Leasure reading is often abandoned when work infringes upon free time. A sad fact, given three big reasons why a good book is one of the best career-aids you'll ever find
For those among us married to their careers, the personal is often sacrificed for the sake of the professional, and in no other aspect of life is this truer than the allocation of time. Friends are cancelled on, moments with family become a cherished commodity, and hobbies lie abandoned in the garden or atop the garage workbench. Of all recreational activities however, it seems that reading for pleasure is so often the first victim upon the alter; a fact that is particularly tragic when one stops to consider the obvious benefits that recreational reading offers to the professional promotion-seeker.
On that note, it’s time to remove dust from bookshelf and dog from armchair, as aside from the shear joy of it, allowing a mere half-hour for a good book at home will eventually make for better performance at work.
Communication – speak as you read
I’m not even going to bother arguing that developed communication skills are paramount in near every corner of the modern working world. The ability to speak clearly and with eloquence can be the difference between business deals and job offers sealed or spoiled, while nothing inserts that nagging doubt into the mind of an employer, client or partner like receiving a poorly worded, typo-infested email. If there is nothing to be gained by illiteracy, then there isn’t a person alive who shouldn’t constantly seek to expand their vocabulary and tighten their grip on wordplay.
That being said, there is no experience that can surpass a heavy reading habit when it comes to linguistic education. Constant exposure to old words in new contexts and new words used properly will eventually see more rounded sentences issuing from your lips, and manicured emails from your Blackberry.
You graduated . . . so what?
Just because you’ve hung that obscenely expensive piece of framed paper on your wall doesn’t mean you must stop seeking an education. Thankfully, pursuing one no longer requires a truckload of student debt, years of focused study and the ability to perform the One-Hand Superman Keg Stand. As with improving your grasp of language, an increased knowledge of more than just your area of expertise will ultimately help move you forward in any profession. Marketers must be aware of developing trends and understand the nature of that isolated fringe culture about to leap into the mainstream (think Lord of the Rings . . .), doctors will be better equipped to identify with patients of all walks if they know something of foreign cultures and traditions, while the difference between a machinist and the machinist who owns the shop he works in can often be little more than a grasp of good business practices and the psychology of salesmanship.
No matter the subject, be it Freakonomics or Harry Potter, National Geographic or Teen People, reading equates to knowledge, knowledge leads to success, and your brain does not come with a maximum capacity.
Avoid the overload
While your brain cannot be overlearned, it can very easily become overtaxed, and there exist very few things in the average Westerner’s life that are more likely to blow a synapse than the all-consuming career. Though it may seem counterproductive to try removing stress by reducing the amount of time you have to complete the job causing afore mentioned anxiety, that time will be better invested if put toward a task that will allow your mind to shut-down and cool a few pistons. By leaving one’s self time to simply relax and read at the end of the day, we introduce two things, the first being the obvious benefit of relaxation, while the second is the aid of anticipation. Even if it’s only noon and you’re trapped in your fourth meeting of the day, the knowledge that at some later point you will be able to fall into bed and snap on the reading light for thirty minutes can make all the difference.
Additionally, those who indulge in fiction enjoy the pleasant effects of escapism. Whether fantasy, sci-fi, romance or mystery, one of genre-fiction’s most potent attractions is the promise, not of a mere distraction, but of an entirely new set of problems and events far separated from our own, and which are not ours to deal with. A good book that ensnares its reader can temporarily banish the nagging concerns of the day and allow your brain to deal with little more than speculation as to who did the deed on the Orient Express, or why Frodo can’t simply get one of those giant eagles to drop the One Ring into the volcano for him.
Taken alone, any of these perks are of obvious benefit in the working world, yet as all three are guaranteed gains for anyone willing to set but half an hour aside each day to read, the advantages of turning off the cellular, closing the laptop and opening the hardcover are evident. A person who arrives at work each morning relaxed and refreshed is easier to deal with, while one who can speak on more than just shop-talk and who can do so engagingly is a pleasure. It is the energetic, eloquent and unendingly educated who will excel at work, and the secret is little more than an open book waiting back at home.
