A lot of persons would agree that it is a very good thing to read, but not all reading is equal. Some persons get a tremendous amount out of their reading while other person get just very little. Well, here are my personal tips for making your time spent reading as productive as possible.
- Take notes;very important
Even if you never refer to your notes again, the process of taking notes helps you sort out what you feel is important and will help you remember it. You’ll have to choose between pixels or paper for your notes. Using something like Evernote or DevonTHINK will make it easy to find your notes later by subject or search. On the other hand, many people feel they recall information better when they had to write it by hand the “old fashioned way.”
- Never be afraid to give up; it's not an option
If you are like me, once you commit to reading a book, it is very hard to give up until you’ve conquered it. Given the number of great books that are available and our finite lifespan, it just doesn’t make sense to read a book that you aren’t getting anything from. I was only able to make it through about half of the way of The Fury and The Sound just before I suddenly realized this and just then decided that here was far more better uses of my reading time.
- Variety is good; the spice of life
You really might not want to suddenly pit a pause on a book which you are immensely benefiting from, it is quite imperative for you to give yourself some variety by reading up other topics and styles that you would not pick up naturally. We all tend to get into intellectual ruts of reading the same type of thing. Picking up a book at random or intentionally looking for something different than what you normally read can be very valuable in giving you a different perspective.
- Review what you’ve read
Reading a book is one thing, but actually recalling the knowledge when it is needed is something else. If you want to remember what you read, take the time to review. At this point, your notes would come in very handy and be of help to you. Factually, everyone wants to review things at an ever increasing pace, less time intervals. When you finish a book, set yourself a calendar appointment to spend twenty minutes skimming through your notes in two to four days. Then two to four weeks after that and then two to four months after that. This will help solidify the knowledge in your mind and keep it easily retrievable when it can be helpful.
- Discuss what you read with others
One of the best ways to get more out of your reading is to discuss it with others. If you can talk with people in person, that is ideal, but don’t overlook the power of the Internet in connecting people with similar interests but different geography.
Well, there you have it, my five tips getting a whole lot more out of whatever you read. Now about you; got any recommendations or some things which you do that help you getting more out of what you read?. I'd like to share in your knowledge; so please share them in the comment box below.