Step 3: Fuel Your Mind – 20 Minutes to Get Smarter, Sharper & Inspired
- Ben Maher
- Jun 9
- 2 min read
You’re not lazy—you’re just mentally tapped by 5PM. But the smartest leaders carve out 20 minutes to learn something new each day. Here’s how a small daily dose of content can shift how you lead, think, and solve problems—without adding more noise to your life.
⚠️ Quick note: I’m not a doctor, personal trainer, or neuroscientist.I’m just a guy who’s been in hospo 20+ years, seen burnout up close, and knows what’s helped me (and the venues I work with) stay upright.
What follows isn’t medical advice—it’s practical, battle-tested insight for hospitality pros who want to feel and lead better.
📚 Learning Isn’t School—It’s Survival
By 5PM, most café owners or chefs feel like their brains are fried eggs. So why try to learn anything at all?
Because if you’re not learning, you’re looping.
And looping =:
Same customer complaints
Same staff problems
Same burnout patterns
Learning is how you break the loop. 20 minutes a day won’t make you a guru, but it’ll make you:
A better communicator
A sharper strategist
And a boss who isn’t just surviving, but growing
🧠 What Counts As “Learning”?
Good news: This doesn’t mean reading textbooks or enrolling in a TAFE course.
This 20 minutes can look like:
🎧 A podcast that makes you think differently
📖 A few pages of a business, leadership, or wellbeing book
📺 A TED Talk or YouTube deep-dive on a problem you're facing
📱 A practical article (like this one) you actually apply
🎙️ An audiobook about great leaders—because learning how they lead can help you lead better too
Whether it’s Simon Sinek, Brené Brown, or a no-BS ops legend on Audible while you prep dinner, absorbing how others think sharpens how you lead.
🔁 Why 20 Minutes Is the Sweet Spot
20 minutes is:
Long enough to absorb something real
Short enough you won’t dread it
Easy to stack onto your post-reflection time while you cool down, walk, or cook dinner
You’re not trying to retain a whole diploma here—you’re just nudging your brain forward a little each day.
💬 Try This Today: The Learning Sprint
Choose 1 topic that’s been bothering you (e.g. staff retention, customer flow, menu cost creep)
Search for: “podcast on [topic] for hospitality”
Listen while walking, stretching, or cleaning
Write down 1 idea that stands out
Ask: “How could I use this tomorrow?”
That’s the loop-break.That’s where learning becomes action.
🚀 Why It Comes Third
This isn’t a throwaway “personal growth” step—this is where café owners become leaders, and leaders become legends.
💬 Ready to Reset?
20 minutes of learning a day won’t feel life-changing… until it is.Because over time, these little insights become systems.They become culture.They become your edge.
Next up: The final 10-minute ritual—The Improvement Plan (aka the small move that makes tomorrow 1% better).
📲 Follow @bambamculinary for weekly resets
👍 Like and share with someone who’s ready to lead smarter
💬 What’s your go-to hospo podcast or book? Drop it below!
A better boss starts at 5PM.And smarter bosses stay learning.
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