Over the past few months I’ve been flying through books. Almost to the point where this blog is a business book review blog more than an E-commerce blog like I had intended it to be. Despite this I still feel like I can’t keep up with everything I want to read, and this made me realize that I may be over consuming and not getting as much out of each book as I could. My desire to knock off this checklist of awesome books is diminishing my takeaway from each one. I also recently heard about Chris Brogan’s “Three Book Diet” in which he challenges his readers to only read 3 books for a whole year. The reasoning behind this is that you can then re-read and truly study those three books and get more out of them then all the others combined. I think it’s a great idea, but I don’t think I’m ready for that level of change quite yet. What I’d like to do is really look at how I’m going to take action after each book and implement the things that I’ve learned, and since I believe I’m already doing this to a lesser degree, I’m going to need to slow down my reading and let things soak in a little more. Here’s my strategy, and you’re welcome to join in and share you experiences with me in the comments:
1. Create a mandatory week break between books. I don’t own a TV so this might kill me. I think this will help it soak in though, and it will make me be more selective in what I choose to read.
2. Spend the time I’d be reading working on an action plan on how to implement the things I’ve learned, and then actually take action!
3. Annually review my results based on the books I’ve read (which will be easy thanks to this blog).
I’ve personally spent so many years reading about running and growing small businesses, as well as personal development, and I think reading has given me an excuse to not actually work on these things but leisurely read about them and feel like I was doing something productive. I’m going to challenge myself and any readers that feel the same way to slow down and spend some of the time normally spent reading, taking action instead. Who’s with me?
