How to Form a Career-Boosting Reading Habit

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By Althea DeBrule
eHow Community Member

Article Rating: (7 Ratings)

When you form a regular reading habit, you reap untold benefits. Unfortunately, most of us just don't seem to get around to it. So what's a professional to do in this era of information overload? Here are a few steps you can take to jumpstart your reading routine and develop a career-boosting reading habit.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Assorted Reading Materials
Ability to Organize Data and Information

Step 1

Start with your reading basket. You know, the one that's on your credenza or desk. You've been collecting articles, newspapers and magazines for weeks now, planning to read them when you get a chance, but the chance never seems to come, does it? Why don't you go through this basket, skim the articles for those that concern you and discard the rest or forwarded them to others who may be interested in the subject matter. Plan to read an article or two from this pile each day and develop a method to manage your in-box more effectively.
Step 2

Read a newspaper or listen to radio or television news every day. This will enable you to discuss current events (the morning or evening news can provide topics of interest). You should keep current on local business news, as well as what is being covered in national business publications. Even when you travel, keep informed about any news that may impact your industry, company or customers.
Step 3

Read a variety of books--business as well as fiction, biographies, and history. Write your ideas and observations down to clarify your thoughts and develop opinions you can embrace and share in conversations with co-workers or when networking and at business related events.
Step 4

Listen to articles and books on tape. A good time to do this is during your commute. A huge variety of seminars, presentations, articles and books have been created in audio tape format.
Step 5

Consider attending the opera or theater. That's right! Develop or rediscover your interest. Get a copy of the story line for the play or opera and read it in advance to increase your enjoyment. Research any reviews or critiques to inform your expectations of the actors' performances.
Step 6

Discover new hobbies. Pick ones of interest that you know nothing about so that you can thoroughly investigate them. Read as much as you can about them and apply what you have read. Not only will you increase your knowledge, but you will develop new and thoroughly enjoyable skills.
Step 7

See with your brain as well as your eyes. Did you know that you see with your mind as well as your eyes? The mind stores memories and highlights of past experiences, and since vision is our dominant sense, it is probably the most compelling way we communicate with others. As we read, we bring images into play in our minds and the minds of others by speaking a visual language. Often our greatest successes come when we look at pictures of information, apply wisdom and insight gained from these visual experiences, and see the results in our mind's eye.
Step 8

Bosses & Orchards

Use the resources below to help you form a career-boosting reading habit.

Comments

ShirleyLee said

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on 2/12/2009 Numbers 1-4 are great ideas for increasing the business brain. On the multi-contibutor business blog http://2bproductive.blogspot.com/, the authors there often suggest great books and articles on professional topics of interest in their postings. I think #'s 4-6 are also great stress reducers.