I read a lot of material every day, especially since I’m traveling and have the free time to devote to reading and writing. Over time, however, I’ve realized that as much as I do read, few of it really makes an impact on me. There are articles and books here and there that have really changed my thinking, but in general, a lot of my reading material is read and then promptly forgotten. If the knowledge gained from reading doesn’t stick, I need to figure out a way to read and think about what I’m reading at a deeper level.
So, I’ve decided to do the following:
- Read less.
- Write a reflection for every article or book I read.
Reading less. Instead of reading as many articles as I can and soaking it all up, I now make an effort to read only the most important things out there—the most thoughtful articles, the most relevant books—and to really understand it.
Writing a summary. For every book or article I read, I write a summary of the article of the main points, so I can go back to it and refer to my notes on it. This allows me to skim through what I’ve read in the past few weeks and remind myself of the main points, and what I’ve learned from the article. It also makes me read more carefully to identify the main points.
Writing a reflection. For books and articles alike, I reflect on the reading. What were the main questions the author addressed? Did I agree with the answers and the conclusion? What was my opinion? What did I learn? How can I apply it to my life? Writing a reflection requires me to think deeply about an article and draw conclusions on it, instead of letting it go through my brain and then let it be forgotten. It allows me to ask those questions, questions that I might not usually think about after a quick reading.
By reading more carefully, writing a summary, and reflecting on what I read, I’ve found that I’ve been reading more deeply than before, and the articles I read have a bigger impact on myself and my thinking. Lastly, I’ve also become more selective with exactly what I read, since I know that I will have to take the time to write a reflection. I’ve started to publish some of my reflections to the web, at read+reflect, if you’d like to read them.
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There is one problem with this approach. You lose spontaneity and serendipity with what you read. I only read and spend time on things that seem like they would interest me, but that kills a lot of the randomness that might lead to me discovering something totally new. That’s something I’m trying to fix at the moment by allowing myself to read things outside of my comfort zone without any obligation to spend an immense amount of time on.