This Critical Tool Will Help You Learn, Remember, and Act on Everything You Read
I’ve always loved reading.
Whether it’s philosophy, math, science, psychology, or technology, I get excited by the potential of new ideas and new ways of thinking.
That said, lately I haven’t been sure whether reading was actually improving my life.
It occurred to me: If you read, but don’t act on what you read, what did you really learn?
Reading with writing in mind
How do you make sure you’re remembering and acting on what you read?
There’s a principle in psychology that says the more deeply you engage with ideas, the better you remember them.
So to engage more deeply, I made a simple change: I write about everything I want to remember or apply.
Writing forces me to engage with the material more deeply. As I’m reading, I apply the content in other domains or compare it to other things I’ve learned. I ask myself a series of questions:
Do I believe this idea correct? Why or why not? Is it similar or different from other things I’ve read before? Does it apply in different contexts? How can I translate this to my real life?
Translating content you’ve read into something new
You can use those questions to put your own personal lens on ideas.
If you’re reading a book about building habits, for example, you can write about the following:
- Whether you agree or disagree with points the author made. Sometimes it’s easier (and more interesting for you as the writer) to find a point in the author’s argument that you disagree with. Or, if you agreed with everything, you can write about how it inspires you.
- Your personal experience with the topic. You can write about your own habits (good or bad), how they started, and how what you’re learning applies or doesn’t apply to your experience.
- How it applies to other topics. Does the “habit loop” happen in other areas of life? What other cycles are hard to break?
- Real life examples you admire. Are there people who have built or broken habits you admire? Is information about those people available online? Could you write about how they apply the principles to their own life?
How to change your actions: Document your journey
Those questions will help you learn new ideas and cement them in your memory.
But to make sure you’re truly applying them, there’s one more thing you can do:
- Document your journey. Write about the specific scenario in life that you want to apply this idea to. For example, write about the habit you want to build or break (example here). Expand on what the scenario is, where you are now, what you want to change, and why it matters.
Writing about your personal journey isn’t easy.
It will make you nervous to share that much about yourself. But overcoming that fear will do a couple of things:
- It forces you to think it through. You’ll think deeply about the scenario you want to change, outline the steps you’ll need to take, and most importantly, why this change matters to you.
- It put stakes on the process. You’re committing publicly to your readers that a certain change is important to you and telling them the steps you’ll take to change it. That makes it more likely you’ll stick with it.
- You’ll gain support. By publicizing your journey, other people can cheer you on, offer advice, and get inspired to change their own lives.
Sharing my journey has been game changing
Writing about the specific ways I’m applying what I read to my life has been the single biggest game changer to making sure I’m making the most out of everything I read.
Now I only read things that I can write about and act on. I view all new content through that lens.
The amount of information I’m retaining as a result has been startling and led to so much positive change in my day-to-day life.
I hope you find the same.
