There is no shortage of material that needs to be read in business including marketing copy, business plans, contracts legal documents and of course business books. I love to read but not all business reading is particularly entertaining or well written. And some of the most important stuff is dense, dry and dreadful no matter how much achieving success requires you read it.

So when my inbox is full of necessary reading that I know will put me to sleep, I have to make a special effort to power through it. First, I set aside time with no distractions. No phone, email or TV to draw my focus. Then I find a place with lots of natural light. Lastly I turn on mellow music that I know well so I can get into rhythmic groove. Before you know it the stack is gone and I feel better for having been productive.

Here are more ways to tackle that tough material from my Inc. colleagues.

To gain better insight into what makes people share content online, Fractl studied the emotions associated with viral marketing campaigns, plotting the ones that are most commonly associated with viral content on Robert Plutchik’s comprehensive Wheel of Emotions:

1. Curiosity
2. Amazement
3. Interest
4. Astonishment
5. Uncertainty

Then, we looked more closely to see how certain demographics respond to different types of content.