# Taking Time to Read By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2022-10-02 Notice that the title isn’t _Making_ Time to Read. Time can neither be made nor saved; time can only be consumed or wasted. Whereas this concept borrows much from the economic concept of opportunity cost, the primary point in this post is that one benefits, in multiple ways, from taking the time to read. Whether one takes that time from the work, play, rest, or waste pile of time doesn’t really matter. The point is that reading is potentially rewarding. Some might argue that it depends on what one selects to read. Debates relating to _high_ and _low culture_ persist. Certainly, the value of what one reads is influenced, at least in part, by selection. But this is a relatively minor point. Reading is beneficial even if one selects something like _Mad Magazine_ as opposed to _War and Peace_. The act of reading is closely linked to thinking. As one reads, one will engage in thinking. It is beneficial to develop that skill. There is another benefit to reading worthy of understanding. Reading requires one to disengage and set oneself apart from what is going on. Developing the skill of strategic disengagement is beneficial. There are times when at the moment all of one’s inclinations move toward action. Any action. At those times it could be beneficial, individually and organizationally, to strategically disengage and think. As we have indicated, taking time to read helps in the development of those exact skills. In the finite existence of life, all one’s time belongs to that individual. It is among our most valuable resources. How one invests that resource will shape and constrain how one experiences life. By necessity, much of that time is exchanged as labor for wages. Before work, one uses time to get ready. After work one is simply too exhausted to do anything more than crash. Taking tie to read, before, during, or after work, is a challenge. Reading helps one develop the skills of strategic disengagement and thinking. Additionally, taking time to read requires that an individual is empowered and self-actualized. A strong, self-possessed, individual who thinks will likely become an organizational asset. When that happens one might discover even more time to read. #### Related Items [[Thinking]] [[Reading]] [[Strategy]] [[Disengage]] [[Time]] [[Work]]