Ryan Holiday's 3-Step System for Reading Like a Pro

The speaker, an author of 11 books, shares his method for reading and organizing information. He explains the concept of a commonplace book to store valuable insights from the books he reads.

Reading physical books with a pen is essential to disconnect from screens and engage deeply with the material. Marking, highlighting, and taking notes while reading fosters an active dialogue between the reader and the author. The act of 'beating up' a book by folding pages shows engagement in understanding and learning from the text.

Arguing in the margins helps to note important points for later reference. After finishing a book, let it sit for some time before revisiting it. Break down the book and extract key ideas onto note cards for easy access and future use.

Organizing Insights with Note Cards Using note cards as a modern-day commonplace book is an effective way to organize and retain valuable information from readings. By categorizing themes like stoicism, strategy, and education on note cards, one can create a personalized collection of insights for future use in writing projects. The process of physically writing down notes helps reinforce memory and understanding through repeated engagement with the material.

Investing in Future Wisdom Maintaining a commonplace book serves as a backup hard drive for your brain, storing knowledge that may be useful in the future but not immediately relevant. Starting small with individual note cards inspired by quotes or books can lead to the development of larger ideas over time. Investing time now in reading actively and curating your own common place book sets you up for leveraging wisdom when it becomes applicable later on.