique starting tomorrow and dedicate the best hour of your day to improving your mind. If you do it daily, you’ll grow well.
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