The Invisible Mentor Weekly Newsletter: Brain Food Wednesday Number 73: Is the Digital World Forcing You to Read Differently?

Dear Reader,

I hope where you’re living you’re experiencing lots of sunshine. I look out my window and the sunlight glistens off the water. I’m so grateful for the view. The last year has taught me to be grateful for everything. And that includes even the smallest things.

Today, I want to talk about attention span.

A decade ago, I could sit down and work for hours at a time, but that’s not the case now. How about you, how long can you work for without taking a break? In The Time Chunking Method, you create chunks of 30 minutes of time. Twenty-five minutes of focused work and a five-minute break. You could use your break to quickly check email, take out the garbage or give the dog a quick walk. The author, Damon Zahariades mentioned that the schedule doesn’t suit the way he works, so he adapted it.

For me, I felt that thirty minutes wouldn’t work for me either because I like to sink my teeth into what I’m working on. It was my thinking that I would want to work for 90 to 120 minutes before I take any break. Looking at the way you work, how would you chunk your time to be your most productive self?

Ask Avil

Is the Digital World Forcing You to Read Differently?

This is something that I’m curious about? And I also want to know, do you prefer print books, e-books, or audio books? I noticed that my reading habits are changing, and it was alarming to me because I had shorter attention spans.. But then I read sections of the book, How We Read, and realized that I was normal. For the last few years, I’ve been reading more e-books than print books. Reading online encourages you to skim and scan. And whenever I try to read print books, I want to skim and scan them too. I feel like I need to rush through the print books.

I’ve mentioned a few times that audio books put me to sleep. Therefore, I tend to listen to the audio book at twice the speed while reading the e-book version. This forces me to focus. So what do you do when you feel like you want to rush through books, regardless of the medium?

One answer is to use the strategies I’ve outlined in this newsletter several times. The first thing to do is prepare your mind to absorb the information, then you want to write down your one-sentence purpose for reading the book. The next step is to preview the book to decide which chapters and sections to read. Your focus now is to read the chapters and sections you flagged as needing further exploration.

What I’ve discovered though, is as you read to take note of the important information. Note taking is a form of learning. The other important piece is to review your notes. This is where I often fail and is something I’m working on. Because I write summaries for blog posts and for my membership site, I often wait until I’ve read several books before I review the notes. And that’s not working out so well. I need to do what I say and take my own advice because it works.

I find that when you take notes, you’re focused on the task at hand. Therefore, it lessens the need to skim and scan. Additionally, you’re not reading the entire book, only the sections that are relevant to you and can make a difference in your work and life.

Try this strategy and please let me know how it works for you.

What I’m Reading

I finished reading:

The Time Chunking Method by Damon Zahariades
Turn the Page by Chris Brady
Tanner Year 5 by Remington Kane
The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman
Do It Today by Darius Foroux
Quora Marketing by Anastasia Olson
Big Little Breakthroughs

All the above nonfiction books had information I could use. Of the nonfiction books Turn the Page and Big Little Breakthroughs will help me the most in my business. I plan to write a review for all the books. Tanner Year 5 and The Museum of Desire are fiction. I loved the books and I love the authors.

Right now, I’m reading The Art of Opportunity and I want to finish it, so I can determine if it makes sense to pair it with Opportunity by Eben Pagan and The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday.

The Invisible Mentor Blog

I’ve mentioned The One Problem Series that I’ve been doing and it’s slowly getting traction. People are sharing the interviews on social media and some of them are now reaching out to me to interview them. I think that’s news worth sharing. The videos are short, so they’re easy enough to listen to.

I have some excellent ones in queue, and cannot wait to share them with you. I’m amazed at how much good information you can pack in 10 minutes. Here are the Episodes that I’ve published on my blog so far, why not listen to a few and let me know what you’ve learned from the guests.

Blog Series On Selective Reading

To get the most from reading books, it’s important to master selective reading. The technique will be a game changer in your life, career, and business. Go back through a few of the old newsletters for detailed steps on how to read selectively. Remember, selective reading is about reading with purpose.

5 Common Reading Mistakes You Don’t Realize You’re Making

How I Came to Teach Professionals How to Read Selectively to Accelerate Their Business

5 Things You Never Knew about Reading Books

Before And After You Learn How to Read Selectively

Thinking About Investing in the Business Knowledge Accelerator Program?

New Products Alert

I’ve created new programs, Business Knowledge Accelerator, Career Knowledge Accelerator, and I updated the Sales Knowledge Accelerator. Besides previewing a book before reading it, I also recommend that you read a good book summary to get the helicopter view of what the book is about. With so much information online, I was surprised that I couldn’t find summaries for some books on the list.

I often participate in the Knowledge Accelerator programs, so I make sure that I choose books I haven’t read. Now I have to read the books that I couldn’t find summaries for.

Why not participate in one of the Accelerator Programs. I’m also working on the Knowledge Accelerator for Women. It should be ready in a few weeks.

Until Next Week,

Avil Beckford, Founder, The Invisible Mentor!

theinvisiblementor.com

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