How to Become a Reading Machine

From:
Scott P. Scheper
Santa Margarita, California
Friday, 9:48 a.m.

Dear Friend,

I'm currently at home writing this to you. I just picked up a Starbucks coffee, and today, it was interesting.

It was interesting because——as you may know——there is a cyber security issue caused by the service, CrowdStrike. In effect, this has taken down many enterprise companies running Windows.

One victim to fall prey to this cyber security fail is Starbucks. Normally, on my languid mornings, I wake up, open the Starbucks app, and order two coffees——one for my earth angel, and one for me.

I order these coffees using Starbucks' "order ahead" feature.

Well… today was different.

It was different because Starbucks' order-ahead service was completely down. It had been taken offline due to incompetent corporate fools at CrowdStrike. This meant that——Sir Scott Scheper and his eight-month pregnant earth angel had to (gasp) actually (1) drive to Starbucks, (2) get out of Scott's lime-green Tesla Model S Plaid, and (3) walk into Starbucks to actually speak with a human being!

What an Outrage!

I had to actually speak to an honest-to-God Homo sapiens in order to get coffee!

(If you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic.)

Anyway——

This experience reminded me of something. It reminded me of a time five years ago, when I was single, traveling the world, and had made boatloads of money in various technology ventures. I found myself traveling to small towns across California. I would travel on a whim to a small mountain town in Sacramento, California. From there, I would decide (on a whim) to fly to another small town in California.

It was during this period that I visited a lot of small coffee shops. These small coffee shops did not have the "order ahead" feature. I actually had to talk to an actual—living—freaking human being!

Today's experience reminded me of this time. When I walked into Starbucks today, it had a "small-town" feel. The woman taking my order was nice and friendly. She looked me in the eye and treated me as an actual human being (and I treated her as an actual human being, too, which is rare).

It was quiet in that Starbucks this morning. Normally, there are fifteen different order-ahead coffees waiting on the counter. Stressed-out soccer moms and realtors in a hurry sprint to their "Venti" watering hole.

Today, it was like a ghost town.

What I'm getting at is this: This morning reminded me of the "phase transition" people undergo when they shift from the world of digital PKM to the world of Analog Knowledge Development (AKD). They undergo an anachronistic transition. They shift from bubble graphs and trying to maximize their "productivity" (using tools like Obsidian, Notion, LogSeq, and whatever other crap is the latest high-school hot girl in the intellectual masturabatory world of PKM).

When you go from the world of digital notetaking to the world of analog, it is like going from a busy, dehumanized, crazed Starbucks to a small-town coffee shop——one where you focus on what actually matters——writing, creating, and thinking.

That is what you undergo when you learn the Antinet Zettelkasten. You no longer focus on creating as many notes as possible. Instead…

You Start Focusing on Publishing Things That Matter

Speaking of things that matter——one principle in my book, Antinet Zettelkasten is the promise that it will turn you into a "prolific reader, researcher, and writer." However, as I mentioned in last month's issue of The Scott Scheper Letter, I had to get honest with myself.

Last month, I realized the Antinet had not turned me into a reading machine. In fact, I was reading books at a pace much slower than I had before. This led me into a little "Personal Knowledge Crisis." It led me to take an inventory of all of the books I owned.

It turns out I own 2000 books, and——at the pace I was reading——it would have taken me seventy-seven years to finish reading the books I owned!

I don't have seventy-seven years left on this planet. Therefore, I began to explore other workflows for reading, writing, and thinking. It led me to stumble upon the reading workflow of one of the most celebrated, productive, and successful public intellectuals of our time.

I reverse-engineered his workflow, and I have adapted it to the Antinet. As a result, in the past four weeks, I have read twelve books, and I have taken the same exact number of bibnotes I had prior——yet the notes I have extracted from the twelve books were much more valuable.

I have essentially gone from being a sloth-like reader to becoming a reading machine.

This transformation is what I'm going to detail for you in Issue No. 20 of The Scott Scheper Letter. I'm going to share with you a brand new method for reading with the Antinet Zettelkasten. It's something I call…

"The Reading Machine Method"

It is about to change your entire reading workflow, as well as your understanding of Zettelkasten.

In this day and age, I see so many Zettelkasten "gurus" echoing the same trite advice Sönke Ahrens taught, and——in addition to this——they add their own "little spins" that reek of digital PKM and their usage of tools like Obsidian.

This is Hogwash!

This is not innovation. Innovation centers around helping you become a reading, writing, and research machine. What I'm going to share with you in Issue No. 20 is going to do precisely that. It is going to transform you into a reading machine.

Here's the truth: The material you're about to learn in Issue No. 20 significantly updates the workflow that you learn in my Antinet Zettelkasten book. The material you're about to learn in Issue No. 20 is going to form the primary basis of the 2nd edition of Antinet Zettelkasten——or, actually——I might just write an entirely new book about the new method you will learn in Issue No. 20.

I'm currently in the middle of writing Issue No. 20 out by hand. One of the surprising pieces of research I unearthed yesterday stems from a recent study conducted at Columbia University. Brain and memory scientists discovered something fascinating about how the human brain works and how it prioritizes knowledge. This is critical for shaping how you must adapt your reading workflow (and adapt using a Zettelkasten).

Without knowing this updated reading workflow, you are going to spin your wheels and waste a ton of time extracting way more notes than you otherwise should from the books you read. I'm going to give you clear step-by-step instructions on how to actually read with a Zettelkasten and actually take notes in an effective way that will not result in burnout. Because…

Here's the reality: When people first learn the Antinet Zettelkasten (or really any note-taking system), they tend to "over-extract." They take way too many notes. After you read Issue No. 20, I'm going to save you from falling prey to this trap.

Issue number 20 is going to be the best material you will read all year in regard to knowledge development and reading. It is going to reshape the way you digest knowledge and…

Issue No. 20 Is Going to Enable You to Read Six Times More Books Than You Otherwise Would!

More importantly, you will get way more out of your reading and enjoy the process!

Therefore, if you are not already a Subscriber, I highly recommend you subscribe to The Scott Scheper Letter today.

As of this writing, there are only 12 days left to subscribe in time for the upcoming shipment of Issue No. 20. After the deadline, this issue will not be available to you.

Therefore, if you are not already a Subscriber of The Scott Scheper Letter, please sign up for the free 30-day trial.

Every month, a fresh new copy of my analog newsletter will arrive on your doorstep. It will be the most valuable piece of knowledge you look forward to reading every month.

You can try The Scott Scheper Letter for thirty days for free. All I ask is that you cover the cost of shipping and printing (which totals $9.86).

In addition to your subscription, you also get:

(1) Access to a private area in my online community, The Tribe. A private community of 700+ independent writers, creators, thinkers, and marketers.

(2) Regular calls and networking. Regular community calls for topics like Antinet Zettelkasten, writing, marketing, and more.

(3) Five Antinet Zettelkasten Gifts ($1,065 Value). Antinet Masterclass Video Course, Zettelkasten Myths & Denials eBook, and More.

All of this for just saying "maybe" to a thirty-day trial, which costs $9.86 in shipping and printing.

Here's the link to subscribe:

www.scottscheper.com/free-trial

Warm regards,

And always remember,

To stay crispy, my friend.

Scott P. Scheper

"A Man on a Mission to Make You a Reading Machine"

P.S. Trust me. You do not want to miss out on Issue No. 20. Here's where you can pick up a free trial and have it land on your doorstep early next month:

www.scottscheper.com/free-trial