Is Reading a Waste of Time? My friend Michael used to read a lot of magazines, he talked about all kinds of subjects and had information on sports, beauty, and politics. He told a lot of news about celebrities, even about types of weapons and medicines, types of washing machines, types of face and hair soap.
Is Reading a Waste of Time?
I envied this friend of mine for his wealth of information. But on the other hand, “Zayd” had a weak point, which is that at the level of his studies he was weak, as we used to study law together and I always surpassed him in studies. Strange isn’t it?! Although he is supposed to be an intellectual, reviewing his lectures is supposed to be a very easy process. I’ve been thinking a lot about this topic as I love to read. And after a while, I realized that reading can be a waste of time, how? This is what I will tell you in this article.
When you read without a goal
- Like reading to waste time, and just for fun: For example, when you go to the dentist and find some magazines on the table and you look through them without concentrating while you wait.
- The only benefit of this reading is that it helps you avoid the tedium of waiting. But it is not fattening and does not sing from hunger.
- I am not telling you not to read in this case, rather I am saying do not deal with texts in this way if you are reading for the purpose of developing yourself, your work, and your life.
When you read everything without exception
Ask yourself when you want to read the important question: Why do you read? Is it just for fun?
It’s okay to read just for fun, but how long do you keep reading just for fun? You must have a goal when you read. Let this goal, for example, be to expand your knowledge in your field of work by reading all the news, developments, and new methods related to it.
When you are not writing notes and collect them in one place
- Let’s say that you liked a topic related to your work, for example, and decided to read it. Here, there is no point in reading without taking notes, as it would be a waste of time because human short-term memory will not retain what you have read until tomorrow if you do not write it down, especially if you are reading a long text.
- On the other hand, you must have control over these notes, and control how you access them. Let’s say you started writing your notes but were writing them on scraps here and there, sometimes on the same page where the information is. I wrote a lot of notes in different places. The question here is: If you need to review it, how will you find it?
- The solution is to dedicate a notepad to write it down or allocate a document on your PC or even your phone, there are many apps for writing notes if you want.
When you don’t write your notes in your own style
To get more benefits, you have to move your mind and write notes in your own personal style. Write it in your own style and you will see amazing results after a while. When you write in your personal style, you are training yourself to write as well, and reading also becomes an opportunity to write and thus kills two birds with one stone.
When you don’t review the notes you took
Why write your notes if you will not return to them, my friend, go back to them and review them and try to find relationships and links between the notes to benefit from them in your life as much as possible.
When you don’t use the notes you took
You should turn your written notes into something tangible in the outside world. You should benefit from it at work and in the study. But the most important thing in daily life is that you try to apply your written notes and revive them in practice and infuse them with spirit. What is the use of notes stored in your diary and in your head only?
When you don’t teach others what you’ve learned
In an advanced stage of reading, you have a store of information that you can teach to others in the form of a book, for example, and we are now in an era in which the publishing process has become very simple. If you want to have this interesting experience, try it and do not hesitate. There is no good in the information that a person keeps for himself and does not benefit the world with it.
Finally, when you start reading with your end goal in mind, pick a topic that interests you and expand on it and write your notes. Who knows, you might write a useful book on the subject. Focus on a specific topic and specialize for a certain period of time, as the specialization will make you an expert. And you will be of much more use to the world than a diversified magazine that merely conveys news devoid of any useful information. After all, if reading is just a theoretical process and does not improve your life, work, and personality, it is just a way to waste time.
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