Bill Gates' "Think Weeks"

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, has a tradition of taking "Think Weeks" twice a year to focus on reading and thinking about technological advancements and innovations.
During these weeks, Gates would retreat to a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest, away from distractions and interruptions.
He would read as many as 18 hours a day, often staying up until the early morning hours to study and reflect on his reading materials.
The materials Gates would read during these weeks included a wide range of topics, from technical papers to suggestions from Microsoft employees.
The concept of "Think Weeks" was inspired by a practice at Intel, where employees were encouraged to take time off to think creatively.
The first "Think Weeks" were held in the 1980s, starting as visits to his grandmother's house before evolving into more isolated retreats.
During these weeks, Gates would use analogue tools like paper and pen to take notes and make annotations on the papers he read.
The cabin where Gates spent his "Think Weeks" was stocked with Diet Orange Crush and Diet Coke, but no visitors were allowed except for someone who dropped off two meals a day.
The idea of a "Think Week" was not just for Gates to read and think, but also to write a memo at the end of the week summarizing his thoughts and ideas.
One of the most notable outcomes of a "Think Week" was the decision for Microsoft to develop its own internet browser, leading to the birth of Internet Explorer.

“You write down all these things [...] then you think, okay do I need to read some books about this? Who do I need to talk to about that? And some things, I say to myself - ‘Hey, I just need to think. It’s CPU time. When you write down these things to think about, that’s like the code.”

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