Owning the book doesn’t make it read

As better ways of doing things evolve, we have other ways to read books than actually holding printed paper in our hands, as glorious as it is! 

We can listen, read a summary abstract, talk about it in a club, on an app, or have someone read it to us. 

We can skim and scan and not even read the entire thing!

Oh, yes we can. 

Or do we think we have to read each book the ‘proper’ way ... word after word, cover to cover?

Some people give a book an hour (I prefer a day) to explore and get familiar with it. And then dive in further, for longer, if it’s a match. 

I have no guilt about books piling up, unread. It’s ‘Tsundoku’ in Japanese - acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up without reading them. 

Our pile o’books may signal what we hope or intend, but our action makes it so. Having the unread book on my shelf doesn’t give me the learning that’s in it. 

A book a week, a month or a year ... or 100+ books a year; whatever your appetite, satisfy it. 

Me? 
I go for a Spanish Tapas style:

Tasty morsels in small doses. Perhaps several in one sitting. Happy to return to my favorites. Some hard copy. Some digital. Some sound bites. 

The perfect book

To read a book is a joy. 
To collect books is also a joy!

Have you noticed what you think as you start to read a new book? 

Are you open and curious, ready to explore or are you expecting something else?

Do we expect reading to be a frictionless, perfect experience? 
That we will sit down at the perfect time and read the perfect number of pages...

Or we will read and understand it perfectly because it’s perfectly structured, edited and presented?

Maybe we hope that the book, this book will be ‘the’ book, the perfect one that will answer the big questions we have, give us the perfect advice or address our biggest need.

Our expectations can at times set us up for disappointment. 

And at least knowing what our standards and expectations are before we start something can help. 

Whether we are reading a book, or writing a book or launching any kind of project, tap in to the expectation or hope you have for it. 

And know that perfectionism can still show up in the standards we have for other people and other things ... as much as it shows up in the standards we can have for ourselves.  

As we read, write and work, progress is still better than the unreal ideal of perfection. 

What reading will you do to prepare you for the future

The Institute for the Future continues to urge us to prepare for the future skills we'll require to cope with uncertainty, change and new ways of working. If you can't zip out of the office to complete a 'Future of Work Diploma', what are you doing to educate yourself so you're ready? Over the weekend, during the week, on holidays, people often find gaps in the day - after breakfast, waiting in the car, in airport queues, after dinner, waiting for the weather to change/clear/change again.

All of these times - and more - are opportunities to be taking on bite-sized chunks of insight and learning.

Our brain loves this; much better than cognitively overloading ourselves or filling up our sponges with too much information in one hit.

So, what are you reading... and planning to read?

Here are some ideas for you I've worked on over the past six years...

(Hey pssst! The purple one is available for FREE download via my website; the others, where you usually get your books or via my website).

ISH - Finalist in Business Book Awards

Great to be a finalist in The Australian Business Book Awards for 'ISH: The Problem with our Pursuit for Perfection and the Life-Changing Practice of Good Enough’ - a big thanks to Scott Eathorne for helping get the message out there about the perils of perfectionism.

There is an alternative to the overthinking and overworking that is making us miserable, anxious and unwell. So many media outlets picked up the message: including podcasters, radio broadcasters, TV, industry journals, print media, magazines, book reviewers. ‘ish: The Problem with our Pursuit for Perfection and the Life-Changing Practice of Good Enough’ is available as - paperback - audio book - e book

ISH: The Problem with our Pursuit for Perfection and the Life-Changing Practice of Good Enough’

It’s natural to want to do well - at work, in study, in life, to do our best But what happens when striving for the best becomes more; the pursuit of perfection?

Perfectionism is on the rise and has dire consequences for how we think and feel about ourselves and others, how we think, live, and work. It's causes over-thinking, over-working, burnout, sleeplessness and mental health issues like depression and anxiety.

We can’t keep going like this!

But what’s the alternative? In 2019 I released ‘ISH: The Problem with our Pursuit for Perfection and the Life-Changing Practice of Good Enough’. It uncovers how to think, work and achieve in clever ways adapted from the worlds of software development, and improvisation. How do they get things done? What can we learn from them?

In ‘ISH’, I explain:

🔅The problem with chasing perfection and why we seek it

🔅The mental loop that traps us into thinking perfection is the answer

🔅The idea of ‘ISH’ which means somewhat, near enough

🔅9 ways to think and work that provide a healthy and productive alternative to perfectionism.

Excellence, quality and continuous improvement are important. But the pursuit of perfection … not so much.

Q: Do you 'ish'?