Why just reading a book rarely works for me ?

I am sure I do not need to justify why reading is a great habit but just reading alone rarely works for me.

I have been reading for a while now but what I have noticed is that in about 6 months time the book I have already read  becomes new to me.

What does that mean? 

That means I have forgotten most things I had read!

I needed to some how ensure that all these great things I read, I can remember and apply. I tried keeping a journal, writing key points on index cards etc. Nothing really worked for me. A habit would start and die a natural death

However, recently I created a habit that is working for me. I started an Instagram account @narrativestorytelling in which every day  I post a key point from a book I am reading.

Why this works for me ?

This process works for me because

1) I have to really understand the content to be able to shrink it to a point that is worth putting on an Instagram account. So, I read , re read , write the point, re write the point and end up spending a lot more time with the key point than I normally would and in the process I get a huge amount of clarity from the content.

2) It is a social commitment I have made to put a key point from a book I am reading every day. So, I can’t slack off.

3) It helps me create ” Mental scaffolds” which are like file cabinets filled with folders that store my key learnings. It breaks the information for me in to smaller pieces which is easier to remember

I have been posting 1 key learning every day since the last 67 days. Most of the books I curate are on Communication Strategy.

You can have a look at it my Instagram Account by clicking on this link : https://www.instagram.com/narrativestorytelling/

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"I attended your story telling course some time back. And I've enjoyed keeping up my knowledge with your blog. You may not have realised however, that the Whole of Government is implementing Internet Seperation. Hence I'm not able to access the links to read your articles. Could I suggest including a QR code in your emails so that I can use my mobile to scan it and gain immediate access to the article? It would be most helpful"