Read More, Watch Less

I love to read. I read every morning and every night.

In the morning, I always try to read a chapter of something self help related (recently, I just finished Gap Selling) and I take notes. I have a few binders full of notes I’ve taken on the books I read.

At night, I usually read non fiction, but sometimes I read biographies or history books as well. It’s enjoyable, not serious, and fun. Currently, I am reading Shogun. After that, I plan to pick up The 3 Body Problem, as the show on Netflix was great.

For most of my life, I’ve informed myself by reading articles, essays, and stories.

But recently, I’ve noticed that I’ve been watching videos more and reading less.

I don’t think this is good. Reading is active while watching is passive. You have to consume what it is that you read, while you can passively absorb what it is that you watch or listen to.

All the smartest people I know read. More than that, they read everything they can find.

I’m going to be more mindful of this. Tomorrow, I will pay extra attention to my behavior and immediately begin retraining my brain to default to reading.