The 3 Essential Ways to Read Right Now
Let’s get this out of the way up top: When we say “reading,” we’re not talking about doomscrolling.
Yes, technically, your brain turns letters into meaning as you move your bleary-eyed way down your Twitter timeline. But there’s a difference between the act of reading and the activity of reading. For these purposes, we’re talking about reading as activity — that is, intentionally taking in information that enriches you in some way, that helps you learn or understand or add some joy to your life.
That might sound quaint. Totally fair. It’s something a lot of us have struggled with over the past year as crisis after crisis sapped our ability to focus on more than a few sentences at a time. But with a new year, a new administration, and an end to the pandemic in sight, it’s a good time to rethink the way you read in 2021 — and to aim to do it in a way that keeps you engaged with this moment without pushing your stress-fried brain past its limits. In fact, striking that balance may be the only sustainable way to make it through to 2022.
Enter the three-bucket reading plan. Each of us will have different needs and preferences when it comes to the ideal mix, but to make your reading diet a nourishing one, try to spread it across these three categories.
