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Get most out of books/reading

RisingStars

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Hello,

I was wondering since I read a lot lately how I get the most out of each book I read. (Or Fastlane Forum article :D )
TMF got some pretty useful chapter summary at the end of each chapter but most books don't.

How do you keep track of all your (business) lessons learnt?
I was thinking about some notepad where I can write down after each chapter what I learnt.

Warren Buffet reads 500 pages a day. Do you think this amount of reading is useful for the average person?

Thanks in advance.
 
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simplykickass

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Take notes, and use the books as journals - no harm in underlining, making notes, writing thoughts etc. that you can refer back to later.

Reading is always useful from my opinion. Even if you only take 1 thing away from reading a book.. You still gain more knowledge in that area if you apply that one thing.
 

eliquid

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Im sure many will disagree, but here is something to think about:

1. Warren Buffet doesn't have to do jack shit, so him reading 500 pages a day ( if true ) shouldn't be any goal of yours just b/c its his.

2. While I am reading a book, I make notes in Evernote about the book and what I find useful. I also make a mindmap of the ideas and sometimes even check out sites like https://www.blinkist.com/ or http://sivers.org/book to get someone else's perspective or notes on the book. I even sometimes ( depending on book, i dont do this with all ) buy the audio version and listen to it on audible to make sure I didn't forget something so I can add on top of what I already read.

Granted, I don't get through 52 books a year like this.. but I'm not likely to lose/forget the important topics and small details of what I read either.
 

timmy

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Anything you write down on paper will generally not be forgotten. Those notes can then be further condensed into bullet points on a spread sheet for continuous reference.
 
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snowbank

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Hello,

I was wondering since I read a lot lately how I get the most out of each book I read. (Or Fastlane Forum article :D )
TMF got some pretty useful chapter summary at the end of each chapter but most books don't.

How do you keep track of all your (business) lessons learnt?
I was thinking about some notepad where I can write down after each chapter what I learnt.

Warren Buffet reads 500 pages a day. Do you think this amount of reading is useful for the average person?

Thanks in advance.

Most books are 200 pages of words and 5-10 pages of meat. So instead of putting your time towards viewing more words, spend it on reading and re-reading the 5-10 pages of meat(by taking good notes) in books you've already read so that you ingrain them into your life, rather than forgetting all about them to read more words.
 

Hooked

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Evernote, evernote, evernote! 'nuff said on that.

Buffett reads that much because its his job to pore over annual reports. He's not reading books about how to analyze businesses, he's DOING it. So that's not really a good example.

That said, I personally think reading at least 20-30 minutes every day would do everybody a hell of a lot of good. All the new-age speed reading stuff is complete BS. The best way to gain the most from a book is to immerse yourself in its ideas, not try to skim it.

I'll spare you the whole learning paradigm lol but when you're doing ANYTHING, especially reading, try to think about where on this pyramid you spend most of your time. Reading without being critical and analytical just means you spend more time on the bottom.

Blooms%20Taxonomy.jpg
 
Last edited:

Chaseb731

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Hello,

Warren Buffet reads 500 pages a day. Do you think this amount of reading is useful for the average person?

He also uses the bathroom at exactly 3 and 6pm. We should follow his lead on that?

Let's focus on taking action, not following Warren Buffet or reading a ton. I agree books can be useful, but only read the applicable information to your stage of business. Don't let reading take over the time you need to spend working on your business.
 
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RisingStars

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Thank you for all your replies. I took notes and saved it on my computer. Here is a summary of the threads ideas on reading a book:
I hope I got everything, if something is missing or you have anything to add, go ahead:

Get more out of Reading

-Underline important parts, make notes, write thoughts
-Maybe make a mind map of the ideas
-Check out sites like https://www.blinkist.com/or http://sivers.org/book (Someone else’s perspective)
-Buy the audio version and listen to it.
-Notes can be condensed into bullet points on a spread sheet for continuous reference.
-Reread the 5-10 pages of meat in a book by taking good notes.
-Read 20-30 minutes every day.
-Use a commonplace book:http://ryanholiday.net/how-and-why-to-keep-a-commonplace-book/
 
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