10 things I learned in the first 2 months of an ambitious year for reading
I am 20 books into a year where I am trying to read 100.
1. My "internal world" seems to run faster and it is kind of disorienting
I am thinking about a wider variety of things. Since I am actively thinking of things that are not necessarily what I am doing at the time there is some disconnection with reality. I don't know if anyone notices this but it does not really matter.
2. I need to actively organize my thoughts so that it is not overwhelming
I find that NotePD is awesome for this. I brain-dump what I am thinking about into lists and consciously use a whiteboard and other tools to "check in" will reality.
3. I find that I say "I was just reading about that..." a lot.
4. I need to aggressively seek out and spend time reading to meet these goals.
As I have stated in other places I count audio books in this goal. If there is not much background noise I can listen at 3 - 3.5x speed. I also have a regular day job so my reading time is fairly limited. This keeps me from doing less useful things and if I slack for a day I notice it.
5. It is interesting to read technology or "future prediction" books that are 5-20 years old
How much came true? I find that some things like flying cars will always remain unlikely but 5 year old predictions about the pace of AI development can be way off as well.
I also read a book about fracking where the "heroes" were billionaires in 2013 when the book was written but the company went into bankruptcy in 2020.
6. In order to keep up with an ambitious goal you need to mix in shorter books with longer ones
I do anyway.
7. I have found that I have discovered a number of ideas
Each new book can send me down a new rabbit hole.
8. I am generally more curious than before and seek out information
In addition to reading I watch a lot of podcast interview content while I am working. I have learned a lot about AI, Crypto, and self help in the last 2 months.
9. Keeping lists on NotePD has kept me accountable
Not only has it helped me stay organized and insure that I get something out of the books that I am reading but by publicly stating that I am going to do certain things I am more likely to follow through.
10. After I read a few books on the same topic I feel that I am getting "mastery" of a space and move on
11. Many (popular non-fiction) books written in the same decade present the same examples
I have read about "the Marshmallow experiment" from at least 10 different authors.
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