The first CTQ Reading Compound meetup
“When do you read?” “How did you feel when you got a strike?” “How does the curation work?”
These were some of the questions thrown by participants to each other and to us at Choose To Thinq as part of the first Reading Compound meetup in Pune in Nov 2019.
(A recap: the CTQ Reading Compound is a system by which members read one article selected by CTQ each day. Since May 2019, there have been six batches with of 50+ members, organised online; the most recent began just 2 weeks before this meetup. Each batch is named after a chemical element.)
Each batch was represented by at least one member. The meetup began with a quick round of a game called Long Lost Friends, where participants moved about meeting others in the room and responding to often quirky prompts. Once settled down, CTQ members Ramanand and Omkar D introduced the story behind the compounds (see this) and the design principles of the compound, which have been inspired by well-known models of habit formation.
The floor was then opened up for discussion and comment. People discussed some personal hacks and extensions they had developed over the course of the compound. Plus questions about things in the background. For instance…
Manish Manke spoke about how he’d begun summarising articles and discussing them with his children in the evenings.
Nikhil Jadhav and Navin Kabra talked about using apps like Pocket to save the article for the day, take notes, etc. Navin, who reads many other pieces each day, moves the article to Pocket which then eventually makes its way to the top of his reading queue. Nikhil has also tried voice apps that read the piece aloud (there’s one in Pocket as well) on days when he’s more in the mood to listen.
For Sneha Ranjan, discovering Blinkist was a big addition to her life. Since her batch completed, she’s been continuing with Blinkist.
Aniket Rai talked about how the compound made him competitive - he wanted to be the first to complete.
Others spoke about the pain of receiving a strike! For many, being able to say “done” was a relief, else their minds would keep coming back to the unread piece. Kanika mentioned that on days when she managed to finish in the morning itself, she had a early sense of accomplishment for that day.
Megha Nivsarkar asked how CTQ selects it articles. For us, it’s a mix of an intuitive and a deliberate process. The intuitive part was honed over time based on our background as quizzers, content creators, and readers. The deliberate part is to ensure we have a wide variety of topics. For instance, pieces from Africa and East Asia, unusual professions, or just a novel look at the otherwise mundane world around us.
Some groups get their article early in the day. That naturally works best for those who are early birds or begin their workday early. Manas is one such example.
It was then time for the compound quiz! (aka the dreaded exam). Having survived that, the meetup ended with some gifts and goodbyes. And two important questions:
(L-R) Kanika, Aniket, Manish, Karan, Navin, Rahul, Manas, Nikhil, Megha, Omkar D, Ramanand, Harsha, Sneha
“when’s the next meetup”
“hey, have you finished reading today?”
Learn more about the Reading Compound and sign up to read wisely and widely each day. A new batch begins in a month’s time.