Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read

Lawyers read a lot.  There are lots of things to read out there:  from required legal research to professional development to personal improvement.  In this wealth of written information, do you ever pause to consider how much you are influenced by what you read?  I am thinking of a tool.  Let’s call it “IIQ.”  It stands for “Information Impact Quotient.”  Imagine a continuum of influence ranging from  “zero” impact to the earth-shattering, life-changing kind of impact.  There can be many gradations in between.  For the sake of simplicity, we can start with the following four:

• React.  This is a point when we read something and have a reaction to it.  Maybe, we like it, maybe we don’t.  The response may not be lasting, but this is the beginning of our relationship with the text.  The impact is small.
• Reflect.  At this stage, we take time to reflect on the reading.  There is something in it that causes us to stop and think. 
• Internalize.  The reading has a bigger impact when we internalize the ideas in it.  They become a part of our reference system.  We talk about them, we develop and fine-tune them to suit our needs.
• Act.  At the highest level of impact, the reading causes us to change.  We act on the ideas, we use them to make our decisions, we live by them. 

Which category does most of your reading fall into?  How would you measure the impact of what you read?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship