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The Feynman Technique Can Help You Remember Everything You Read

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How to use this simple principle for you.

Photo by Phyo Hein Kyaw from Pexels

Books give you access to the smartest brains on our planet. And learning from the greatest thinkers and doers is your fast track to health, wealth, and wisdom.

Yet, reading per se doesn’t elevate your life. You can read 52 books a year without changing at all.

Social climber Dale Carnegie used to say knowledge isn’t power until it’s applied. And to apply what you read, you must first remember what you learned.

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman (1918–1988) was an expert for remembering what he learned. Bill Gates was so inspired by his pedagogy that he named Feynman, “the greatest teacher I never had.”

Why Most People Forget What They Read

Most people confuse consumption with learning. They think reading, watching, or hearing information will make the information stick with them.

Unless you’ve got a photographic memory, no idea could be further from the truth.

To protect ourselves from overstimulation, our brains filter and forget most of what we consume. If we remembered everything we absorb, we wouldn’t be able to operate in our world.

But most people act like their brains would keep everything. They focus on reading a specific number of books a year. By focusing on quantity, instead of learning, they forget anything they read. Ultimately, for them, reading is mere entertainment.

It was Schopenhauer who already stated in the 1850s, “When we read, another person thinks for us: we merely repeat his mental process.” So to learn, we need to think by ourselves.

A person who reads without pausing to think and reflect won’t remember nor apply anything they read.

You can spot these people easily. For example, they say they’ve read a book, but lack the words to explain their takeaways. Likely, they haven’t learned a thing from reading it.

Mortimer Adler put it best when he wrote: “The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks.”

Luckily, there’s a way out of it. We can indeed learn from what we read. And we’ve known so for a long time.

How You Can Remember What You Read

Teaching is the most effective way to embed information in your mind. Plus, it’s an easy way to check whether you’ve remembered what you read. Because before you teach, you have to take several steps: filter relevant information, organize this information, and articulate them using your own vocabulary.

Feynman mastered this process like no other. The people of his time knew him for being able to explain the most complex processes in the simplest language. They nicknamed Feynman “The Great Explainer.”

If you’re after a way to supercharge your learning and become smarter, The Feynman Technique might just be the best way to learn absolutely anything. You can think of it as an algorithm for guaranteed learning.

The Feynman Technique is one method to make us remember what we read by using elaboration and association concepts. It’s a tool for remembering what you read by explaining it in plain, simple language.

Not only is the Feynman Technique a wonderful recipe for learning, but it’s also a window into a different way of thinking that allows you to tear ideas apart and reconstruct them from the ground up.

What I love about this concept is that the approach intuitively believes that intelligence is a process of growth, which dovetails nicely with the work of Carol Dweck, who beautifully describes the difference between a fixed and growth mindset. Here’s how it works.

The 4 Steps You Need To Take

In essence, the Feynman technique consists of four steps: identify the subject, explain the content, identify your knowledge gaps, simplify your explanation. Here’s how it works for any book you read:

#1 Choose the book you want to remember

After you’ve finished a book worth remembering, take out a blank sheet. Title it with the book’s name.

Then, mentally recall all principles and main points you want to keep in mind. Here, many people make the mistake to simply copy the table of content or their highlights. By not recalling the information, they skip the learning part.

What you want to do instead, is to retrieve the concepts and ideas from your own memory. Yes, this requires your brainpower. But by thinking about the concepts, you’re creating an effective learning experience.

While writing your key points, try to use the simplest language you can. Often, we use complicated jargon to mask our unknowingness. Big words and fluffy “expert words” stop us from getting to the point.

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

— Albert Einstein

#2 Pretend you are explaining the content to a 12-year old

This sounds simpler than it is. In fact, explaining a concept as plain as possible requires deep understanding.

Because when you explain an idea from start to finish to a 12-year old, you force yourself to simplify relationships and connections between concepts.

If you don’t have a 12-year old around, find an interested friend, record a voice message for a mastermind group, or write down your explanation as a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or Quora.

#3 Identify your knowledge gaps and reread

Explaining a book’s key points helps you find out what you didn’t understand. There will be passages you’re crystal clear about. At other points, you will struggle. These are the valuable hints to dig deeper.

