Long time readers know that I simply love Manager Tools podcasts (see
here, here and here for some examples). Manager Tools has also evolved a really neat blog and comment feature into their site. Mark Horstman (50% of the Manager Tools partnership) has posted this neat feature on reading. Mark is reading about 200 books a year despite a busy life as a consultant. He explains his formula for reaching that number. I really like the post although I’m not quite on board with his reluctance to use audio books. Mark feels that commuting time should be better spent on the phone building relationships. I certainly cannot disagree with that concept, but I regularly listen to book and podcasts on my iPod while working out, cooking, etc. Plus some commuting time is often outside of normal business hours. I’m usually on the road between 5-6am, then again after 6pm. I do make several calls during these time periods (often very productive ones to people’s voicemails that saves email and other time), but I also find it a good time to get some listening done with audio books. I’ve reached the point where I read limited numbers of fiction books, but listen to a few every month just to relax and get away. Mark does make a valid point that we read faster than we can listen to books. iPod users can overcome some of this by selecting the faster reading option on their iPod. This increases the reading time to 125%. Conversely, people with listening difficulties can reduce the time to 75%. Unfortunately, this only seems to work with audio books and not podcasts.
For Extension professionals that are on the go, Mark’s article will be really useful and inspirational. There is never enough time, so pick wisely. See also my book notes on Steve Leveen’s The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life. And do what else Mark suggests – turn of the TV. Or at least use a DVR to record shows and time-shift your viewing to a better time for you.