Cal Newport is one of the most popular non-fiction authors of our time.
He has a PhD from MIT, is a full-time professor, has written 8 books including "Deep Work", and reads 50+ books a year.
Here are 17 helpful reading tips from him:
1) If you wait until you have free time and are in the mood to read books, you'll do exactly zero hours of reading.
2) Schedule reading sessions like you schedule exercise. Add reading sessions to your calendar as you would with any other important activity.
3) Design a training program to build up your reading muscle: Start by reading for 10 minutes 5 days a week, then go up 5 minutes every week until you get to 30-40 minutes of reading a day.
4) Read books that you personally find interesting–don't just read what other people are reading or what's trending.
5) Take everything interesting off of your phone. Cal removed all social media apps on his phone so if he's ever bored or waiting around, he'll read a book on his phone.
6) Put rituals around reading that make it more enjoyable: If it's a Friday night, have a drink while you read. If it's a sunny day, read a book on your porch or backyard.
7) If you have less than 100 pages in a book, set aside a block of time today to work through it and finish it by tonight.
8) Read real books–avoid reading on a phone or iPad. Kindles are okay because you can't get distracted and browse the internet on them.
9) Read more challenging books–books with ideas that challenge you or with characters that push you into new psychological or emotional places.
10) Take your time when you read, go slow and seek to understand.
11) If you're reading a complicated book, use secondary sources to better understand what you're reading.
12) Sometimes you have to wait for the right time to read a specific book–one book Cal finished recently he bought 5 years ago.
13) Don't just read the book, take notes and extract information that's valuable.
14) Whenever you're bored, make picking up a book your default option instead of picking up your phone.
15) Buy more books–for $18 you can permanently change the way you understand the world and live your life.
16) If your bookshelf is full, follow the replacement rule: Remove your least favorite book and add your new book.
17) If you don't think you have time to read books, just look at your daily screen time.
He has a PhD from MIT, is a full-time professor, has written 8 books including "Deep Work", and reads 50+ books a year.
Here are 17 helpful reading tips from him:
1) If you wait until you have free time and are in the mood to read books, you'll do exactly zero hours of reading.
2) Schedule reading sessions like you schedule exercise. Add reading sessions to your calendar as you would with any other important activity.
3) Design a training program to build up your reading muscle: Start by reading for 10 minutes 5 days a week, then go up 5 minutes every week until you get to 30-40 minutes of reading a day.
4) Read books that you personally find interesting–don't just read what other people are reading or what's trending.
5) Take everything interesting off of your phone. Cal removed all social media apps on his phone so if he's ever bored or waiting around, he'll read a book on his phone.
6) Put rituals around reading that make it more enjoyable: If it's a Friday night, have a drink while you read. If it's a sunny day, read a book on your porch or backyard.
7) If you have less than 100 pages in a book, set aside a block of time today to work through it and finish it by tonight.
8) Read real books–avoid reading on a phone or iPad. Kindles are okay because you can't get distracted and browse the internet on them.
9) Read more challenging books–books with ideas that challenge you or with characters that push you into new psychological or emotional places.
10) Take your time when you read, go slow and seek to understand.
11) If you're reading a complicated book, use secondary sources to better understand what you're reading.
12) Sometimes you have to wait for the right time to read a specific book–one book Cal finished recently he bought 5 years ago.
13) Don't just read the book, take notes and extract information that's valuable.
14) Whenever you're bored, make picking up a book your default option instead of picking up your phone.
15) Buy more books–for $18 you can permanently change the way you understand the world and live your life.
16) If your bookshelf is full, follow the replacement rule: Remove your least favorite book and add your new book.
17) If you don't think you have time to read books, just look at your daily screen time.
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