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40 Articles a Day? Who wrote them, Dr. Seuss? I assure you the title is not an attempt at click bait, I really do read 40 or more articles a day. Even as a busy medical student I want to show that we can all be consumers of quality information. That’s the key word, however – quality.
In this post, I’ll show you exactly how I got started, why it’s now a part of my daily routine, and how you can do the same regardless of your profession or schedule.
Origin of Ferrari Ideas:
I’m a sucker for attractive titles. Anytime I would come across a link such as, “Top 5 Ways to XYZ” I would open a new tab.
Before I would even start reading, however, I’d have 10-60 tabs open. I was the equivalent of an irresponsible shopper on Black Friday.
While finding interesting links to open was fun, I wanted to see if there was any horsepower to the shiny engine you could say.
As I began reading I immediately identified some as immediate duds. Others had potential and I skimmed through looking for any diamond in the rough. But it was articles which had the title of an Audi and the content of a Ferrari which made it worthwhile.
I’d quickly get sucked into either the writer’s style or their innovative content. Soon I’d be opening up any new links I’d find from that author.
Before I realized it 1-2 hours had passed by for what was meant to be a light reading session. Still, there was a feeling of fulfillment I had when I found those needle in the haystacks articles.
I told myself I’d attempt to replicate this process as often as I could. I wanted more “Ferrari ideas” – not common but sure grabs your attention for a second look.
Why I Continue:
Now you may have had a similar experience before. You find a topic you enjoy and suddenly you’ve read article after article of great information.
But do you do this every day?
Why should we only search amazing content by requiring a clever title to first attract us?
Can we remove the need for “click bait” and make a habit of this treasure hunt for amazing reading material?
This is exactly what I’ve set out to do.
I love the feeling of getting lost in a topic. 90% of articles I read tend to repeat ideas I’ve seen before. But it’s the 10% which intrigues me.
This 10% is where personal progress occurs. This 10% is the reason my blog exists today. Without coming across articles which neatly broke down how to begin a blog, I may have never got started.
Again back to the Ferrari analogy. You likely don’t see one every day and it thus commands attention when you spot it.
Now that I’ve begun, I continue to pursue that 10% of innovative ideas to further my growth.
How I Incorporate It Into My Day:
I’ll be honest, 40 articles can be tricky to fit in.
So why 40 then you may ask?
I’ve tried as little as 5 articles a day. This was too small of a number. It was also likely that nothing of quality or innovation would come out of the articles I selected.
I’ve tried as up to 50-60 articles a day. This was just way too much. I’d become sleepy by the end.
40 is the perfect balance for me.
The number may be entirely different for you. This can depend on your schedule but more importantly on the topic of reading material you prefer. Sports and self-improvement are quick reads. Economics and social issues may take some more time to decipher through.
Still, 40 in one sitting is also very taxing. I’d prefer to break it into 15/5/5/15 chunks: 15 in the morning, 5 during Walk 1, 5 During Walk 2, 15 in the evening.
This balance works well. Reading articles I find on Pocket, Medium, and Flipboard is a nice touch to my morning routine. I, however, don’t want to overdo it and prevent myself from focusing on other priorities.
If you start off with a smaller number then it becomes easier for you to incorporate this reading habit.
If you think it’s not worth it think again. Can you afford to miss out on one great idea a day? Even if you cross paths with that idea in the future, what impact could that information have done for you?
Surely sports and pop culture articles are for pure entertainment. I invest my time into personal development, finance, business, and medical reading. Each of these topics have a purpose in my life. Thus I can’t afford to miss out on any good idea – even for one day.
The Results:
It’s been over a month since I’ve begun dedicating myself to this challenge. It’s unlike my 20-day challenges such as waking up at 4:30. This wasn’t intended to be a habit.
Still, I’m finding day in and day out to be better versed in the topics I care for.
My circle of competence is growing (slowly, but growth is growth).
I also spend less time on mindless tasks.
Social media and gaming are not as intriguing anymore. Sure they attract my attention, but it’s much easier for me to disconnect and search for my new “gem” of an article.
To end off I’d like to introduce an investment concept which I enjoy using for daily life. There is an effect known as the “Latte Factor”. It’s not atypical for someone to spend $5 on their daily Starbucks. Well-known investors and financial advisers would tell you to have that $5/day invested in stocks would result in hundreds of thousands – maybe millions of dollars after X many years.
While I don’t think the Latte Factor will work for most for personal savings, I do think the concept is power for personal growth.
Ask yourself the return on investment (ROI) of whatever it is you’re doing right now. If it’s reading this article then the returns are astronomical. My ego likes to believe this at least.
But go through your day and ask yourself what your ROI was for different tasks. Some may be high, but you’re likely to find many to be quite low.
Reading 40 articles for me has an insanely high ROI. If I’m successful by keeping this habit even 3x a week, that’s over 150 ideas I’m exposed to. Even if you believe that not every reading session will result in a revolution idea, 1 great idea/week is still 52 Ferrari ideas in a year. I’ll take that ROI any day!
How You Can Start Now:
If you come across a topic while studying or working, just use pocket’s “Read Later” function. I tend to use my 5 minute walks to read these items.
Again it doesn’t have to be 40 articles. It can be 10 throughout a day. It can be 10 every other day. The point is to start. Be ambitious, continue to search for amazing Ferraris, and utilize it to grow.
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Until next time…
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