Only when you find knowledge gaps — where you omit an important aspect, search for words, or have trouble linking ideas to each other — can you really start learning.

When you know where you’re stuck go back to your book and re-read the passage until you can explain it in your own simple language.

Filling your knowledge gaps is the extra step required to really remember what you read and skipping it leads to an illusion of knowledge.

#4 Simplify Your Explanation (optional)

Depending on a book’s complexity, you might be able to explain and remember the ideas after the previous. If you feel unsure, however, you can add an additional simplification layer.

Read your notes out loud and organize them into the simplest narrative possible. Once the explanation sounds simple, it’s a great indicator that you’ve done the proper work.

It’s only when you can explain in plain language what you read that you’ll know you truly understood the content.

The Takeaway

We all know from our own experiences that knowledge is useless unless applied. But by forgetting what we read, there’s no way to apply it to our lives.

Montaigne pointed to this fact in one of his Essays where he wrote:

We take other men’s knowledge and opinions upon trust; which is an idle and superficial learning. We must make them our own. We are just like a man who, needing fire, went to a neighbor’s house to fetch it, and finding a very good one there, sat down to warm himself without remembering to carry any back home. What good does it do us to have our belly full of meat if it is not digested, if it is not transformed into us, if it does not nourish and support us?

The Feynman Technique is an excellent way to make the wisdom from books your own. It’s a way to tear ideas apart and rebuild them from the ground up.

Here are the four steps you want to remember:

  • choose a book, get a blank page and title it
  • teach it to a 12-year old in plain, simple language
  • identify knowledge gaps and reread what you forgot
  • review and simplify your explanation (optional)

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To Become a Super Learner, Avoid These Common Mistakes

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Key insights from research on human learning and memory.

Photo by Edmond DantĂšs from Pexels

Scientists started to investigate learning theories in 1926. Yet, almost a century later, many of us fail to apply proven learning strategies.

This meta-study on learning, memory, and metacognitive processes has shown most learners hold outdated beliefs and commit errors that can even impair, rather than enhance, their learning effectiveness.

To be honest, I was prone to all of these errors during my Bachelor and Master studies. It wasn’t until I became a Teach for All teachers that I dug deep into learning research.

So, here are the four most common mistakes that prevent us from becoming super learners.

1) Using Mass Study Instead of Spaced Repetition

Many people continue to cramp too much content into a single learning session. They confuse consumption with learning and think the more they consume; the more will stick with them.

Unless you have a photographic memory, this belief is terribly wrong.

Our brains don’t work like a computer’s hard drive where you insert a memory stick and simply remember everything on it.

Instead, our brains work as a dynamic neuronal network. We learn by making new connections within this network. Scientists agree that we learn by relating new information to what we already know.

Through smaller learning units and regular breaks, we can better support the formation of these links. Researchers have shown that learning in portions is way more effective than cramping whatever you can into a single sitting.

If you want to learn a new language and study 50 new words on Monday, you’ll likely forget all new words by Thursday. To remember what you learn, you better split the amount into separate days, research says.

How to apply it:

Break major learning sessions down to several single ones. Use technology assistance for spaced repetition, like Anki for flashcards or Lingvist for languages.

2) Memorizing Facts Without Context

By memorizing facts without any context, you’re wasting your time. Whenever you study grammatic rules, name reaction in chemistry, or browse through year dates in history, you’re not learning smart.

To remember what we learn, we must link the input to our existing knowledge.

As established, our brains are a network of neurons. You can look at it like highways with intersections. And every time an intersection with a new highway is formed, you will remember more of what you learn.

The need for connecting knowledge is the reason why knowledgeable people learn faster. If you already have a large inventory in your mind, it’s easier to find a fitting dock for what you learn.

Instead of learning a word from its translation, it’s way better to form different sentences with it and think of everyday situations when you can use it.

Here’s an among learning scientists well-known example by professor Robert Bjork:

“One chance to actually put on, fasten, and inflate an inflatable life vest would be of more value — in terms of the likelihood that one could actually perform that procedure correctly in an emergency — than the multitude of times any frequent flier has sat on an airplane and been shown the process by a flight attendant.”

