More is Stupid… when it comes to Knowledge
I was on my way to the gym, when I was sitting here debating what audiobook I wanted to listen to while I trained.
I then got to thinking about all of the books I’m currently trying to read at the moment. I’m listening to 2 audiobooks at the same time, reading 1 on my Kindle app, and reading a physical book.
That’s when I realized that more is stupid. The fact that I am trying to obtain more knowledge in a short amount of time seems cool and great, but it is actually not the case.
I realized that I am reading these books, but only gaining like 1–3% of knowledge from them. I can’t remember the last chapter’s key points at all.
So, I then proceeded to only listen to one audiobook at a time and read one book at a time. No speed-reading, no 1.5 playback speed, just good ole fashioned reading.
Does this mean that I will read less in a year? Yes, but I will gain more knowledge per book I do read.
Less is more.
Everyone wants to do something faster and get more of something. However, that is stupid. Most successful individuals know the power of focus. They know that it makes more sense to do something right over doing something fast.
Think about it like this: speed-reading may be faster, but if you’re only retaining 1% of the information, seems like a waste of time and money. This is probably why Warren Buffett reads almost 80-pages a day or the fact that Bill Gates goes on 2-week long reading vacations.
If I am going to read a book, I want to retain as much info out of it, so I can implement it and move on.
Now, for some people, it may work. I have a good friend who can read 4 books at a time and complete them all in a short period of time, and retain a good bit of the book.
Your brain needs time to make the right neural connections to memorize certain things your learning.
However, I look at books as the detailed advice from someone who knows a lot more than me on a subject. What may seem like fluff to some people, create context to me. To me, it is like I am having a conversation with the author (except their doing all of the talking). It is like a personalized letter to me, well, a huge ass letter, but a letter nonetheless.
Don’t always seek speed. Be patient in your learning and you’ll actually learn more.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, please click the “clap” button so others will benefit from this article. It would mean the world to me!
JaQuan Bryant is a freelance digital marketer who has worked with personal brands, startups, and even politicians. He is also addicted to productivity, growing, spending time with his son, physical activities and fried chicken (especially made by his girlfriend).
