The Active Reader - v1.0

The Problem

Nowadays, we are overwhelmed with information in every conceivable format, whether it's a book, an article, a podcast episode, or a YouTube video. We are continuously provided with an endless amount of information within this mass of data, lessons learned, and wisdom. Or better yet, personal experiences. It's not easy to distill things that are available to you in a way that actually ends up making a difference or an impact in your day-to-day. In addition to this, the ratio of consumption of information versus creating value is incredibly imbalanced. I find that technology in general has made this even worse.

I still remember when I was a kid (or maybe just younger in general) spending a lot of time offline, either outside, writing, creating stories, or working on projects that I was passionate about. I would reach for information only to help myself improve quality or iterate on what I was currently working on.

As time went by, the shift happened almost imperceptibly. The consumption and looking for information started happening before an actual work or project began. I've been reflecting a lot on how to change that in the last couple of years. One of the daily thoughts I had was to start thinking about frameworks that I could try in my life to change things for the better. One of them was aimed at improving the balance between consumption and creation.

I noticed that you can read and get inspired by as many people, articles, and podcasts as you want, but if you don't try to apply what you learn and iterate, it's going to be very difficult to find something that sticks and fits your lifestyle.

The most important thing that some people are missing is that you have to get started. It almost doesn't matter what you're trying, as long as you try something. Without trying anything differently, you're not going to make a change. Maybe part of this is my engineering mindset, but I thought that some of these habits (or ways to improve life in a meaningful way) can be implemented by following specific patterns or frameworks and applying them for a valuable amount of time. The important part is not to get discouraged and iterate until something works.

In the same way as software is versioned, I have this idea of versioning the frameworks that I personally try with the tools that I have available at that time. I'll then refine and iterate until I find something that works for me. The moment that framework is not as resilient as it should be, I can come back to this and make some tweaks until I find something that is sustainable long-term.

The Method

Inundated by "interesting articles" (are they really that interesting if I end up never reading them?), I have become more selective about what I dedicate attention to. Most of the time, I find interesting content by using my regular browser (phone or laptop doesn't matter), but I could hardly focus on reading through any blog post. I suspect part of it is the format, the fact that I can't take notes comfortably, and all the distractions that come attached to those devices.

I learned that consuming content without a goal is part of what leads to endless scrolling and skimming. In an attempt to change that, I have been more intentional on what I want to read and why. Step one was to actually find a way to find joy in reading again in a more interactive manner. A combination of wanting to remove all distractions and interact by hand writing, I went the obvious way of leveraging my reMarkable for this. I found a nifty browser extension that allows you to "send to your reMarkable", bingo!

I find simple things like a browser extension are incredibly powerful. They help remove as much friction as possible, which is important for building a new habit. Make it as easy as possible for yourself to keep doing it. I'm also an avid book reader so either way, I have the possibility to take notes and interact with the content.

I do a regular pass, take notes even if they re-state the obvious, and highlight things I find the most valuable. I move on without wasting too much time thinking deeply about whether it deserved a note/highlight or not. Once I finish a chapter or an article, I go back and revisit every interaction point. Some did not deserve a highlight or any additional revision; others need to be worked on further.

Once I find something worth digging into, I write it by hand on the reMarkable (the whole quote), I re-phrase it in my own words (making it an ELI5 in case it is a more complex piece), and finally I critique it. In addition to this (which I find optional), I take notes in Obsidian. I use Wispr Flow to transcribe what I'm writing, so I kill two birds with one stone. I usually touch up the note quickly for some convenient formatting, but that's very low lift.

Once I reach the end, I decide what I want to do with what I just learned. I either teach it to someone else, I write about it, I find ways to implement it (either by updating a flow or building something with it), and finally I document it (which I get "for free" since I am able to add the content to Obsidian in parallel).

In the end I reflect on the WHY and HOW. Why did I want to read that piece? What of it? Did it teach me what I expected? What am I going to do with what I learned?

Tools

A quick reference to all the tools I use (no affiliation links):

• reMarkable: I use this to read and take notes.
• Unofficial reMarkable Firefox Extensions: this makes it easy to send an article to reMarkable quickly.
• Wispr Flow: it helps quickly add a note in Obsidian with little to no friction.
• Obsidian: the note taking application.
• Anki: I occasionally use this to record information I want to retain.

A Practical Example

Book: Code Health Guardian

Page: 146 (Chapter 9 - Build vs. Buy)

Quote: [When introducing a dependency] make sure it suits our needs, and not only today, but a year from now as well.

Rephrase: For any tool, framework, dependency, or library you plan to utilize as part of your application, make sure you understand the commitment. Don't focus only on what problem it solves today but also on how this affects your application long term.

Critique: While this is true, I would highlight more the commitment part of it. A dependency doesn't come for free and, as humans, we are not very good at predicting things. This is to say that t's not as simple as "knowing what you'll need a year from now" but more understanding if the dependency gives you enough flexibility to be future-proof.