How To Get The Most Out Of Any Self-Help Book
By: Jazz Parks
Tags: Books, Self Improvement, Inspiration, Startup, Productivity

How To Get The Most Out Of Any Self-Help Book

Don’t just read books, devour them.

Photo by Tamarcus Brown on Unsplash

Do you read books, or do you devour them? Or for lack o better words; how do you read self-help books?

The purpose of any self-help book is to fix some problem or to ‘level up’ in some area of personal development.

“Reading self-help books but not applying those habits in life is like buying fitness equipment but not using them.”

I’ve read over 100 self-help books within the last few years, and within that time, I’ve learned a few tips to make the most out of any good book.

Read, re-read — read again.

“For best practices, I recommend that you read this through once, and then reread it.”

Seem familiar?

It’s not uncommon for many authors in the self-help genre to start their book off by recommending to ‘read through’ multiple times. This is so you can absorb the book in one sitting without having to stop to take notes.

The second time around you’ll usually want to read chapter by chapter. Take notes and work on ways to implement the author’s ideas into your own life. This is exactly how you should read any great self-help book; you should do more than just read the book — devour it.

Yet, I’m gonna suggest you do one more thing — and that’s to read, re-read & read again.

The third read-through is very important, and I’ll tell you why.

Just recently I picked up The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. Phenomenal book. In it, he explains the importance of small, consistent actions repeated over time.

That’s not the point though.

Think about it; you read the book through once, then again — implementing small habits into your own life.

By the third read through, you should actually feel like a part of the book. If you don’t really vibe with the book by the third read-through — either it’s not for you, or you might need to take some more notes.

Highlight & Sticky Note!

I’ve met others who’ll avidly oppose the thought of highlighting in a book.

“Why ruin a perfectly good book with your notes? I mean, it’s basically forcing your opinion onto others!”

Okay, slow your roll, I mean — it’s my book! It’s not like I’m going to be ‘gifting’ it to somebody down the road. If I do, I’ll just end up buying them a new copy.

But I also understand if you’re just against highlighting in your own book. Maybe your opinions will change down the road, and what you previously highlighted won’t ‘vibe’ with you as much later in life.

That’s why I also suggest using sticky notes. I do both; highlight and sticky note.

If you took a good look at my bookshelf, you’d notice three things.

My bookshelf is way too small to be holding that many books. Every single book looks torn to shreds from constant use. Each book is littered with highlights and sticky notes.

At some point down the road, I decided to start highlighting and document all of my notes. This ended up saving me so much time, because now whenever I return to a book I can simply glance at the important stuff.

80 percent of all books are just ‘fluff’. Highlight the important stuff and move on!

Use A Whiteboard.

Above my desk, you’ll notice two separate whiteboards.

One is covered with my favorite quotes of the week, and the other is decorated with important notes.

Whenever I want to implement a new habit into my life, I first write it on the whiteboard.

It’s almost like an affirmation.

I’m making it easier to follow through on my commitments by publicly displaying my desired changes in life.

Right now, I’ve got nothing but parenting advice spread out all over my whiteboard. It’s ridiculous, but necessary for what’s coming.

Decorating my whiteboard with important facts relating to my current circumstance helps mostly be keeping me focused on the task at hand.

It’s hard to procrastinate when you stare the task dead on.

Join a book club

Last but not least — join a book club.

Just do it.

Even right now during the pandemic, it’s easier than ever to find online book clubs.

Find a group of people with common interests to yours and spend at least once a week going over a book of interest. This helps for two reasons

Joining a book club will help keep your commitment to finish reading the book. Discussing the book with others will force you to really study and observe its content.

Above all else, book clubs are like having an accountability partner. They’ll praise you for any takeaways and will shun you when you don’t remember to read!