Why You Should Not Read More Than One Chapter In One Sitting

"My face lit up and my smile is the brightest it’s ever been. I probably shouldn’t be smiling this much because after all, I paid for this package; but I am anyways. As I cut open the Amazon box to reveal my package, I feel butterflies in my belly because I know that the package 'navigated the world' to get to me and now it is here. I cut open the box, lift out its contents, and voila; finally I hold in my hands my copy of the paperback version of Vusi Thembekwayo’s “Magna Carta of Exponentially” book. I immediately dig in. I read for hours on end, chapter upon chapter; the book is thoroughly fascinating and insightful and it is just so hard to put down".

If you are a book lover or avid reader, you most probably have experienced some version of that story before. The excitement of finally getting the book, the insights that keeps you turning the pages, and the strong commitment to finish it as soon as you can; you know quite well what I am talking about. When you finally finish reading the book though, what happens? What specifically are the results you get? More often than not (this means in most cases, not in all cases), you get a sense of increased knowledge, some key learning points in the book become unforgettable phrases that influences the viewpoints you share, you increase you book count for the year, or (in many cases) just the sheer satisfaction of knowing that you have read that Michelle Obama book (or whoever your favorite author is).

As cool as these results sound though, I am persuaded that there is a greater reward for reading that you do not experience often enough; and that is the positive transformation that happens when you take action based on the contents of the book. The reason why you do not experience this consistently enough is because you are consuming the content the wrong way.

Just like food gives you the best value when you consume the right portion of a balanced diet, so does a book give the best value when you consume it in actionable bits and balance out the knowledge with action. Just like overfeeding will (in some way) lead to waste, so does “overreading”; while you get out some value you miss out on the larger chunk. I have found that reading a chapter in one sitting, or even reading a section of the chapter (if the chapter is long and value packed) works better. Focusing my attention on reading a chapter helps me read in greater detail, read between the lines, meditate somewhat, milk the chapter for all its value, and most importantly, write out how I will apply those lessons to the things that I do and actually applying them. This reading method helps me to extract full value from every section of the book. I consciously make it a duty to produce more than I consume so taking small actions based on lessons from one section of a book makes me satisfy that duty. Also, if like me you factor daily reading into your morning routine, you will still get enough time to meet your reading goals for the year.

Doing these is much simpler than it seems (mostly). Three weeks ago, I read a section of “Small Business Big Money by Akin Alabi” that talked about getting your satisfied clients to leave reviews for your business across the internet. Immediately after dropping the book for that day, I got the review link for my business’ google page, sent it to 5 clients along with a short message, and got the first two google reviews (which happened to be five star ratings). Those reviews could eventually lead to a sale in the near future…the possibilities are endless.

I have found that reading a chapter in one sitting works so well for me and all I ask is that you try it out and let me know if it works for you. Read a chapter, soak it in, write out how you intend to apply it and (where possible) apply it immediately. You’ll find that you have extracted so much more value at the end of the book than you would have if you just continued to binge-read.

Try it out and let me know if it works for you. And if you aren’t following me yet, please do.