EP. 52: How To Read More

Everyone can build an identity as a reader. We’ll cover a few simple techniques you can apply to your own reading practice.

Beginner: Short interval reading, once or twice a day

Intermediate: Always have a book with you. Read multiple books concurrently.

Advanced: Read for longer stretches on a flight or at the pool on vacation. 

Transcript

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Do you want to read more books but you're struggling to make that happen? Do you consider yourself not a reader? Well, today we're going to take a look at some tips and tricks that I've found helpful and I think will be helpful to you to improve your reading outcomes. Welcome to the Talk to Me PDD Podcast. I'm your host, PDD. Talk about all things knowledge, work, AI, technology, work, life, whatever comes to mind. So today is episode 52, How to Read More. If you like the content, please like and subscribe. Follow the channel and all our different modalities, whether it's a video or audio version of the podcast. Have a great newsletter setup at peterdempseywrights.com. Please check it out and support the work. So, yeah, let's get into it. If you know me, this is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Reading's been something that's really been helpful for my own growth, both personally and professionally. Love to see more people take advantage of it. I think it's really an untapped resource for many people in their development journey. So, where do we start with the first one? A lot of these practices that I'm going to talk about help to build an identity where we can self-identify as a reader. And if we can reinforce that with our habits and practices, that's going to form a virtuous cycle that's going to help us read more because we believe we're a reader. And kind of sounds silly a little bit, but you can sort of trick yourself into believing this identity, which is actually going to translate into better outcomes for that someone who has that identity. And you can apply this in all sorts of things in life, but I think it works very well for reading and building a successful reading practice. And I use this term reading practice intentionally. If you've done yoga, you may have heard of the term a yoga practice. It's something active and something that you own and is individual to you, how you apply it and use it. It's not just reading books, but it's a practice that you own that's important to your life. It's an ongoing activity, it's integrated into a bit of who you are. So that's why I like to use that terminology about reading and trying to build further that identity as a reader. For me, it's been helpful in a lot of career growth, growth changes and development. When I was getting into people management, I did a lot of reading in that area in leadership practice to make sure that it was an area that I wanted to transition into, and just to better inform myself and prepare myself for it. Done a lot of reading in the productivity space in terms of deep work and how to organize my day and have more impact and not get distracted by sort of shallow work and activities like that. You know, lately reading a lot on AI, and that's something where people might say, oh, the field is moving so fast. Why are you reading books on that? Um, it's going to be outdated by the time you read it. That's generally not what I found. It also gives you a lot of sort of the history, how we got here, and really some deeper thinking into it. So just a couple examples were where I found it really helpful for my own uh professional development. Um and but really you can read anything, it doesn't necessarily have to be applicable to a specific professional development goal. And with all types of reading, you're going to be developing a general skill set that's going to apply in your professional life. So things like critical thinking, empathy, um, thinking about how to innovate by applying what you've learned across different domains, where that's an area that through reading books is really easy to get exposure to. It's a little bit harder in the professional space to kind of go around to all different things. Um these are skill sets that are going to be durable, they're going to last. And regardless of how the world of work and technology changes, um, we're going to need these skill sets probably even more so than than before. Um, you know, especially the the critical thinking aspect, being able to evaluate um what's real in terms of content and what's what's not, when you can trust output, when you need to investigate further the empathy empathy side, you know, the having that human connection, whether it's as a leader or just in the work that you do, um, as we become increasingly digitized in how we work and live, um, I think there's gonna be a real appetite for that and and a skill set that um may seem straightforward, um, but it's something you have to maintain and and develop. And reading's been something that's been shown um, you know, through studies to help develop empathy. So again, those skills you're gonna get for free, kind of regardless of what area you're you're reading in, and it'll definitely help you in work and in life. Um I think it's also just a great opportunity to unplug from the digital world for a little while to escape from uh the distractions that can pop up, the constant notifications, checking devices. Um, I'm a big fan of reading physical paper books because you're not going to get any pop-ups in your in your book. You're going to be away from some digital distraction or you have the opportunity to be. Um, you can certainly use um digital devices if if you like. Um I would recommend something that was more of a dedicated reader, like an e-ink type thing, where