I also agree with Jim11. Try reading one page of a good book then write. I like the stream of consciousness approach, just writing whatever comes to mind. Afterward, you can go back and formulate a clearer idea of what you were trying to say. The second time around, try writing something specific about how what you just read and wrote and be applied to your life.
I've only recently tried this read-then-write-then-react style of learning, but I've already found that my thinking has improved. For some reason, it just seemed hard to go directly from reading to reacting. A well-written book could do it sometimes, but most of the time I found myself reading and reading and reading but never reacting.
I have also tried write-then-react approach, but without the inflow of ideas from books, I tended to dry up faster. General life experiences only provoke so must thought, and while they are definitely beneficial, it seems to be much more efficient to learn from books, where the information is (hopefully) well organized.
Getting back to the main topic, trying these different techniques actually increases the amount of material you read as well because suddenly the value of the information increases as it is actively applied to everyday life.
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