My Reflections on Reading

Recently, I started to share scientific papers related to my interests that could be informative, mostly on digital twins, IoT, 5G/6G networks, and cybersecurity. Except for scientific content (papers, book chapters, reviews, etc.), I plan my reading each year and try to stick to the plan to hit my annual goals. This year, I barely achieved half of the books I planned to read the previous year.

I recently read a book titled The Art of Laziness: Overcome Procrastination & Improve Your Productivity. The book is concise and has a suitable length, discussing its points with just the right amount of content — neither too much nor too little. Here are my main takeaways from the book: First is Cyril Northcote Parkinson’s Law, which states that “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” This means that the amount of work we’ll do tends to increase to fill the time we give ourselves. Another key point is that “all you need are two things: a pen and paper.” I still find it effective to use a pen or pencil and paper to jot down my thoughts. This method works well for me, and I plan to continue using it. Lastly, I want to mention the Pygmalion Effect, which is a psychological phenomenon where you tend to work harder when you see yourself as a diligent person.

I thought the audiobooks were not for me until listening to The Left Right Game podcast. I noticed that I could listen if the production were good. Then I tried The Signal, an audible original; the production is fantastic, but the story is not as good as I expected. At least it didn’t finish what I was expecting. I will listen to more additional titles to see how it will go.

I enjoy print books but also appreciate my Kindle. I have the third generation of the Kindle Paperwhite series, which was released in 2015. Although I don’t remember exactly when I purchased it, it remains fully functional and serves its purpose well. The battery lasts weeks, and I can easily read books. I find it comfortable to read on my Kindle because it makes it easy to carry multiple books, highlight passages, and export notes. However, one drawback is that not every book I want to read is available on Kindle Unlimited. It still lacks many titles, but I plan to keep using it for a few more months to see how it turns out.