How to apply it:

Connect anything you learn to what you already know. The best question to do so is asking why something works that way. Then, try to use it in a real-life context and apply the knowledge to your life.

3) Sticking to the Same Learning Method

You’ve likely heard about the people who claim to be a visual or auditive learner. Yet, the hypothesis that specific learning methods are better for some people than they are for others is an outdated belief.

At most, learning types are a self-fulfilling prophecy. This means if you believe you can learn something in a specific way, your belief in the effectiveness of this method will promote your learning efficiency.

Instead, you want to do anything that helps you relate new knowledge to existing memory — no matter if that’s via listening to a podcast, writing a reflective essay, or teaching it to a toddler.

The wider your mix of methods, the greater your learning success.

Here’s what scientists say about our brain’s infinite capacity to learn through different learning techniques:

“In fact, storing information in human memory appears to create capacity — that is, opportunities for additional linkages and storage — rather than use it up. It is also important to understand that information, once stored by virtue of having been interrelated with existing knowledge in long-term memory, tends to remain stored, if not necessarily accessible. Such knowledge is readily made accessible again and becomes a resource for new learning.”

How to apply it:

Super learners focus on diversifying their learning techniques. You can do the same by experimenting with any of the following: practical exercises, rereading, note-taking, summarizing, questioning, teaching, self-testing.

4) Avoiding Test Situations

When we’re learning something we’ve not mastered yet, we tend to avoid every opportunity to test our new skills in real life. We fear we might embarrass ourselves by making mistakes.

Here’s a personal story:

I had been learning French for three years when my parents took me to France for a camping trip. On the way, we stopped at a McDonald’s to get lunch. My parents encouraged me to make the order, yet I refused. I was afraid my French would sound hilarious.

My fear of failure stopped me from improving my skills.

The act of recalling information provides a much greater boost to later retention than studying it for a second time. So, independent reproduction — like being asked to make a restaurant order in a foreign language — is essential to keep your knowledge in mind.

Plus, Richland et al. found that long-term learning benefited when participants were asked questions that they could not answer before studying text materials.

So, making errors appears to create learning opportunities. In the words of the scientists:

“Becoming maximally effective as a learner requires interpreting errors and mistakes as an essential component of effective learning rather than as a reflection of one’s inadequacies as a learner.”

How to apply it:

Seek situations where you can test your new knowledge. Don’t judge yourself for not getting everything right. Instead, focus on the learning benefit you get from making mistakes.

Conclusion

Learning is a journey, not a destination. And to learn more effectively, here’s what you might want to keep in mind:

  • Use space repetition instead of mass learning.
  • Embed new facts into context.
  • Experiment with diverse learning methods.
  • Seek test situations and embrace mistakes.

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4 Growth Mindset Quotes That Will Change the Way You Learn

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Pearls of wisdom from Carol Dweck.

Photo by LUM3N on Unsplash

Carol Dweck is America’s most influential researcher on motivation and mindset. She coined the term growth mindset — something all lifelong learners have in common.

She is a Psychology professor at Standford and also taught at Columbia and Harvard. Yet, you don’t need a Ph.D. to understand her work. She uses relatable language and basic logic to change the way we learn.

Dweck’s book shattered my wrong learning beliefs and changed my life for the better. People aren’t born smart. They become smart as a result of learning.

These quotes transform your life for the better by inviting more challenges and growth. Here are four curated mindset quotes that will open your heart and mind to the concept of a growth mindset and, in doing so, change the way you learn.

“When you make your best effort, you may be outscored, but you will never lose.”

Formal education teaches us to focus on the outcome. That’s why most of us judge our performance based on results: a grade, a score, a certificate.

Yet, what is far more important than achieving any result, is whether you made your best effort during the process.

Often, the outcome is influenced by factors you can’t control. You can’t control the end.

Instead, what you can always control is whether you did your best. As long as you focus on the effort, you’ll live your best self. And by giving your best, you’ll never lose — despite the outcome.

Derive your happiness and value from your effort. Focus on the process instead of the result.

How to do it:

Instead of asking whether you won, ask yourself whether you did your best. Have no fear of losing. If you lose but give your best effort, you’ll have nothing to regret.