it's really just a single purpose device for that, and you're not going to get sucked into other things. So it's just a nice opportunity to reset and to take a break from that constant stimulation and distraction. Um, so I'm going to go through three different categories of kind of various levels of advancement that you can apply. I think I really apply all of these things, and probably the beginner ones are what make the biggest impact for me. And so it's not like you have to get to a super advanced level to be reading a lot, but we'll go through um, you know, what I would call beginner techniques, some intermittent intermediate techniques, and advanced techniques. And, you know, I'm not the master reader here, so certainly things beyond what I would consider advanced, if you're an expert reader, you know, reading hundreds of books a month or that sort of thing, but then you're probably not watching this video. So um so starting with some advice for for beginners. So read books that you enjoy. Um, it's gonna be a lot easier, um, especially as you're trying to build this skill set and have it in practice to be reading things that you like. It should be a good experience. You um you shouldn't dread having to read, even if it's challenging, right? The actual reading part of it, the material should be something that you like. Um, and along those lines, you probably want to pick something that is accessible to the level that you're at. Um, so a combination of material andor topic that you find interesting, and also a level of writing, whether it's the the length or the complexity that's appropriate to to where you're at. So it's going to be you're not going to struggle with um you know really complex prose or or things like that if that's not an area that um is as much of a habit for you. So start start with those two things. Um now the way that I recommend starting, and this is stolen from Cal Newport and I'm sure other people as well, is more of an interval reading approach. So you're going to try and read for 10 minutes a day. That's it. It doesn't matter how much you read, um, set a timer, do it for that. Um and really, like many things, it's the the saying that consistency over intensity. So your goal should really be to be consistent with this, to try and do it every day, um, and to try and get those 10 minutes in. If you do more, great, you know, but um it's more important that you do it consistently than you you read a lot um during any given session or day. Um now, depending on your schedule, you can do this at any point throughout the day. I think when you're trying to form a new habit, if you can be consistent and train your mind to um expect that you're going to be doing something at a particular time, uh, that can be helpful. So that's not always possible, but if you can, I would say try and pick the same time of day every day that you're going to do your reading. Um I think either kind of first thing in the day or at the end of the day are good times to kind of bookend the day when you can most people can find some time for themselves. And you know, 10 minutes is not a huge amount. It's not like you have to get up at 4:30 a.m. to do a you know two-hour SEAL team workout. This is 10 minutes of reading. So if you have to get up 10 minutes earlier, it's a little bit of a harder, but you know, not as much as some kind of self-help advice that's that's out there. Um, I think you want to make, you know, as much as you want the reading to be enjoyable, you want the whole routine to be as enjoyable as possible. Um, so I I kind of tend to bookend my days with these most days. Um, and in the morning, my reading is what I try to be the first thing that I do. Um, I read before I look at any devices or or do anything. So it's just a nice time to give um my mind and my body a little bit of time to wake up before throwing myself right into the day. Um have some coffee, get cozy on the couch, cuddle with the dog. So it's a lot of things that are enjoyable to me, kind of all put together. Um, and it just gets to be a nice routine. Um at the end of the day, winding down, you know, 10 minutes on the couch or in bed. Some people say, Oh, you shouldn't read in bed. I'm not one of those people. I think it's great. If you fall asleep while you're reading, well, better than falling asleep watching watching TV. Um, so there you go. Those are kind of the two ones that I like. And that, to be honest, that really is the majority of the reading that I do, having that habit at either end. So, you know, start with one of those, try and do it consistently, or whatever time of day it is for you, I would say do it for at least a month, trying to do almost every day. And then once that becomes a little bit more of a routine, if you start feeling a little bit more comfortable, um, if you want, then you can add in the second one, um, and then try and do those two 10-minute sessions a day. I think you'd really be surprised at um how much progress you'll make just with two 10-minute sessions a day. Um, and as you're doing it more, you're going to your your reading skill is going to develop, you're going to get through more content in that 10 minutes. And of course, you can do more. And as you get more comfortable, you you may want to do that. Um, you know, sometimes it's it's kind you can kind of trick yourself to do more if you get through time, it's like, okay, well, I'm just gonna read one more page till I finish this chapter, another page like that. Um, and and then you can get more done. Um, so yeah, that's kind of the beginning one. If that's all you do, I think you can be very successful, um, especially if you're coming from a place where you feel like you're not a reader or you're really um struggling to make any progress. So