Remember What You Read
The more mental “sticky notes” you create for yourself, the higher your comprehension. This post describes those mental sticky notes—physical tools to drive memory and action. They make the intangible tangible.
Here are five things you can do to ensure every hour of reading generates lifelong dividends as well as personal enjoyment…
1. Refuse to borrow books
When friends discover my love of reading, they instantly offer heartfelt recommendations of books I should borrow from them. My answer is always no.
Why? Because you can’t write in borrowed books. You can’t make them your own. Every book you buy is an investment in yourself.
2. Underline like a madman
Novelist and philosopher George Steiner defined an intellectual as “quite simply, a human being who has a pencil in his or her hand when reading a book.”
There’s a certain power in underlining concepts in a book and writing in the margins. Jotting down your own notes, ideas, and comments enables you to engage in a form of co-creation with the author of the book. His or her work inspires you to strip out the insights pertinent to your own life and immediately consider how you can put the ideas into practice.
3. Write on the back cover of every book
Have you ever fumbled through a book you previously read to find a specific quote or idea? After doing that dozens of times, I realized I could just create a “cheat sheet” for myself on the back cover of each book.
The back cover is a great place to put notes that don’t fit in the margins. It’s also the perfect spot to record any overall takeaways you want to remember from the book.
Impactful quotes — The page numbers in the upper-left corner refer to pages containing quotes that jumped out to me.
Key takeaways — I jot down things I want to remember from the book, along with their associated page numbers for easy reference.
Book recommendations — Books are a great source of book recommendations. Authors cite sources and share their personal inspirations. When multiple authors reference the same book, I know it’s time for me to order that book.
Ideas I want to try in my own life — Great books provide tangible ideas to try in your work and personal life. Writing practical action steps for yourself ensures you actually act upon what you read rather than just conceptually understanding the author’s point.
4. Use a journaling app like Day One
What typed notes lack in memory enhancement they make up in search-ability. Personally, I use the journaling app Day One for typing out notes about books I read.
These notes generally consist of block quotes that relay the author’s key points. I do this in addition to handwritten notes on the back cover of the book because I want the freedom to access my notes anywhere (phone app).
5. Talk about what you read
I’ve found that I internalize lessons from books much better once I’ve had the chance to discuss them with others.
The first time I try to synopsize a book to a friend, my explanation is choppy and inadequate. As the words come out of my mouth, I usually realize I haven’t fully conceptualized the author’s main points and remembered the connections between various themes in the book. However, by the second or third time I’ve discussed a book, I’ve crystallized my understanding of the lessons and I’m able to articulate the author’s thoughts fairly well.
In the words of singer/songwriter Phil Collins, “In learning, you will teach, and in teaching, you will learn.”
Often the best way to learn something is to explain the concept to others. Expect your first explanation to be inarticulate, but the more you discuss an idea, the better you’ll be able to explain it and also understand it yourself.
The five principles above primarily pertain to reading non-fiction, but I’ve started using many of them when reading fiction as well, which has improved my comprehension.
What tips do you have for remembering what you read, then living it out? Leave a comment below!