Let go of controlling the outcome. Instead, focus on what you can control: your intention, your attitude, and your actions.

By doing the work, day in and day out, you’ll become better. And by focusing on one step at a time, you’ll win in life.

“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?”

Let’s imagine you could choose to play tennis against two different players. If you pick the first player, you’ll win 3:0. If you select the second, you’ll lose 1:3.

Would you choose the game you win or the one where you learn?

Sure bets won’t make you better. Risk-free wins won’t add to your learning curve.

Babies never decide it’s too hard or not worth the effort. They don’t worry about making mistakes. They walk, they fall, they get up, and they learn.

Instead of seeking validation, seek challenges that make you fall. If you pick winning, you’ll inflate your ego. If you choose learning, you’ll learn for life. Only the later will steer you towards the path for success.

How to do it:

Ignore games and tasks. You can win quickly and perfectly. You won’t form new connections in your brain.

You don’t need to prove yourself that you’re perfect at something. Instead, get your shit together and try something new.

Seek learning opportunities. Look for challenges that make you grow. And while you’ll be struggling, remember the best learning happens outside of your comfort zone.

“When you already know you’re deficient, you have nothing to lose by trying.”

I wish I could read this quote to my younger self. As a teenager, I loved our piano. Yet, I never played it. I feared to destroy my illusion of being a perfect player.

Perfectionism hinders learning. The fear of making mistakes prevents you from trying.

When you know you’re not perfect, you’re humble enough to go ahead and try. You don’t fear to destroy your ideal self. Instead, you’re open to making mistakes and learning.

The geniuses, the world-class performers, became world-class because they weren’t afraid to fail. Instead of thinking they already knew it all, they were aware of their deficiency.

How to do it:

Know that you’ll never be perfect. When you know, there’s still so much to learn you don’t fear to try.

Once you accept that you’re deficient, you’ll get out of your way. You’ll start practicing and getting better.

“Real self-confidence is not reflected in a title, an expensive suit, a fancy car, or a series of acquisitions. It is reflected in your mindset: your readiness to grow.”

True intelligence means changing your opinion based on new insights. It’s staying open to new learning.

This is easier said than done. We grow up with a set of beliefs and values and surround ourselves with people who share our opinion.

The deeper we are on our island of knowledge, the more difficult it is to change your opinion when you’re faced with new ideas.

Yet, by having the courage to be open, we invite learning opportunities. Ultimately, this open-mindedness will accelerate our learning.

How to do it:

Beware of the four horsemen of a fixed mindset. Every time you find yourself in some of these thought patterns remind yourself to be open:

– I know it all.
– You’re wrong, I rule.
– Oh, I’ve heard of this concept before. 
– Nothing new for me.

The effort to think openly and embrace new ideas will be worth it when you’re able to take part in the benefits that come from opening your mind.

Final Thoughts

Most of the time, we make learning harder than it needs to be. Small shifts in our mindset can lead to happiness and fulfillment.

And while each of these mindset shifts can change the way you learn, you certainly don’t need to integrate all of them.

At the end of the day, your lifelong learning journey is defined by you.

Use these ideas as a source of inspiration and brainstorm what might help you to live a happier, healthier, and more fulfilled life.

And always keep Dweck’s words in mind who said

“When Do You Feel Smart: When You’re Flawless or When You’re Learning?”

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How to Apply What You Read to Your Life

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The best knowledge is useless unless applied.

Photo by Parth Shah on Pexels

In 2017, I read my first life-changing book. Since then, reading has become my favorite habit.

Yet, when I stumbled upon this quote by Ratna Kusnur some time ago, I started to question the power of books:

“Knowledge trapped in books neatly stacked is meaningless and powerless until applied for betterment of life.”

Admittedly, Ratna caught me right on the spot. Before building my first business, I had read dozens of books for each stage in the business lifecycle. But when it came to starting, the most significant impact was doing it.

Yes, reading can be the fast-track to a happier, healthier, wiser life. But unless you apply the lessons from the greatest thinkers to our lives, reading is mere entertainment.

