Recently I noticed I have developed what might or might not be a bad habit. When reading through articles online, generally Hacker News, if I find an interesting article headline I'll scan through and look for the following:<p>* Section headings that break up long text<p>* Bullet point lists<p>* Images or diagrams<p>If an article doesn't have at least 1 of these I will generally click back, unless its a very important article.<p>I know that by reading this way I am probably missing out on some good articles but with very little time to read these days due to running a startup I find I have increasingly less time to read?<p>Is the good or bad? How do others read on sites like Hacker News?
I used to do the same thing, until I read a post on HN about the Kindle's magical ability to change reading habits. With Instapaper, I must say the Kindle has been the greatest purchase I've made in the last couple years. It's the best way to start reading more. All the Kindle-reinforced habits can be obtained regularly, but it's just easier with a gadget to help.<p>-When you browse HN, only browse for stuff to read at first. Save really interesting and long stuff using Instapaper or bookmarks for later, and skim through stuff that isn't really interesting, but still worth perusing.
-Use Google Reader to find new stuff to read every day, and save with Instapaper or bookmarks. Do the same thing as before: peruse random stuff, save really interesting stuff.
-Don't read everything. Be selective. There's too much stuff to read out there, and understand that it's a lot better to have a deep understanding of one thing than just absorb headings and pictures. You'll find that you'll learn a lot more, and remember interesting statistics and bits of information that pop up in random areas of life.
-Set aside 10-20 minutes to read the best article you found from start to finish. No excuses. After a week, increase this to 25-30 minutes. Keep going until you reach an hour.<p>I've done this and gotten an hour of solid in-depth reading done every day. The first week or so is the hardest one. I always had difficulty focusing and staying on the reading. I guess it's a way to unlearn the bad mental habits encouraged by computers and social media (keep bouncing from one thing to the next).