In this chapter, I’ll guide you through effective strategies for engaging with texts. You’ll explore a variety of active reading workflows — sequential, iterative, and systemic — all designed to boost comprehension and retention. Together, we’ll find the reading style that works best for you.

I’ll introduce you to the Idea Integration Board (IIB), a powerful tool for visually organizing information from your reading and other projects. You’ll set up your own IIB for The Extended Mind, giving you quick access to notes, summaries, and relevant details.

We’ll also develop an Idea Atlas using mind mapping and concept maps, helping you visually organize the book’s primary and secondary ideas, making it easier to grasp new concepts. By the end of this chapter, you’ll be armed with practical tools and techniques to optimize how you read, listen, and consume knowledge, making your learning process more engaging and insightful.

Pro tip: You can start applying these tools not only to The Extended Mind but throughout your entire Visual Thinking Workshop experience.

Time Required

• Reading Workflows (🎥 26:46 📝 3-4 hours)

• Idea Integration Board (🎥 15:47 📝 20 minutes)

• Idea Atlas (🎥 21:59 📝 3-4 hours)

• Progressive Summarization (🎥 21:54 📝 ``)

• Iterative Reading (🎥 08:45 📝 10 minutes)

• What to Highlight? The Clippings Checklist (🎥 14:57 📝 30 minutes)

• Structured File Naming (🎥 25:08 📝 15 minutes)