Key Messages
How to Read Faster and Better in 10 Days: Shedding Common Habits for Superhuman Reading Skills
If your goal is to be able to read faster with greater comprehension and understanding, you need to focus on techniques that will help you achieve this.
10 Days to Faster Reading explains how you can become a faster reader in just ten days by ditching bad habits and applying the right techniques.
You might think that there’s no way that it could work, but the truth is, by focusing on simple methods such as skimming and scanning text, comprehension levels can increase while the amount of time spent reading accelerates.
It’s all about learning the right habits and efficiently processing information – something that’s integral for successful readers.
So if your aim is to become a speed-reader who remembers more of what they read, 10 Days to Faster Reading has got you covered!
With its practices and tips that are easy to follow, you’ll be surprised at how much more effective your reading can be!
Unlock the Power of Efficient and Effective Reading for Personal and Professional Success
People have a tendency to put too much pressure on themselves when it comes to reading.
Many of us develop this misconception from school, where we have to memorize the material we read in our textbooks because we’re tested on it.
This creates an unhealthy pressure to remember everything, rather than understanding and retaining the important parts of what you’ve read.
What’s worse is that information that is solely memorized is often forgotten after a few days – making all that effort pointless.
The key is to create an easy retrieval system instead.
This can be done by writing down the crucial information or annotating readings with highlights and notes in the margins so you can find the information easily when needed.
Contrary to popular belief, reading materials relevant to your job shouldn’t be avoided during working hours either!
That’s because reading can help you think of new ideas and stay ahead of your competition in the market.
So don’t let anyone tell you otherwise: reading isn’t just important – but it’s also essential in helping you do well in your job!
How to Develop Good Reading Habits and Improve Your Speed-Reading Skills
Becoming a faster and more efficient reader is easy and attainable by simply kicking a few bad habits.
A common one is passive daydreaming, where we read but are easily distracted thinking about unrelated topics.
This can be remedied with active mind wandering—thinking about our own experiences in relation to the text we’re reading—which creates a bridge between what we already know and the new knowledge that we will acquire.
Another slow reading habit is regression—that is, rereading the same passage over and over again instead of moving forward.
To avoid this, try covering up what text you’ve already read with a business card or something similar to keep yourself from rereading it again.
However, if there’s a hidden meaning or an unfamiliar word, occasionally going back to review it can be beneficial to understanding the author’s point.
Finally, people often subvocalize (i.e., mouth along to words) as they read which reduces our brain speed down to only 150 words per minute instead of 400!
To counteract this, focus on keywords within the text and skip over any small details; alternatively, you can mumble, hum or even chew gum while you’re reading for extra speed help!
Overall, becoming an efficient reader just requires kicking some bad habits like mind wandering and subvocalizing in order to reap maximum rewards!
3 Easy Steps to Become a Faster, More Efficient Reader
Reading faster can be achieved by taking shortcuts.
A great way to do this is to pre-view all nonfiction materials before actually starting to read.
While pre-viewing, take the time to read the first few introductory paragraphs and the subheadings, titles and subtitles that are usually larger and bolded – these can all provide you with a brief overview of what the content is about.
Furthermore, read through each paragraph’s first sentence in order to quickly grasp its general theme.
Doing so will allow you gain insight into 40% of the material’s key information, without needing to reread it multiple times.
Additionally, if your goal is improved knowledge or staying up-to-date on current affairs, don’t waste your time reading old books or archived journals!
Make sure you have a solid purpose for why you’re reading something and make smart decisions about what material should be skipped over.
Taking these measures will help you become a faster reader and increase your overall efficiency when it comes completing assigned reading materials.
Train Your Eyes for Faster and Better Reading with These Strategies
If you want to ramp up your reading speed, one of the best methods is to only read the keywords.
This way, you don’t have to read every single word in a sentence and you can still understand what it’s saying by focusing on the important words.
To do this, look for words that are longer than three letters and carry meaning – these are usually the most important words.
Another technique is to focus on thought groups instead of separate words; try reading entire phrases by using your peripheral vision and then quickly glancing from phrase to phrase.
With practice, your eyes will become accustomed to this new rhythm and you’ll be able to read faster without sacrificing comprehension.
So give it a try today and see if you can improve your reading speed!
Learn Strategies to Increase Your Reading Speed and Enhance Comprehension
“Reading between the lines” and “indenting” are two more useful techniques you can use to become a better reader.
The first involves aiming your eyes just above the line while reading, so as to focus more on the main idea rather than fixating on each single word.
This way, you will be able to understand what’s in front of you without getting stuck on any individual words.
The indenting method is another great strategy which involves using your peripheral vision.
Instead of starting your eyes at the beginning of each line, try aiming them half an inch inside the left margin, and then end your reading half an inch before the right margin.
This allows you to not only see the beginning and end of a line but also reduce how many times your eyes start and stop, which increases speed by more than ten percent!
If this technique feels strange for you, it’s recommended that you draw vertical lines from one margin to another so that it gives a better idea of where exactly to begin and finish reading one line.
Overall, re-learning how to read might necessitate practice until one is completely comfortable with these strategies and can apply them fluently in real life; however, if you put your mind into it for sure there will be rewards in yielding faster results eventually!
Improve Your Reading Speed with These Helpful Training Wheels
Fast reading habits may be uncomfortable or embarrassing at first, but using your hand or a pen to lead your eyes is an effective way to create them.
Children often use their finger or another object to guide their eyes when learning how to read and this should not stop once you’re able to read.
Pointing or moving your fingers can help quickly lead your eyes through text.
For example, placing a finger beside a line of text and slowly guide it down the page helps guide your eyes.
When reading narrow columns like newspapers, instead have an index finger in the center of a paragraph close to the line being read then move either straight down or in the shape of snake as you go across each line.
The business card method, where you cover up with a card after reading each line and moving it along like training wheels, will help build strong fast reading habits.
A similar process can also be done by making a fist with the left hand and sticking the thumb out while placing it over what was just read in order to avoid rereading and in turn regressions.
These methods are essential for forming new reading habits so don’t be afraid to try them!
Wrap Up
In the 10 Days to Faster Reading book, readers are reminded that many of us need to relearn how to read in order to keep up with the fast-paced world.
The authors provide useful tips that can help readers improve their reading speed and comprehension, such as taking a break every 20 minutes, skipping difficult sections, and focusing on understanding the main points.
Lastly, they suggest checking out How to Read a Book by Mortimer J.
Adler and Charles van Doren for more insight into better reading habits.
All in all, 10 Days to Faster Reading offers straightforward techniques for improving one’s reading skills and getting more out of literature.