Here’s a self-tested way to apply what you read to your life and thereby, lead a better life:

This advice doesn't apply to fictional books. It applies to reading non-fiction books for knowledge and practicality.

Choose the Right Book for Your Life Situation

“Knowledge isn’t power until it’s applied.”

— Dale Carnegie

You can’t apply irrelevant knowledge. By reading a book that has no connex to your current circumstances, there’s no way you can integrate new knowledge in your days.

I fell into this trap many times. I’d buy the books my mentors recommended reading. Back in 2016, I spent hours working my way through Ray Dalio’s Principles to realize that this book had no connection to my student life.

When you try hard to find applicable lessons, but you can’t find any useful advice, it’s not your fault. Instead, it’s either the wrong book or the wrong time for the book.

Bill Gates finishes every book he starts. Not because he forces himself through a bad book. Instead, he chooses with intent.

The clearer you know why you’re reading the book at hand, the more natural you find ways to integrate the learnings into your life.

How to do it:

Before starting any book, ask yourself:

Which big questions do you face in life, right now?

Which skills do you want to build?

If a book doesn’t promise to deliver on your topics, skip it. You won’t be able to use the lessons. Do your research before reading a book. Choose wisely, then, read thoroughly.

By picking the right content with the right timing, you’ll enjoy the words in front of you.

Create Action Items

“It’s not knowing what to do, it’s doing what you know.”

— Tony Robbins

Most persons on this planet read a book, have some “aha” moments and then, after finishing the book, forget everything they just learned.

Unless you think and act while reading, you’ll never integrate book lessons to your life. You will never revisit a specific concept later.

Yes, it does feel comforting to postpone action for later. But let’s be honest: By procrastinating your actions, you’re wasting your time.

Unfortunately, I write from experience. I’d say to myself: “Oh, what a great insight. I should do this. I’ll do it once I’m done with the book”. And then, the application part never happened.

Ouch.

Re-reading the same concepts again and again won’t improve your life. It’s the application of these concepts that will change your life forever.

If you don’t apply the knowledge you read at the same moment you read it, it will get lost. Unless you follow the advice from books and do something, even the smartest information is a waste of your time.

Once you started reading the right book, beware of procrastination. Instead, apply a book’s wisdom while you read. Stop at the page and integrate useful lessons into your life.

In High-Performance Habits, for example, we learn about the power of morning affirmations. I stopped during the chapter and recorded my own affirmations.

In Stillness is Key, Ryan Holiday explores the benefits of journaling. When he convinced me, I placed an empty notebook with a pen on my nightstand and started journaling the same evening.

How to do it:

If you stumble upon useful advice, create an environment that invites you to do what you’ve just learned.

Put an item on your to-do list or place an action item on a specific spot. If you read the 5 Languages of Love, try one out the same day. If you read Cal Newport’s Deep Work, start changing your work schedule tomorrow morning.

By forming action items from your books, you’ll make the most out of any book. You’ll be able to apply knowledge from books to your life.

Reread Life-Changing Books

“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.”

— Mortimer J. Adler

Many people treat the number of books you read as the level of your wisdom. This logic is flawed. It’s not the number of different pages you can get through that will make you happier, wiser, and healthier.

When you focus on the number of finished books, you tend to rush through the content. With a goal of completion in mind, it’s easy to overlook meaningful passages.

By rereading a book, you can check which parts you applied and which sections you’ve forgotten. You can then focus your effort on the parts that need more application.

Ryan Holiday is an impressive example of the power of rereading. He read the same book 100 times over 10 years. Undoubtedly, this habit led to Ryan’s unparalleled understanding and three bestselling books.

How to do it:

Focus on the process of reading, not on the total number of books you’ve read. Revisit the books that have influenced you the most.

Books change as we do. You’ll be amazed at how many new things you can discover that you may have missed before.

Final Thoughts

Reading is the fastest way to expand your world view and improve your life.

Yet, don’t set your goal of reading a specific number of books per year. Instead, make sure you choose the right book for your life situation, create action items, and revisit life-changing books.

Mere reading expands your knowledge, but the application will change your life. Reading a few great books a year, with time for implementation, will make you happier, healthier, and wiser.

