Read a Lot, Then Forget Most of What You Read
A reading strategy to make your reading experience easy and enjoyable
There are different ways to read: audiobooks, kindles, paper books, or even with a paper. I used to do the latter; I wrote notes while reading. It was a practice in active learning, and I retained a lot of information, though I read slowly. This method sparked my interest in non-fiction and created an obsession for reading. I devoured books for a considerable amount of time (one to two years), but I eventually burned out.
I had been reading around 25 books a year — a lot higher than my previous 0 books a year. But in 2018, I read 12 books. That’s still more than most people, but it was a bad year for reading (though one of the best in career development). I was so busy that I couldn’t face a book without the feeling of apprehensive anxiety. I was studying, working, and had side projects on top. Adding reading caused my brain to experience a violent information-overload. So, I stopped. I wish I hadn’t, because I wasted a year of reading, but I didn’t know any better. I didn’t know there were other reading strategies out there:
Read a lot, then forget most of what you read.
