I work in I.T. which means I am constantly reading technical books and papers, which are usually about as interesting as watching paint dry. Reading these kinds of documents usually means I skim over the text without really taking in any of the information that I have just read. Over the years I have developed a system that insures I understand and learn the material I need. This system is time consuming, however, I firmly believe it’s time well spent.

First step.

I read through the chapter or document and underline key points. This gives me the initial understanding I need.

Second step.

Now that I’ve finished the chapter and underlined the important sections I come back to them and write them out in a notebook.

Third and final step!

I now go through the notebook in my own writing underlining important pieces.

This may seem like a tedious process but it has yet to fail me and has helped me memorise some of the most boring technical specifications you can imagine!