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How to Choose Your Next Great Book

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Stop wasting your time with mediocrity.

Photo by Jeroen den Otter on Unsplash

Bill Gates finishes every book he reads. No, that doesn’t mean he forces himself through a bad book. Instead, he only starts reading the great ones.

How you might ask, can you know whether a book exceeds your expectation before you even start to read?

Unfortunately, there’s no bulletproof formula. Yet, there are a few simple steps that, if applied, will increase the chances of you reading only the greatest books.

My reading time changed once I followed these strategies. I no longer needed to be 100 pages in to realize I wasted my time. I no longer struggled to put a lousy book aside. I finally loved most of the >50 books I read in a year.

Not all books are created equal, and most of the books aren’t worth your time. Yet, some books have the power to change your life and make you healthier, wealthier, and wiser.

By avoiding mediocre books and choosing the greatest books, you’ll find yourself learning from the greatest thinkers that ever existed.

Here is exactly how you choose the right book for you in chronological order.

1) Search beyond bestseller lists

Yes, there’s Goodreads, and Gatesnotes, and so many other great lists indicating if you only read a few books in 2020, you should read these.

And while these lists have their raison d’ĂȘtre, they are only a snapshot of our time. Most of these lists contain the books from authors with the best marketing strategy, or the widest social media reach.

When you look for a great book, you should go beyond mediocre listicles. Search, for example, search through the appendix of Mortimer J. Adler’s classic How to Read a book.

If you look at human history, the chances are small that the greatest books were created in the past decade. The fundamental human problems seem to be the same in all ages: Justice, love, virtue, stability, and change itself.

Another excellent source for book recommendations are people you look up to, not necessarily living in our time. I love browsing through Ryan Holiday’s reading list.

“We may succeed in accelerating the motions of life, but we cannot seem to change the routes that are available to its ends.”

— Mortimer J. Adler

Questions to tick:

Have you looked for inspiration beyond the standard recommendations?

Do you trust or admire the recommendation source?

Which 5 books trigger your interest?

2) Do a two-minute author background check

As said, not all books are created equal. There are so many of them written by people who have never done what they’re writing. Mortimer J. Adler once said:

“The great books are the most instructive, the most enlightening.”

An author’s first-hand experience always trumps if-then scenarios.

Nobody can give you instructive, enlightening examples of things he or she has never experienced before.

Instead of judging a book by its cover, judge a book by the author’s background check.

Questions to tick:

Has the author life experience that undermine the book’s topic?

Is the author living by what s/he is writing?

Do other thoughtleaders support what s/he’s saying?

3) Check the table of content

Most people have never heard about this powerful strategy. To be honest, I didn’t know about it either. Since I know, I browsed through the table of content every time before I buy a new book.

A book’s title triggers your interest, captivates your attention. The table of content is more profound. It gives you a sneak-peak on what’s to come.

Once you’ve narrowed down your search to five or fewer potentially great books, inspect the table of content.

Not looking through the table of content is like buying a jacket without looking at the inside’s material. You won’t know what you get without taking a closer look.

Reviewing the table of content is the fastest, easiest way to judge whether a book delivers on its title. Knowing what a book is about before starting to read it will increase the likelihood of greatness.

Questions to tick:

Did you read through the table of contents?

Does the content (not the title) spark your curiosity?

Are you interested in learning what’s behind the majority of the chapters?

4) Read a 5-star and 1-star review

Some years ago, I’d read every book that had more than a 4-star rating on Goodreads. I even forced myself through a lousy book only because I thought I didn’t get the message.

For example, a super-smart friend recommended me The Truth. Goodreads suggested a solid 4.17 rating from more than 5k people. I finished the book even though it didn’t resonate with me at all. I felt I was listening to an emotionally immature adult.

There will always be books that you don’t like, but most people love.

By reading through the reviews, you can find out which type of people like a specific book. Sometimes, a strong opinion in a 1-star review makes me want to read a book while the arguments in a 5-star review make me abandon the book.

Questions to tick:

Do you sympathise with the characters writing 5* reviews?

Do you find yourself contradicting the opinions of 1* reviewers?

Can you find credible arguments to read this book?

