How You Can Double, Triple, or Even Quadruple Your Reading Speed!

Are you drowning in a sea of unread papers? Do you feel frustrated because you cannot keep up with your reading assignments? You may have wondered if you should take a speed-reading course. Or can you learn to improve your reading ability by yourself?

The good news is that if you are committed and actually do the work, you can develop your own speed-reading program at home. You can greatly increase your reading speed without sacrificing comprehension.

How do you start to improve your reading speed? The first step is to determine what your current reading speed is.

Find some reading material to practice with, such as an article in a magazine, or use a chapter of a book. Set a timer for a short period, such as five or ten minutes. Start reading at your regular speed, and see how far you can get in the time allotted. Do not try to read faster or slower than normal; the object here is to find out what your regular reading speed is. When the time is finished, mark the page so you know exactly how far you read. You will need to count how many words you read in this amount of time.

Now, using the same article set the timer again, for the same number of minutes. Start at the point in your article where you left off the last time. Do not re-read exactly the same material that you have just finished.

This time, concentrate on reading much faster than you did the first time. Go as fast as you can while still taking in every word and maintaining your comprehension. Calculate your reading speed and compare it to your first effort. Did your score improve? Try again, striving to read even faster without sacrificing comprehension.

If your performance has measurably speeded up, notice whether you feel relaxed or tense. Are you telling yourself that reading fast is hard? Many of the roadblocks you face in going faster are mental, in your mind, and can be changed.

Many people have developed bad reading habits that slow them down. See if you make any of the following errors.

When you read, do you read word for word? Or do you sweep your eyes across phrases and sentences? Trying to take in every single word will slow you down and even interfere with your comprehension. Why? Because in the English language, the meaning of sentences is built up from groups of words, from the way phrases and clauses are put together. Halting at every single word can keep you from absorbing the meaning of the entire sentence.

You can actually take in the meaning of a sentence better by using your eyes to sweep across phrases and clauses, rather than slowing down to take in each word separately.

A very common bad reading habit is called "sub-vocalization". You have probably noticed that many young children who are just learning to read will sound out syllables and words to themselves. Many people continue to do this even as adults. The habit of sub-vocalization is a drag on your potential reading speed because your brain can take in and process information much faster than you can sub-vocalize.

You can actually look at printed information and have it enter directly into the mind without moving your lips or sounding out the words in your head. If you have been sounding out the words in your mind while you read, you will not be reading at your optimal level. From now on, consciously make the effort to take in meaning from the printed page without hearing the words spoken in your mind.

Another bad habit that slows down reading speed is going back and re-reading a line or phrase every time you think you may have missed a word. In many cases, going back to read the line again does not really improve comprehension. Simply eliminating this one negative habit could double your reading speed!

Consciously practice making the effort to keep on reading, refusing to back track, until it becomes second nature for you.

Most people when reading will sweep their eyes across each line of print from left to right. When they get to the end of the line at the right, their eyes jump to the beginning of the next line at the left. This is not always necessary, and it will slow you down. If you are reading columns that are not very wide, you may not need to sweep your eyes across every line from left to right. Practice looking at the center of the lines, and move your eyes down the column of print. See if you can still take in the meaning of the entire line this way.

How can you tell if you still understand the material when you increase your reading speed? How do you know if you are missing something important? Getting through an article faster is of little benefit if you don't understand most of it, or if you miss some vital points.

Every time you finish an exercise to improve your reading speed, ask yourself, "What was the article about? What were the main points? What were the supporting arguments presented?"

Write down what you understood and can remember. Then go back and read the original more slowly and carefully. Check it against what you have remembered. Were you correct in your understanding of what the article was about? Did you understand most of the main points? Did you miss anything important?

Keep track of how your reading scores change over time. With practice you should be able to greatly improve your reading speed while maintaining a good level of comprehension.

Retraining your eyes and brain may require a committed effort on your part, but the results will be worth it in terms of reading speed gained. Stay relaxed and confident while you practice.

Royane Real is the author of several downloadable self improvement books available at her website. She has spent over twenty years as a science educator. This article is taken from her new book "How to Be Smarter - Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better, and Be More Creative" and you can check it out at http://www.royanereal.com

---

First Things Last

Years ago clients would tell me they could not identify... Read More

What Would Save You Time?

We all get overwhelmed from time to time, and sometimes... Read More

Time Mastery vs. Time Management - Knowing the Difference

How much time do you spend on Mastering Your Time?... Read More

21 Questions To Assess Your Readiness For Time Management

How many of us are guilty of "Putting the cart... Read More

Procrastination - Understanding & Overcoming it

Whenever I've worked on 'de-cluttering' my living or working space,... Read More

The Keepers of Time

I give presentations on organizational skill building as it relates... Read More

Will Your Epilogue Be ? I Got All My Emails Done?

Work life balance is the new Holy Grail; that search... Read More

Time Management? NO!

Many people want to be coached to manage their time... Read More

The WIT to WIN

What are the most important things you should accomplish today?... Read More

Living on Purpose: Achieving Balance Between Work And the Rest of Your Life

Many of us get so caught up in day-to-day pressures... Read More

Perfekt!

Are you obsessed with getting everything just right? Do you... Read More

How Can I Get Some Time to Myself?

"I never seem to have any time for myself. What... Read More

Having Time on Your Side

Clarity brings accomplishmentOne of the most important things you can... Read More

What is ?Life Balance? and How Can You Attain It?

We all face decisions that involve doing things that affect... Read More

Writing a Thank You Letter for Meeting

I have a habit of sending a thank you letter... Read More

Time Management

Isn't it amazing that some people can produce huge results... Read More

Freelance Productivity: Do One Thing Extra Each Day

This may not sound like a big deal. But it's... Read More

How to Define a Successful Time Management Strategy

One of the most challenging aspect in life is time... Read More

Time Management: How To Get More Done

If you can regularly ask yourself "Am I regularly and... Read More

Doing Things We Dread

As I sit here in front of the computer... Read More

Time Management: Eliminate Time Killers to Gain More Hours Every Day

There are two types of time killers in everyone's life.... Read More

Benefits of Speed Reading

In this digital age, the importance of being able to... Read More

How Are You Viewing Your Time?

In working with and coaching people across the country, one... Read More

Time is Money?

Not 1 in 10 people can tell you where money... Read More

Creative Leadership; Inspirational Power ( Part 2 )

Time management is absolute crucial nowadays where business decisions have... Read More

Top Ten Motivators

Setting goals is the easy part -- but sticking with... Read More

Im Too Busy - Oh Really!

If I had a dollar or even better a pound... Read More

How to Minimize Trips to the Grocery Store

Still awaiting the birth of my baby (I am overdue),... Read More

Work, Work, Work: Making Each Moment Count

Time, time, time. It seems there is never enough of... Read More

Schedule Time for Interruption

One of the most challenging situations people face when planning... Read More

Time Management Mastery

From Potential to PerformanceOne of the great things about life... Read More

How Would You Like to Capture Some Time?

Women's health issues often are focused on goals to reach:... Read More

Desktop Management Boosts Productivity

Many of us spend long hours at our desk. To... Read More