Read a Lot, Then Forget Most of What You Read

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Abstract

ty. I was studying, working, and had side projects on top. Adding reading caused my brain to experience a violent information-overload. So, I stopped. I wish I hadn’t, because I wasted a year of reading, but I didn’t know any better. I didn’t know there were other reading strategies out there:Read a lot, then forget most of what you read.It’s a simple strategy that sounds stupidly stupid. But it serves multiple purposes. The first and most important and the one that cured me of my fear of reading: it took the pressure off reading. Without a pen to write notes, I could just read. Not doing anything else, just reading. I read to read. I read not to learn to become a better person or to change the world, but for the experience of the book. It erased my overactive prefrontal cortex and created a calming mindfulness that blurred the lines between book and person.“Forget most of what you read” irks most people. But look, the advice isn’t telling you to forget everything you read. It means to stop trying to remember. Yes, you will retain less if you stopped trying, but that’s okay. If you do this strategy, you won’t really forget most of what you read, because even if you don’t consciously remember, you will subconsciously retain something. I don’t really forget most of what I read; it’

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s often that thoughts float around my head and try to become part of my greater mental model. But the key idea is that it requires no trying.With this strategy, you can read anywhere. You give up on maximizing learning and make reading more accessible. You won’t feel compelled to only read in your most alert state; you can read whenever. This enables you to read more. Reading becomes enjoyable, so it becomes easy, and then it becomes your go-to-option when you’re bored.“How to live?” they ask.“Read a lot, then forget most of what you read,” I say.In 2019, I’m on track to read 52 books. I’ve enjoyed reading more than I ever have before. It’s not a chore anymore. And somehow, I doubled the amount I read. I’m not even sure I learned less than the years I was actively learning. I believe I learned more from shallowly reading double the amount of books than deeply reading half the amount.I carry a book around with me everywhere. I read everywhere. I read on the bus; I read on the subway; I read in Ubers; I read while waiting in line; I read in cafes before going home; I read while waiting for a late friend; I read after I get home; I read when I’m drunk; I read when I’m tired; I read…Read a lot, then forget most of what you read.</article></body>

A reading strategy to make your reading experience easy and enjoyable

There are different ways to read: audiobooks, kindles, paper books, or even with a paper. I used to do the latter; I wrote notes while reading. It was a practice in active learning, and I retained a lot of information, though I read slowly. This method sparked my interest in non-fiction and created an obsession for reading. I devoured books for a considerable amount of time (one to two years), but I eventually burned out.

I had been reading around 25 books a year — a lot higher than my previous 0 books a year. But in 2018, I read 12 books. That’s still more than most people, but it was a bad year for reading (though one of the best in career development). I was so busy that I couldn’t face a book without the feeling of apprehensive anxiety. I was studying, working, and had side projects on top. Adding reading caused my brain to experience a violent information-overload. So, I stopped. I wish I hadn’t, because I wasted a year of reading, but I didn’t know any better. I didn’t know there were other reading strategies out there:

Read a lot, then forget most of what you read.

It’s a simple strategy that sounds stupidly stupid. But it serves multiple purposes. The first and most important and the one that cured me of my fear of reading: it took the pressure off reading. Without a pen to write notes, I could just read. Not doing anything else, just reading. I read to read. I read not to learn to become a better person or to change the world, but for the experience of the book. It erased my overactive prefrontal cortex and created a calming mindfulness that blurred the lines between book and person.

“Forget most of what you read” irks most people. But look, the advice isn’t telling you to forget everything you read. It means to stop trying to remember. Yes, you will retain less if you stopped trying, but that’s okay. If you do this strategy, you won’t really forget most of what you read, because even if you don’t consciously remember, you will subconsciously retain something. I don’t really forget most of what I read; it’s often that thoughts float around my head and try to become part of my greater mental model. But the key idea is that it requires no trying.

With this strategy, you can read anywhere. You give up on maximizing learning and make reading more accessible. You won’t feel compelled to only read in your most alert state; you can read whenever. This enables you to read more. Reading becomes enjoyable, so it becomes easy, and then it becomes your go-to-option when you’re bored.

“How to live?” they ask.

“Read a lot, then forget most of what you read,” I say.

In 2019, I’m on track to read 52 books. I’ve enjoyed reading more than I ever have before. It’s not a chore anymore. And somehow, I doubled the amount I read. I’m not even sure I learned less than the years I was actively learning. I believe I learned more from shallowly reading double the amount of books than deeply reading half the amount.

I carry a book around with me everywhere. I read everywhere. I read on the bus; I read on the subway; I read in Ubers; I read while waiting in line; I read in cafes before going home; I read while waiting for a late friend; I read after I get home; I read when I’m drunk; I read when I’m tired; I read…

Read a lot, then forget most of what you read.