Jim Kwik says you forget what you read because you're passive, not because you're bad at reading. Ask yourself questions before you start, teach someone else within 24 hours, and say the main idea out loud after finishing. Reading is a workout for your brain.
Have you ever read a page in a book, got to the end, just forgot what you just read? If you forget everything you read, it's not really your fault. You don't have a reading problem. You have more of a retention problem. Your brain really was never taught how to remember. There was no class called memory. So here's why you're forgetting. You are reading passively, like scrolling on your phone. You aren't reviewing or reflecting after your reading. You are not connecting and applying the ideas necessarily in your real life. If you want to fix this, try a few these quick tips. Number 1, ask questions before you read. What do I want to learn from this? How does this relate to what I already know? How am I going to use this? Number 2, teach what you learn within 24 hours. It's called the explanation effect. When you teach it, you get to learn it twice. And number 3, use active recall. Close your book if you're reading a book and explain just one big idea out loud. Learning, remember, and reading is not about consumption. It's really about understanding and about retention. If you read something and forget it, you are no better off than And just remember, reading is to your mind what exercise is to your body. It's a very powerful way to go from I read it to I live it.
The Library of Minds: Brain Coach: How to Stay Sharp When AI Does the Thinking | Jim Kwik
