Stephen Robbins here. Welcome to the Get It Done Guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

Today's topic is getting through stacks of reading material. It must be that time of year.

Gretchen and Charlene both wrote in asking how to get through their stacks of backed up reading material.

The quick and dirty tip is to read a little and often, ruthlessly tossing what isn't useful.

My office is full of stacks of books, magazines, and stuff to read. I like reading. I like it so

much that I've given myself 2,900 vision

by never focusing further than a foot away from my eyes.

It saves time, since I can just move my eyes from book to book

without wasting all that focusing time.

Like you, I have way too much stuff I haven't read.

First, make sure all the books you haven't read

are in a separate place on your bookshelf or in your office. Name the pile something clever,

like The Well of Book Knowledge Not Yet Known, or Books to Read, or Fred.

Keep them spine out so you can scan the pile and read through all the titles at once.

Now, whenever you have a few free moments, wander over to your pile, scan the titles,

and grab a title you feel like reading.

Read a bit, then put it back.

It's that simple.

Over time, if you read three pages a day, you'll finish a 200-page book in two

months. If you do three of those at once, a total of nine pages a day, you'll finish 18 books a

year. If you like reading one book at a time, do nine pages a day and you'll be done in a couple of

weeks. Even when you're making steady progress, it's possible to buy books way faster than

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