(This is the third article of a five part series, written in 2023 and posted on my LinkedIn page, here.)
Text surrounding the laptop and stick figure in the image above reads (clockwise starting top left): Play Doom, Laptop, Training Report, Hungry? Weekend, Thirsty? 10 people, Who were they? Clip my toenails, Notepad, Pen, Pizza, Juice
How do you make the most of a single reading session?
Start.
In the previous two articles I have presented two big ideas.
· The first of these answers the Why question. Why am I writing a series of articles for professionals on the subject of reading? The answer is specific. I am writing to support professionals who don’t like reading work related materials that could include reports, manuals, guidelines, field assessments, market analysis, development context and any of a number of themes like these. You may be one such person, or you may know some such folks.
· The second article answers the Where Do I Begin question. This is a slightly longer article that expands the space to include personal and social contexts. This context is important to understand where a person may be located in their heads and hearts, socially, or in the work place, or with and within a team of others. When you have a rough sense of this location, it is easier to consider your own answer to this question.
The previous article ended with the Rule of Three. I suggested options of starting points for reading anything and suggested that you pick 3, items, or a process that involves sets of 3.
Headspace and Vibe
These are two words often heard and used today and both have been around for a while. They are super important.
10 people attended a training session on 6th May 2023 on the subject of communication. The facilitator used a mix of games and discussions to conduct the session, over a two hour period. At the end of the session all trainees gave positive feedback.
This is just a small piece of writing. Two different readers will respond to it in any of a number of different ways. These could include:
“S#@t I’m f*&#ing bored / hungry / anxious / sleepy.”
“10 people? Wonder who they were?”
“Will there be a follow-up and assessment of impact?”
“Weekend workshops? Lol!”
“Were there any women / men / queer / trans persons / persons with disabilities / youngsters / seniors / managers / production crew / non-English speaking people – in the group?”
“How come I didn’t know this happened?”
There were 3 sentences in that piece of writing. The examples of possible responses from readers are just 6 different ones out of an infinite number of possible responses.
Each individual reader has a unique headspace and vibe. It doesn’t matter that the 3 sentences remain the same. The reader brings their own self to the reading. That is what gives it meaning.
The most important factor to making the most of a single reading session, is to bring you to it. That includes your headspace and your vibe. If you’re bored, hungry, angry, anxious or sleepy, don’t bring that self to it. Start clean. Set yourself up to succeed.
Super #readinghacks
Before trying any of these , identify your starting point. A list of starting points has been suggested in the previous article in this series.
This is a 6 item list of reading hacks that could help a reader make the most of a single reading session. Pick your 3 hacks.
(Read the portion you have decided you will read.)
6 tips for professionals who want to make reading easier on themselves:-
- One single flow! Read in one single flow without getting stuck or distracted. Trust yourself. It’s okay even to consider just a listing of contents as the first session.
- One single idea! Read as you please to identify one single idea that strikes you as the most important to focus on. Make a note of it.
- One thing new to you! Read as you please to find one thing that feels new to you. Note it down. This is exciting if you like new ideas.
- Is something missing? Read like a detective in a TV show. What do you know that should be here but is not? Yes, make notes.
- Ask a question. Read to see what you wish to know that is not yet answered. Formulate a question.
- Guess what I found! Read to share with others at work, or in your team, because this is additional value you bring to the table. It is worth time, money, energy, resources, position, promotion, respect, interaction, engagement. Sometimes it is also about a competitive edge, and sometimes it is about cooperation.
A strange stigma is attached to the idea of being a professional who does not like work reading. This stigma is often countered by dismissive behaviour that includes being dismissive of one’s own self as well. This is not a productive way of countering anything. So add 3 new hacks that work for you and share the love. You have no idea who may be reading this and how far the support could go.
Next: Moving forward from one reading session to the next.
Previous: Where do I begin?
