1)Start with Why
There’s no better time than now for you to start reading books, and there’s no better way than by starting with Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action. Not only is Start With Why full of riveting stories, but it will teach you how companies become great by inspiring people around them, including their customers and employees. If you want your company to make an impact on others, reading Start With Why can help.
2)Read the book summary first
Most books provide an executive summary in their opening pages. This is basically just a quick, high-level overview of what’s covered in your book. While it doesn’t give you every detail, it does set up everything that follows in your book. Plus, if you don’t have time to read, at least skimming the summary will help you make sure you understand what you are going to read next.
3)Use Cliff Notes
That’s right, you can use Cliff Notes for more than just high school tests. If you have an important meeting and need to brush up on some material, read through your selected book using Cliff Notes. It’ll act as a reminder for what you’ve already read, but won’t burden your mind with unnecessary details from previous chapters.
4)Exercise while reading
Reading is one of those activities that leaves many of us with time for little else. We read for pleasure, for work, for school... but we don’t always have time to squeeze in exercise. If you want to lose weight but you’re pressed for time and can’t fit in workouts as often as you’d like, try adding some physical activity into your reading schedule: it can be an energizing way to incorporate exercise into your life.
5)Get rid of distractions
Before you even crack open your book, it’s important to make sure your surroundings are conducive to reading. Don’t leave magazines or newspapers around—you want to minimize any temptation. And put away your computer—the Internet is a big distraction. Ideally, when you start reading, you should go somewhere quiet where people aren’t going to disturb you and where there isn’t too much activity going on in order for you to focus on what you are doing.
6)Reading in Shifts
Reading for more than 20 minutes at a time will cause your brain to begin processing text in smaller units. This is great if you’re reading something really difficult or dense—you can focus on one paragraph at a time, then look up and get your bearings. It’s not so great if you’re reading something that has lots of short passages in it—each time you take your eyes off of text, it can take anywhere from five to twenty seconds for your eyes to refocus.
7)Make notes as you go along
As you read, jot down your reactions and insights—and be sure to cite page numbers! If you’re like most people, you probably don’t remember what you read in books even a week after finishing them.
8)Re-read at a later time
I often find myself reading an entire book and only retaining one or two major points. This happens because I spend more time trying to understand what’s going on than I do actually taking time to try and retain what I just read. Re-reading can help with that issue, as it gives you more time to focus on individual passages and reinforce them in your mind. And, once you’ve re-read a chapter or passage multiple times, you should have no problem remembering it!
9)Keep reading if you want to remember it
Whether you’re looking for one or 100 great ideas, reading fast will only leave you with a vague recollection of whatever it was you read. Studies have shown that reading actively and critically—underlining, writing in margins, taking notes—helps you retain more information than if you just sit back and let someone else’s words flow over your eyes. So be sure to ask yourself questions as you read—what do I agree with? What do I disagree with? How could I apply this idea?
10)Give yourself rewards
Some people can plow through books with ease, but many others find it much more difficult to stay focused. If you’re struggling, don’t be afraid to reward yourself for every chunk of reading you complete. A small treat—such as some chocolate or 10 minutes on social media—can go a long way toward encouraging your progress.
Thanks for reading and make sure to comment if you like this post!
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