by Jeff Anderson
Last updated: Sunday March 1, 2020
Introduction
Reading is one of the most magical activities I can imagine. The written word provides a time travel machine. Ideas that exist in an authors brain can jump across space and time to invigorate the brain of the reader.
Reading also allows me to accelerate my learning by leveraging the expertise of the author. A good author might spend hundreds or even thousands of hours over many years researching, synthesizing, drafting, editing, publishing, and revising her work. That literature might be built on a whole collection of other writings that represent tens of thousands of hours from other authors. However, as a reader, I reap the benefits of this work without having to pay the upfront cost. When I read, I leverage work that was created on a time scale measured in years for a cost that can be measured in hours.
In the process of developing my career, I believe that one of the most powerful practices I use is that of deep reading. But, I have spent a ton of time developing and refining this skill. In this blog post, I highlight some of the reading systems I have built over the last 20+ years of my adult life. The impetus for this work is my deep love of reading!
Balancing Reading and Life
I have yet to find a job that will pay my bills and allow me to read all the things I’m curious about while enjoying a leisure-filled life, absent from externally imposed time constraints. Instead, every single job I’ve ever done expects me to produce work that affects the lives of other people on a daily basis.
From a value-based perspective, I think this is right. I like to measure the value of my life’s work based on my ability to empower others and reduce suffering in my communities. From the perspective of reading deeply, producing useful work gets in the way of reading. This realization leads to a very natural question: “How can I find ways to read deeply on a daily basis while staying accountable to the many responsibilities I must fulfill in my personal and professional life?” Below are my current answers to this question.
Define Different Types of Reading
The first place I start is to remind myself that not all reading is created equal. In my life, I categorize a number of different types of reading that I do on a daily basis
TYPE 1: TRANSACTIONAL READING
Transactional reading is short, focused reading to accomplish a very specific goal and complete a transaction.
For example, if I am at the DMV and I want to apply for a new license, I have to complete paperwork. Littered all over those forms are a ton of words that I have to read in order to get that work done. The same is true when I get a jury summons with a ton of information I need to know in order to report for duty. Other types of reading in this category include using travel directions to a new destination or filling out paperwork at any place I do business on a daily basis (like a library, bank, school, or post office). The same can be said about research I do to buy a new item or any receipts I collect as I make purchases. I also use this type of reading to play music that makes me smile.
All of this reading is surface-level and does not permeate deep into my soul. When I read transitionally, I use the written word to make decisions about how I should act to accomplish a specific task with concrete deadlines.
TYPE 2: LEARNING-FOCUSED READING
Learning-focused reading is open-ended reading that I use to grow my brain and change the way I think about myself, my community, and the world around me. This type of reading is deep and drives long-term meditation on subjects that I am curious about. When I read to learn, I expect nonclosure.
I like to think of this type of reading in the same way as I look at a bird building a nest. I collect a ton of twigs (ideas) from a bunch of different places (news articles, blogs, academic papers, podcasts, (audio)books, etc) and I build a little home (opinions, skills, and resources).
TYPE 2A: INFORMATION-COLLECTION READING
Information-collection reading is designed to stay informed on current events for topics that I have an interest in exploring and to expose myself to new ideas that may lead me to new interests over time.
This type of reading usually involves newspaper articles and podcasts. To finish a reading a single piece of work may take me anywhere from a few minutes and no more than two hours of work. These reading experiences are not deep dives into specialized subjects but instead updates that I can dissect quickly.
The point of this type of reading is to stay informed about the world around me. I don’t always come away from information-collection reading with concrete action items or specific ideas I want to try. But, I keep the information I collect here in the back of my mind as I navigate my life hoping that I can apply this knowledge.
TYPE 2B: EXPLORATORY READING
When I read to explore, I focus on deeper dives into specialize topics. This type of reading usually involves audiobooks, digital kindle books, and peer-reviewed journal articles. To finish exploring a single piece may take me anywhere from two to ten hours of work, depending on what I am reading.
When I do exploratory reading, I have some specific goals in mind. In addition to broaden my own awareness about the world around me and probing new ideas in a specialized realm of knowledge, I want to make a decision on whether or not I feel this work deserves a larger time commitment in my future.
TYPE 2C: DEEP READING
Deep reading is reading that I do on a subject that has a lasting impact on the rest of my life. When I read a piece of work deeply, I spend many, many hours analyzing that work and deconstructing the authors ideas in ways that make sense to me. By the end of a deep read, I usually have my own customized notes on the work. While the author’s original work provides a foundation, I embellish my notes with many ideas not provided by the author. After I finish a deep read of a book, I have begun a process of building new habits of thought and action that last for many years to come.
Let’s take a look how these systems actually play out in my life. Then, I’ll highlight some systems that I use to make these different systems useful.
Why do I categorize the type of reading I do?
At first glance, it may seem odd that I categorize the type of reading that I do. But, this systemic approach is designed to manage my most precious resource: my energy. If I get serious about an article or book, I might spend weeks or even months dissecting the piece. This process is detailed-oriented, challenging, and requires a high level of focus. Such deep reading also requires a large time commitment. Because deep reading is an expensive process, I tend to be very careful about making a commitment to read deeply.
I like to think about deep reading as the last step in a long process of building an interest in a subject. By the time I am ready to make a decision on what books I want to read deeply, I have spent tens of hours thinking about the subject and I am sure that I want to make some fundamental changes in my life-style with that subject in mind.
Well before I start to settle in on topics that I want to read deeply about, I have a number of steps I use to expose myself to information (information-collection reading) and explore various aspects of a specific topic (exploratory reading). Within this process, I constantly ask myself how the new information I am processing relates to my daily life, what topics most intrigue me, why I am interested in these topics, and what I’d like to learn more about.
Free Service: Use My Local Library
I like the idea of spending less money and getting access to top-quality products.
Each time I move to a new area, one of the first things I do is to become an active member of my local library. Since I currently live in Redwood City, I’ll highlight this system.
To begin, I used the internet to search (using DuckDuckGo) the phrase “How to get a library card in Redwood City, CA.“ I clicked on the top result: Get a Card: The City of Redwood City. I read this work closely and made a plan to visit my library.
Then, before I visit, I like to spend at least 30 minutes reading through the any information I can find about the library on the website. There are a ton of programs that libraries run and I want to be aware of what these programs are so that I can ask follow up questions. Here are some of the programs I learned about through reading the Library’s website:
Discover & Go:
Then, I show up in person to get my card. The day I get my card, I like to asking a list of questions of the librarian who is helping me. Here are some of the questions I asked:
I am unfamiliar with your library system. I can tell you know a lot about this library and I wonder if you might be willing to share your knowledge. Do you have a few minutes to help me?
Do you have any pamphlets that highlight the various locations for your library and hours of operations?
I am familiar with the idea that I can use an online system to reserve books. Now that I have my library card, I was wondering, can you teach me how to reserve a book online? For example, suppose I wanted to reserve the book Shogun by James Clavel, how would I do this online?
How can I tell if you have a book on site or not? If you don’t have a book but I see a local library does, can I reserve that book from that library?
Paid Services
I subscribe to two newspapers. I also have a membership to my local public radio station. Through Spotify, I have access to a whole host of podcasts. I also pay for Amazon prime to order books. I try to dedicate about 1% of my take-home income to purchasing books and literature to read. I am all about used books and have no problem with worn covers. If I can buy five used books for the price of one new book, that increases my access to information. I also have no problem buying older editions of textbooks if the savings from doing so are significant.
A Case Study: How I actually Read?
Let’s take a look at how these systems play out by studying a specific book: David Allen’s Getting Things Done.