5) Trust your gut

If you only force yourself through books, you don’t like you’ll end up thinking you don’t like reading altogether.

Ultimately, you’ll stop reading. And, by not reading a book, you don’t have an advantage over an illiterate person.

“The great books are the most readable.”

— Mortimer J. Adler

Pick the books you like.

Even if the above criteria match but you don’t like the book, don’t read it.

Mark Twain once said the great books were those everybody recommends and nobody reads, or those everyone says he intends to read and never does. I’d say he’s wrong.

The great books are the ones you genuinely enjoy reading. The ones that are the most readable for you.

“The great books are not faded glories. They are not dusty remains for scholars to investigate. They are not a record of dead civilizations. They are rather the most potent civilizing forces in the world today.”

— Mortimer J. Adler

Questions to tick:

Do you like the tone of voice?

Do you like the language and the content density?

Do you like the narrative?

Bottom Line

New books are written and published every minute. Yet, our lifetime decreases with every minute. We only have a limited number left of books we can read in our lives.

To stop reading mediocre books:

  • Search for recommendations beyond bestseller lists
  • Research the author’s background
  • Read through the table of content.
  • Skim through 5-star and 1-star reviews
  • Trust your gut

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7 Things I Learned Reading 52 Books a Year For Two Years

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#1: Read the books that make you want to read more.

Photo by Monica Sauro on Unsplash

I started to get serious about reading in early 2018. I committed to wake up every day at 5:30 AM and read until 7 AM. Sometimes I’d read after work, and by replacing my smartphone with an alarm clock, I’d always make time to read before going to bed.

One of my main motivations for reading more was a quote by Charlie Munger, self-made billionaire and Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner, who said:

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time — none. Zero.”

Since March 2018, I’ve read 174 books. Here are some of the lessons I learned:

#1. Read the Books that Make You Want to Read More

Reading shouldn’t feel hard. If you don’t like the book you hold in your hands, skip it. Better to waste 11.95$ than 4 hours of your lifetime.

Books aren’t created equal — millions aren’t worth your time.

Only because your mentor liked a book, it doesn’t mean you must enjoy it. Maybe you don’t like the topic from a book on the bestseller list. Maybe you find a book too fluffy. Or maybe, the book is a classic, but you dislike the writing style.

I abandoned George Orwell’s 1984 a few pages in, and most people will blame me for not finishing this classic. But to be honest, I just couldn’t stand the negative utopia.

Lifetime is too precious to endure books you don’t like. Read the genres you cherish, the content you enjoy, from the authors you admire.

How to apply this advice

Every time you start a book, ask yourself a few questions. Do you like the tone of voice? Do you understand the content, or do you get sleepy every time you hole the book in your hands? How do you feel when you close the book: Do you want to continue reading, or are you happy you put the book aside? And overall, do you get what the author is trying to say?

Never force yourself through a book you don’t enjoy reading.

The best person to judge whether you should read a book is neither Goodreads nor your smart friend — it’s you.

#2. Communicate With Your Books

It was during my work in India when I first saw a person scribble into a new book. When I asked him why he’d destroy the book, he answered:

“Books are there for you. What’s the point of reading, if you can’t highlight your favorite sentences, ask questions?”

Since then, I never left a book unmarked. Using text markers, stickers, and pens make reading more fun, more memorable. In #7, you’ll learn how to systemize what you’ve read.

Here’s how my advice-dense books look like:

Pictured by Author

How to apply this advice

Cross out what you don’t like. Put stickers on pages where you experienced “aha” moments. Highlight what you want to remember. Jot down a question if lines are unclear. Scribble notes on the pages, to reuse what you’ve read.

#3. Replace Your Phone with Your Book

Did you know the average person spends over four hours a day on their device? If you spent half the time reading, with a reading speed of 250 words per minute and an average book length of 90,000 words, you’d finish more than two books a week.

The less time you spend on your phone, the more you’ll read.

Changing my phone habits was probably the hardest part but also the most effective one. I didn’t need to skip any activities to read 52 books a year. Decreasing my screen time enabled me to read (and write).

