Archive for Books
Simplifying Information
Posted by: | CommentsI love to learn. Information is like catnip to me. So in order not to drown in information, I have had to systemize things.
Library Books
For instance, when I get library books, I look at how many pages the book is and how many days I have before it is due. I divide how many pages by how many days to find out about how many pages I need to read a day. Then I write that number on a small piece of paper, which becomes my bookmark. I don’t necessarily read that exact number of pages each day, but I try to stay close or I know I won’t finish the book on time.
If I do the calculations before I get the books out, I can prevent myself from getting too many books out at one time. Sometimes I’ll bring home a nice stack of 6 books I am curious about and I find out there is no way I can read them all.
Books
I keep a stack of 5 books that I am reading. I can’t get out a new one to read, until at least one in the pile is done. If I don’t do that I have a lot of half-finished books. I already do from before I implemented it, so I am using this system to go through the back log,
However I don’t force myself to finish any books I don’t find interesting. If I don’t want to finish it, it will move to my give away pile.
E-books and Courses
I also like reading things online. Once a week on Tuesdays I take about 15 min to an hour to read an ebook or do a course. I take notes so I can delete the book when I am done. I only keep a few on my hard drive.
Email newsletters
I keep a separate bulk mail folder in my gmail account, so the newsletters don’t distract me from work by calling to me from the in-box. Once a week, on the weekends I can read the newsletters.
Implementing
With so many great ideas, I need a place to store them before I try them. I have a file folder called Implement that has ideas from magazines, pinterest, book notes, etc. Then once a week or once a month I pick one or two ideas out to play with.
Do you have any ideas that have helped with too much information?
Tackling Books
Posted by: | CommentsSome people collect knick-knacks. Some people buy an abundance of clothes or shoes. My vice is books.
As a kid I would ride my bike for miles to get to the library. I always asked for books for holidays. When I finally made an income my first purchases were horse novels.
Being a coach and writer has made buying many books even more acceptable. After all I have to keep learning, right?
We tackled my son’s cramped bookshelf of sci-fi, spy novels and science non-fiction this past week. And it reminded me I needed to go through my books.
I rarely keep novels because there are too many new novels to read. The ones I keep are nostalgic books like Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. I actually do re-read these. So when I am done with a current novel I either pass it on to friends or family, or put it in a box to take to the used book store.
As I go through the non-fiction, I ask if this book is pertinent to my current life situation. I gave some of my how to parent little ones books to my sister, a new mother.
I let got of some craft books that I was no longer doing projects from. And that diet that I will never go on again. I found a style book that looked very unstylish now.
And we don’t need to keep the whole book sometimes.
I scanned a few recipes I used from cookbooks and narrowed down my cookbooks to three. (Love the Art of Simple Food by Alice Walker.) I scanned a food plan and was able to get rid of the book.
My rule is if the books can’t fit in the bookshelves, then I have too many.
How do I slow the flow of books into the house?
- I got a Kindle for Christmas and most new books are now on that device.
- I have a pile of 5 books I am reading, and have to either finish the book or give away the book before i get to read a new one.
- I ask if I already have a similar book and whether I have read it or not before I buy a book.
- I get as many books as possible from the library. Most libraries can get books from nearby libraries if they don’t have the book you want.
- I limit trips to Barnes and Noble. I can easily get at least one book each time I step into a bookstore.
- I take notes on books I read, so I don’t have to keep the books when I am done.
- I remind myself that for most books, I can pick the book up again at the library or bookstore if I really need it again. That helps with the letting go process.
And these tips work for other things like clothes and shoes as well.
What do you need to tackle?
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Photo by: Carbon NYC
