Five
Rules to Make You a Better Reader
In the information swamp that we now inhabit, learning to be
more discerning is a critical skill.
BY HOWARD TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER,
G2T3V AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH INVESTORS@TULLMAN
I've been trying lately to take a little of my own advice to
audit and then edit some of the things that I've been doing for years
automatically -- without really examining whether they're additive, valuable,
helpful and still worth doing.
Reading with a vengeance is one of them. I've always believed that the best leaders were also avid readers but -- like most of the literate and digital world these
days -- I'm drowning in a futile attempt to keep up with the flow of facts,
factoids, fiction, and outright frauds that we're confronted with every single
day. Sheer volume of information is no guarantee of either knowledge or
wisdom.
There's no end in sight to the onslaught, but there are a few
smart things that you can do to get things back under control and rid yourself
of some of the FOMO, guilt, piled-up books and magazines, and just plain frenzy
that comes with the constant paper chase. Honestly, it's gotten so bad at times
that I can't enjoy what I'm reading because the mountain of unread stuff is
sitting there staring me in the face, daring me to find the time to wade
through it all. This is like a new kind of hyper-conscious ADD for info
addicts.
Apart from my daily business correspondence and portfolio
company reports and materials, I'm attempting to read five daily newspapers,
three or four weekly magazines, half a dozen monthly publications, a couple of
key daily blogs and digital newsletters and a painfully large number of
articles sent to me by helpful and well-intended others. I, too, am totally
guilty of oversharing, but that's hard to resist when you feel that so many
people you care about and respect are oblivious, indifferent or just grossly
uninformed about how many things in our lives (and our businesses) are heading
in the wrong direction. Trump's constant lies were plenty painful, but the
solution isn't shutting your eyes and ignoring what's happening all around you.
My car dealer friends say that they don't really care about
Texas anti-abortion laws, but they'll be singing a different tune when the blue
laws come surging back to prohibit them from selling cars on Saturday or Sunday.
Right now, at least 18 states decree that going to church on Sunday is
apparently more important than allowing you to buy a new Camaro. If you think
that the crazies intend to restrict their attacks to purely social and
religious concerns and leave your business alone, you're kidding yourself. But
I digress.
In addition, to keep from losing my mind on my daily treadmill
trek, I read at least two quick and junky action or mystery novels a week and
also work in a non-fiction book or two every month. This isn't bragging -- the
truth is that if you sit down and do the same audit, you'll discover that
you're not too far off a similar pace unless you've opted for streaming your
life away and/or watching whatever crap passes for network and cable TV these days.
There are bits of good news in that we're not spending any time
these days going to the movie theatres, and millions of commuters have
recaptured those wasted hours as well. And, in fairness, we're seeing a lot of
folks focusing on streamlining their lives, simplifying their businesses, and paying attention to the
things that really matter. But there's still gonna be a ton of reading to
get done.
So here are five tips to help you get your arms around the
problem. Yes, I know you're not Bill Gates and can't set aside a week to do
nothing but read, but that doesn't mean you can't have a plan that fits your
own situation. So, here's what I'd suggest:
(1) Have a regular and dedicated time set aside to do your
heavy-duty reading.
(2) Have a quiet place where you can read uninterrupted.
Music in the background doesn't really help.
(3) Have a reason that you're doing the reading and be
picky about what you read. If something's more than 30 days old (and buried
under more current issues), just pitch it.
(4) Read primary sources - don't waste time on
regurgitation magazines like Time (even at the dentist's
office) which is like reading the CliffsNotes of news and always old news at
that.
(5) Have a process to capture and preserve information
that's of interest and value -- quotes, notes, facts, links, etc. Use a
notebook, note cards, a journal, or a program like OneNote, which is on every
device and ready to use. If you just write your thoughts or comments in the
margins of your books, you'll never find those scribbles again when you need
them.
And lastly, have a reasonable goal and limit so you don't drive
yourself crazy. My example is always a conscientious doctor. Even a doctor who
is the most diligent reader in the world and who sticks to the literature and
research directly related to his or her area of specialization can't stay
current on all of it and still have the time to actually practice their profession.
So, they don't try. This is why your car mechanic probably knows more about
your car than your doctor does about your body.
Give yourself the same break. Don't try to do it all, do the
best you can as often as you can. And do it when you can pay your fullest
attention, not when you're falling asleep at night and pretending that
something's actually getting through.
SEP 7, 2021