I tried different digital detox apps like Forest, Phocus, Freedom, and Moment but eventually, I deleted all of them. Ironically, the books Deep Work and Digital Minimalism helped me most to reclaim my time.

How to apply this advice

Disable all notifications. Use airplane mode whenever possible. When you start reading, put your phone into a different room. Replace your smartphone’s alarm function with a classic alarm clock. The only thing you can do in bed, besides sleeping, should be reading. Carry books with you while commuting. Instead of grabbing your phone, grab your book.

For a more radical guide, read Ryan Holiday’s advice for spending less time on your phone.

#4. Be Clear About Why You Read

Do you want to find facts, seek entertainment, or expand your understanding? Different books require different mindsets.

Thanks to How to Read a Book, the classic guide to intelligent reading, I learned not to read non-fiction chronologically. While I still read most books cover to cover, knowing I can skip irrelevant passages makes reading more relevant.

Your life is too short for passages that don’t serve your needs.

How to apply this advice

Ask yourself what you’re looking for before you open a book. Evaluate the first impression against your reading intention. Check whether the author has the credentials to give you advice. Many writers produce theoretical self-help fluff and have never done what they’re preaching.

If the book in your hands doesn’t fulfill what you’re looking for, put it aside. If you’re looking for specific information, identify relevant chapters, and only read those.

#5. Read Different Books Simultaneously

You don’t feel like reading before you go to sleep? Chances are high it’s the wrong book on your bed table.

I love reading non-fiction with technical investing advice, but this doesn’t mean I want to be sitting in bed at night with my mind buzzing with all the new things I learn. Instead, I quiet my mind with lighter fiction. Between my reading start and finish of Harari’s content-dense Sapiens, I read four other books.

You don’t want to eat the same dish for breakfast, lunch, and breakfast. Why would you read the same book at different times of the day?

“The most useful insights are often found at the intersection of ideas.“

— James Clear

How to apply this advice

Be okay with reading a few books at the same time. You can start a new book before you finished the one you’re reading. Start with one content-dense book for learning mode and a lighter fiction for nighttime lecture or weekend mornings.

If you’re interested in a book, but you’re not in the right frame of mind to read it just yet, put it on your reading list.

#6. Keep a “Want-To-Read” List

Reading is like every other part of life: Unless you choose what you want to read, others, like the airport’s bookshelves, will choose for you.

Moreover, the best motivator to continue reading your book is a long list of books you want to read after finishing.

The “want-to-read” piles on my bookshelf motivate me to read. One pile is for self-help advice, one for non-fiction, one for education and one for fiction.

Pictured by Author

How to apply this advice

Have a “reading list” in place and feed the list regularly. If you already have a list tracking in place, us it. If not, try Google Keep, Wunderlist, Amazon Wishlist, Bullet Journal, ToDoist, or Goodreads and settle on your favorite book tracker.

The filter function is a clear upside for Goodreads. In your “Want to Reads,” you can search for “date added” and “avg rating.” For ideas for your reading list, you can also use Goodreads to browse your friend’s lists.

Pictured by Author

#7. Apply Your Knowledge

Before building my first business, I had read dozens of books for each stage in the business lifecycle. But when it came to really starting, the biggest impact was just doing it.

At some point, “reading” distracts you from doing. You’ll get farther bumping along on your own without any books than you ever will reading and not doing anything.

Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk wrote why reading wouldn’t help you become a better entrepreneur, saying:

“But how many books from these ‘experts’ do you need to read before you can actually do something? You can only read so much and at some point, you just have to do. Stop being a student, and start being an entrepreneur.”

Be careful about whether you’re procrastinating with reading and whether it holds you back from taking action.

How to apply this advice

When you finish the book, ask yourself what to do with what you’ve just read. Go back to the pages you highlighted or put stickers on. Put what you’ve learned into action items.

For example, when you read High-Performance Habits and learn about Affirmations, commit to recording your affirmation.

Unless you follow the advice from books and do something, even the smartest advice is a waste of your time.

The Bottom Line

In any case, don’t set your goal of reading a specific number of books per year and keep Mortimer J. Adler’s words in mind:

“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.”

And whenever you find yourself wondering whether spending money on books is worth it, remind yourself of Benjamin Franklin who said an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

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