A common reading mistake that causes failure (are you safe?)

Ever questioned what’s relevant for you on the information-overloaded web and how to get the most of reading? Ever felt that despite surfing for several hours you couldn’t gain anything significant?

I’m asking this because it’s possible that inaccurate or aimless reading could be burning your limited time derailing you from your real goal. "Multifarious reading," said Robertson of Brighton, "weakens the mind like smoking, and is an excuse for its lying dormant. It is the idlest of all idlenesses, and leaves more of impotency than any other."

Snatching information fragments from numerous sources might hone your keenness and quench your curiosity but the question you must consequently ask yourself is what improvement the acquired knowledge is bringing in you?

The knowledge that can’t be put to practical use is akin to the wealth which can’t be spent in need. So, before deciding to read something, devote few moments to define your purpose: Why am I going to read this? What’s the specific information I’m looking for? What do I want to achieve by this reading?

“The most profitable study,” says Samuel Smiles, “is that which is conducted with a definite aim and object.” If you don’t define an aim or set a limit in the current era of information overload, you might always feel that there’s a lot more to read, which can even cause you anxiety.

But the secret of seeking knowledge doesn’t lie in lots of reading. It lies in object-specific reading, so deep and sufficient that you soak up the knowledge and implement it to get desired results.

The reading which is guided by purpose, let it be frugal, is the real reading – not the reading which is much but without purpose. “It is not then how much a man may know, that is of importance, but the end and purpose for which he knows it,” Smiles adds.

Additionally, in the current age of distractions, it’s extremely crucial that you keep reminding yourself about your purpose because social networking websites and alluring links have great potential to distract you.

One of the best techniques that could prevent you from falling in the distraction ditch is to write your aim before opening any book or website because on the slightest hint of getting distracted you can refer to your written note to come back on track. And, psychologists say that when we write something, our subconscious mind begins to take us seriously – strengthening our commitment towards our aim.

What’s the specific branch that needs your urgent attention?

Work on it with full force and weed out the dead-wood.