now getting into what I would consider a little bit more of some intermediate techniques is to have a book wherever you go. Um, so you always have the opportunity to read. I mean, you see people on their phones all the time, waiting in line, waiting for an appointment, um just if you're sitting down taking a break outside. So if you have a book with you, that's an alternative. You can pick that up. If you don't have it, um you're not going to do it. I find that even what sort of within my house, if I have books in different places, then I never have to worry about kind of if I sit down someplace for a couple minutes, it's right there. I can pick it up as opposed to going to my phone or some other distraction. Um, so I think that's really good, and that'll just help you do uh a little bit more. It's not like you're necessarily going to have super long reading session with all of these, but just a couple pages here and there, it it does, it does add up. Um that sort of leads into the the second one that I would put under the the intermediate uh category is reading multiple books at once. So just like you might watch multiple streaming series at the you know, more or less the same time, not literally the same time, but you know, kind of concurrently. Um do the same with books. Um so once you're comfortable with those kind of beginner consistent habits, then you can start doing um multiple books that allows you to have them in different places. Maybe you take one that's a little bit more challenging, one that's a little bit easier. Um, so you get some variation. You know, one it's nice, always nice to feel like you're making progress. So you might want some books that you can kind of get through and complete, and then maybe you have a longer one that you're working on that stretches out while you're finishing other books, so you can keep that motivation. Um, so that's been really helpful. Um, I think I'm generally reading between two and four at a time, and especially for some of the longer, more challenging books that I've read, it's been helpful to keep that motivation or be able to switch to something a little bit lighter and not just force myself to grind through. Um, all right, now getting a little bit into the more advanced techniques, I would say this is when if you want to, if you want to push yourself to read for longer stretches and really just kind of churn through some material. I find this works well when I'm traveling, like if I have a long flight and just setting aside, okay, I'm gonna read for two hours on this this stretch, um, if you can do that, or just see how much progress you can make. Um, and depending on where you are and what you're comfortable with, you know, maybe do an hour, then watch a show, then do another hour, that sort of thing. So you can push yourself to get into longer stretches there. Um if you're on vacation, you have you know you're at the beach or the pool or things like that, have a book with you, um, then you can make some progress there. So that's kind of it. That's pretty much what I do. Um, I feel like I've been you know able to get through quite a bit, probably a little bit more than than average. Um, and I think these are all pretty accessible techniques, they don't involve a massive amount of time in a given day. It's more about being consistent with it than um you know locking yourself in the library for a weekend and reading all weekend. Um now kind of a little bit before I wrap up, there is, you know, some different thoughts around setting goals for for reading. Um, some people don't like it, some people do. Um, I think I I like it in general, but it's all a matter of setting reasonable goals. Um, for me, it's one that is achievable, but is going to push me to do more than I would just do on my own. And so you can set those at all levels. Um, you know, let's say you're starting out with that um 10-minute interval reading. You can say, okay, well, one day a week I'm gonna read for 20 minutes. So that's more than you would have done otherwise, but is is achievable. Um, you know, there are trade-offs and you do only have so much time and sort of mental energy. So there is some prioritization if you're gonna push for um goals that have a bigger commitment. I did, you know, set a goal and read 60 books in a year, so that was definitely had to prioritize that over some other things. Um, and then I don't do that now because I'm prioritizing some other things. So it's just recognizing that there there are there are trade-offs there. Um, I like the idea of, and this was another cal newportism of you know investing social capital if you're gonna set some of these goals or if you're really trying to push yourself. Um, so when I was doing a longer reading goal, I made that public. I kind of put out what I was reading every month and and track that um just as a way to feel like I was accountable to it. Obviously, nobody's gonna come and yell at me, I don't think, if I didn't complete my goal. Um, but I did find it helpful to um, you know, feel like I was invested by telling people that I was gonna achieve this goal. Um, so that's about it. I think these techniques can really help anyone. Um, it's not about necessarily how much you get through, but making it a habit and being consistent, and then I think you'll see a lot of the benefits from that. And then I once you sort of get that habit going, you build that identity, um, it really becomes a lot easier from there to continue scaling up if you want to. So there you go. Good luck in your reading journey. I wish you the best building your reading practice. If you like the content, uh please let me know. Like and subscribe, follow the channel, drop a comment in. And until next time, I'm PDD and thanks for your time.