Books arent just for the bookish anymore. The computer has proven to be the biggest innovation since the printing press for making the written word accessible to just about anyone. Finding something to read may not be difficult, but making the most of your reading time can be more complicated.
Fortunately, advice has arrived, from Microsoft founder Bill Gates.The famous humanitarian and entrepreneur sat down for an interview with Quartz and dove into his four hard-and-fast rules when it comes to reading. Youll want to take note of theseafter all, science says that a healthy reading habit can help you live longer.
Gates rules, in short:
- Use the margins for note-taking
- Particularly if its a nonfiction book, are you taking in new knowledge and sort of attaching [it] to knowledge you have? For me, taking notes helps make sure that Im really thinking hard about whats in there.
- Finish everything that you start
- [Infinite Jest*] is quite long and complicated and I dont want to make an exception. It’s my rule to get to the end. (*Infinite Jest is 1,069 pages long.)
- Pick a medium that youre comfortable withprint or digital (Gates prefers print.)
- Over time I will make the switch [to digital][print] Im used to that and its ridiculous, I have this whole book bag that goes on trips with me and its voluminous and antiquated.
- Designate an hour for your reading
- Youd want to be sitting down for an hour at a time because otherwise just getting your mind around [the work, and say] OK, what was I reading? Its not the kind of thing you can do five minutes here, 10 minutes there.
If you want to have an ideal reading experience, take it from the billionaire.
[Source: Inc]