How I read 100+ books a year and created my own learning machine
The bullshit story has to go away.
A lot of people often ask me how do I find the time to read!
It's often in the middle of some conversation where I'd be referring to some factoid from some crazy story/piece/book I read and the most common response is actually a question:
"How do you make time to read? I have no time in my life after working 10-12 hours of the day?"
Everyone has this question because it's the bullshit story that we tell ourselves. We have hectic days. There's too much happening at work or in the family. The kids need attention. Friends need time too. All of this is true but a patently hollow excuse at the same time. I know because I have done it too. We are great at spending 20 hours every weekend binging on the latest show on Netflix but a book seems too much work, isn't it?
The only reason why any of us don't read is that we haven't made it a priority.
Personally, I give a variety of answers depending on the situation, the person asking, and the flow of the conversation but the real answer is this:
"I exist to read. Everything else is peripheral."
The simplest way to build a reading habit is to build a reading mindset first. No matter what I am doing, my default activity is actually reading (NOT scrolling feeds).
I make time to read important journalism when I am in the queue or heating food in the microwave (I use the Pocket app to save pieces for later on my phone)
I don't go to bed without finishing a chapter or 50 pages of a book. I wake up and grab a tea and the book I was reading last night.
I read after coming back from a party. Or on the way in the cab. I read on my phone through the Kindle app. I carry my Kindle in my book.
I surround myself with books.
I don't focus on what I am reading (that's a second-order problem and really an obstacle), I just focus on reading a wide variety of subjects.
I read books about dead bodies (Stiff). I read books about neuroplasticity (The Brain That Changes Itself). And I also read books about big data insights from dating apps (Dataclysm).
I read when I am at work too. I read through the day till something interrupts me. Then, I attend to what needs attention and get back to reading.
I choose to read over watching Netflix. I choose reading over meme-hunting. I choose reading over having meaningless conversations on messaging apps. I choose reading.
How effective is it, you ask?
I have finished 34 non-fiction books cover-to-cover since January 1. That's one book every 2-2.5 days! At this rate, I am on track to finish anywhere between 150-200 before this year ends.
This is in addition to reading dozens of 30-minutes+ in-depth pieces from sources like the NY Times, Guardian, Atlantic, Intelligencer, Economist, and WSJ.
What's in it for me?
Anyone who needs to be convinced of the benefits of reading is probably not reading enough or the right stuff. Reading is the shortest path to wisdom, clarity, and to being a well-informed, well-rounded person with the ability to add value everywhere.
Still not convinced? How about this - By reading vigorously and highlighting notes on my Kindle, I have about 500+ pages worth of pure, precise insights on almost every subject under the sun. I have these pages saved across various digital notebooks and these notes help me with everything from writing a LinkedIn post to creating a business strategy for a client.
Reading makes you a learning machine
Searching the internet for a query is easy. But finding an insight that lies buries deep on page 588 of an obscure book is a little more difficult. Reading deep and wide on subjects helps solve that problem too because you'll start seeing patterns between theories, data sources, and authors. Most smart people know who the other smart people are and they will constantly rely on each other for validating their arguments.
Once that starts happening, reading will become a breeze as you will be able to skim through pages or go deeper into a subject without having to waste a lot of time finding a primer.
Go pick that book that everyone keeps talking about and you pretend to have read!
Here's a fun fact before you go: One of the most banned books in the US in recent times is actually the Harry Potter series because schools believe it promotes witchcraft.
PS: If you liked this post, do let me know. If you have any hacks or personal systems built around getting the most out of your reading habits, do drop them in the comments. You can follow me on Twitter here or subscribe to my newsletter here.
PPS: If you are looking for book recommendations, drop me a DM and I will be happy to guide you to something interesting! 😀
Loved it, I have been a reader all my life and here’s what I have experienced. Reading is good but reading anything is not, there is a lot of garbage out there. Just because something is on pages doesn’t make it worth giving time. Also I feel sometimes you can get the desired knowledge not from books but from other sources like blogs. VC is a domain about which not many good books are written and once which have been aren’t relevant in modern times at all. But reading blogs of good VC firms can give you the knowledge right there. So I guess the choice of right reading material eventually matters in today’s time.