{"id":883,"date":"2009-05-22T07:46:59","date_gmt":"2009-05-22T15:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/importance-of-reading\/"},"modified":"2013-08-20T09:56:57","modified_gmt":"2013-08-20T17:56:57","slug":"importance-of-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/importance-of-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Read Personal Development Books \u2013 And How To Find Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image courtesy of Moriza<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Since you\u2019re reading Pick the Brain, it\u2019s a safe bet that you\u2019ve got some level of interest in self-improvement, personal development, or simply getting a bit more from life. Whatever your goals, you\u2019re hoping that you\u2019ll find some advice that will help you reach them. You might well read a number of other popular blogs on similar topics, such as Dumb Little Man<\/a> or Zen Habits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet, although you\u2019re getting some good advice and putting some tips into practice, you might feel like you need a bit more. You\u2019re skimming blogs on coffee breaks at work, or in between childcare duties at home. And with bite-sized posts of 600 words or so, bloggers are only covering individual topics in discreet sections.<\/p>\n

If you want to take yourself to a new level, you need to read books as well as blogs.<\/p>\n

Why Should I Read Books?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, blogs are great, and you can get true and deep insights from individual blog posts. They\u2019re also easy to fit into your day, and there tends to be a focus on practical, easy-to-implement advice. But books can complement blogs powerfully:<\/p>\n

Books Give You Greater Depth<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an obvious point, but a three hundred page book allows an\u00a0 author to fully explore a particular theme or theory: a three hundred word blog post doesn\u2019t allow for much depth. Books can help you to make a paradigm shift or step up a level in your thinking.
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\nWhen You Read Books, You Focus More<\/em><\/p>\n

Are you skimming this? Look how I\u2019ve put in subheaders to help you follow the argument. If this was a book, the paragraphs would be longer and you might have pages and pages without a subheading. When we read on paper, we tend to be much more focused than when reading online: no stopping to answer emails or see what\u2019s being said on Twitter.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve Paid For The Book<\/em><\/p>\n

We often value things we\u2019ve paid for over things that are free. Whilst I\u2019m fully in favour of the amount of free content available online, I do find that I\u2019m more likely to commit myself to in-depth reading when I\u2019ve paid for a book.<\/p>\n

Hopefully I\u2019ve convinced you of the \u201cwhy\u201d \u2013 now you just need to find time to do some reading…
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\nFinding Time To Read Books<\/strong><\/p>\n

With most of us spending a lot of the day in front of a computer screen, blogs slip easily into little gaps of time, with content designed to be read in just a few minutes. Books are trickier \u2013 do you buy books and leave them unread on a shelf for months, even years? Do you make resolutions to read every day, but end up falling into bed each evening without having cracked the spine of your book?<\/p>\n

I find that the best way to \u201cmake time\u201d is simply to get into a book: once I\u2019m hooked, the extra time seems to materialize from nowhere! Having said that, you might find it easier if you can establish a routine of reading at a particular time of day:<\/p>\n

First Thing In The Morning<\/em><\/p>\n

Reading something motivational can be a great start to your day. The beginning of the day is a great time to work on any big goal: it means that your reading won\u2019t be squeezed out by other demands on your time.<\/p>\n

In Your Lunch Hour<\/em><\/p>\n

If you tend to work through lunch \u2013 or if you end up watching YouTube clips and looking at LOLcats \u2013 try reading a book instead. It gives your eyes a break from the glowing screen. Find a park bench (which means you’re actually outside!) and steal half an hour away from fluorescent lights and glowing computer screens to really immerse yourself in a different world. Just this switch in environment will allow more absorption and enjoyment of the material.<\/p>\n

End Of The Working Day<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a freelancer, or if you have a lot of control over your own hours, you might find that reading a few pages of your book is a good way to close the working day. This can also help you to \u201cswitch off\u201d from work mode.<\/p>\n

What Should I Read?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So you\u2019ve got the time and the desire to read some useful, insightful books … now you just need to find the reading matter.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got a few favorites, but I won\u2019t recommend them here: your needs might well differ from mine. This is how I found the books that I now love…<\/p>\n

Read Book Reviews<\/em><\/p>\n

Most popular books are heavily reviewed on Amazon.com. Don\u2019t focus too much on the star rating \u2013 instead, read some of the reviews. You can often get a feel for which reviewers have similar objectives to yours. Sometimes, one or two star reviews don\u2019t mean a book is bad \u2013 they just mean that a reader thought it would be a different sort of book!<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just rely on Amazon though: I\u2019ve found it very useful to read book reviews by bloggers who I admire. You might want to check out these lists of reviews:<\/p>\n

If you find that everyone seems to be recommending one book, it\u2019s probably worth checking it out!<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Steve Pavlina\u2019s list of Personal Development Books (very short description of each book)
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tim Brownson\u2019s Inspirational Books By Inspirational Authors (short reviews of each book)
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Trent Hamm\u2019s Twenty Big Ideas: Detailed Summaries and Reviews of Great Personal Finance and Development Books (does what it says in the title!)<\/p>\n

Do you have any favorite self-improvement, personal development or similar books? Do you struggle to make time for reading books? Let us know about your tips, experiences and challenges in the comments…<\/p>\n

Related Articles:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

5 Simple Ways to Increase Your Intelligence <\/a><\/p>\n

101 Self Improvement Resources <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image courtesy of Moriza Since you\u2019re reading Pick the Brain, it\u2019s a safe bet that you\u2019ve got some level of interest in self-improvement, personal development, or simply getting a bit more from life. Whatever your goals, you\u2019re hoping that you\u2019ll … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":12761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[13,9,30,34,7,6],"tags":[464,2842,283,66,4630,3013,465],"yoast_head":"\nWhy You Should Read Personal Development Books \u2013 And How To Find Time - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We often value things we\u2019ve paid for over things that are free. 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