Sidenote: This is not an endorsement of all that is Bill Gates, but a nod to educating ourselves.
Educating ourselves is a gift that we can give ourselves every. single. day. Individuals from everywhere are taking the opportunity to educate themselves beyond the traditional classroom, without age limits.
Today, I would like to read a book that reminds me about the value of self-education. I admit, I’ve slacked off a bit over the past month on my reading.
Let’s do this!
Overshare: As a kid and teen, I wasn’t much of a reader… I didn’t know this at the time but I don’t like novels and I have reading issues. Considering that fiction was a HUGE part of my language courses, I was sinking like a stone. I labeled myself as a non-reader. Several years ago, I found the key: non-fiction! Long story short 😉 I may not have the voracity of daily readers, but I’ve come a long way 🙂
Sidenote: Apparently, Warren Buffet reads 500 pages a day and Tai Lopez is another popular figure who reads voraciously and links his reading to his fortune.
Sidenote: I want to address my goal for this MiniBook. Though I love reading, educating ourselves can come in many different ways. Brian Tracy and other leadership experts suggest spending 10% of our time and 10% of our earnings on continuing education. 10% may be a stricter rule than I want to suggest, but I do suggest having regularity, whatever you end up choosing as your self-education and how much time and money you want to invest.
Being regular and starting a habit
Starting a new habit, such as daily education, can take a few habit-making cues. Writers like Charles Duhigg suggest linking a new habit to something we are already doing.
Sidenote: I highly recommend reading Mr. Duhigg’s The Power of Habit!
I find that reserving ourselves the time in a realistic way is essential, but when starting reading habit, choosing the right books for us is crucial.
Doin’ da time-math
To aim at raising our reading diet, one of the best things we can do for ourselves is to expect what is realistic for our reading style.
Much like knowing our walking speed, I like to know my read-speed. Knowing my read-speed allows me to not put too much pressure and enjoy the read.
Take the number of pages of the book you’re starting and assess the number of hours it will realistically take to read the book without pressure. If you have a set amount of reading time a day, you can give yourself the number of days you need.
Reading boosters
After determining what subject you want to boost and how to improve your learning, finding your way to increase your education might be unique to you. Though there are TONS of YouTube tutorials, books and articles about how to books our reading and learning speed.
For those who like to feel productive, keeping track of what you’ve read in a year is a great thing!
Overshare: Tracking the books I’ve read in the year is a celebration for me. I like to list what I learn along the way too.
In conclusion
Educating ourselves is a daily gift we can give ourselves and we can do so in myriad ways. There are content-makers all over the world for centuries who’ve created content to enrich us and continue to do so every day.
Bill Gates may read a book a day, and that’s awesome. I’m truly happy for him. I will keep aiming to read more, but at my own pace 🙂
Read on and enjoy 🙂
Karine