Do you have a bunch of papers to read in a short time? And you are confused and questioned how you could finish all of them in a short time?
Well, whether it's a book, the newspaper, or a work page, if you have less time, yet, you don't have the option to skip the reading, you need to increase your time to read the pages before your deadlines approach you.
So, our today's aim is to help you with your reading speed. Here, I came with some of the proven ways that will help you with your reading speed.
20 ways to increase your reading speed
I know, sometimes you just have to skim through the papers with understanding the meaning of them. Yet, it is pretty tricky for some people, but it's not impossible. So, anyone, who practices it's a technique, understands them throughout can learn how to read faster without losing their meaning.
You can find the below techniques to help you.
1. Focus on text structure
No doubt, many writings or pages have unnecessary data that you are already familiar with. And, while reading, when you go through those same content, you need some time for it. So, it's better to skip them or just have an overlook on it.
I would suggest before you start reading the paper, you can go through the page by overlooking it and see its heading, keywords, and outline. You will get an idea about what you have to read and what you have to skim.
You would probably find the critical data at the starting and the end of a paragraph. This way, you won't only read the entire text but also will understand the text correctly.
2. Questions about the structure
When you are done with understanding the text structure of your reading material, asking questions to yourself before going through the entire text would help you improve your reading speed. You can ask yourself,
➤ Why did I stress these ideas?
➤ Why are they important to me?
➤ What is the main problem?
When you create such a question and try to find out the answers to these questions, you will notice that your reading speed is improvised. And, you will be able to see the difference soon.
3. Use online software
Like the other methods of improving reading speed, I would suggest you take help from online software such as Outread or Spritz (Speed Read Application).
This software will not only improve your reading speed but also will help you to comprehend the text. Both the applications have different ways to work on your reading speed. The Spritz works like a speeder, whereas the Outread is more attentive towards the reader's attention. It focuses on the words and the characters they go through in a particular period.
The online tools are one of the best ways that I help you with your reading speed. It will calculate every single detail that you need to know and work on.
4. Practice flexible reading
No doubt, you can read faster than text that is easy to comprehend, such as fictional books and blogs, than technical or scientific material.
Therefore, it becomes essential to read all kinds of literature to improve your reading speed. So, you can include newspaper posts, textbooks, scholarly articles, etc., to enhance your reading skills.
Remember, the business articles or the scientific or researched articles are more complex to comprehend. Thus, it requires more time to read and then to understand. What I'm trying to say here is, include various kinds of literature in your reading.
5. Stay motivated
Motivation is always needed. And if you could find the cause and motivate yourself for reading, it will help you improvise your reading speed.
You can imagine the benefits of faster reading. When you are reading a boring book, try to imagine that this book will help you getting good grades in an exam and pleasing your parents and teachers.
Also, you can think, anything that you are reading will be helpful for you sometimes in your life. It will help you to build your career's strong foundation. This way, you can find various ways to motivate yourself to read and improve your reading speed.
6. Attend a variable reading speed
When two persons are different individuals, their skills can't match. Remember, everyone had their reading speed. So, if you compare yourself with others, you will be at a loss.
Instead, try improving your reading speed organically. This is the best and natural way to boost your reading speed. When you try to race with other's reading speed and try to match their pace, you won't be able to reach them as your capabilities are different. Therefore, your speed is different.
7. Do not multitask
Although multitasking is a good thing, you need to avoid it while reading. It can slow down your reading speed. Avoid attending phone calls, watching TV, listening to songs, or chatting when you are reading.
If you are asked to summarize what you have just read, it will be more difficult to write down if you don't focus on reading. Multitasking is good. But it is not always necessary to follow.
8. Avoid regression
You might have experienced it several times that, while reading, you have forgotten the previous text, and you jump back to the first word. This is regression.
When this happens, you lose your flow of text, concentration to read, and compression. The best way to avoid regression is you need to start with the full attention to read and also to comprehend at first.
9. Start fast
You may not get it at first when you start reading faster. But it can help you to read faster then.
If you don't like reading at all, yet it's a compulsion to read out the material, start fast the textbook till a couple of pages and then slow down. Reading quickly doesn't mean just skimming through it.
As, whatever you read, you will definitely get a mean in through it.
10. Prioritize
You would say me mad if I say, ignore the first two and the last two words of any paragraph and start reading from the third and end on the third word for improving the reading speed.
Well, you can do this with this practice as your peripheral vision will catch the first two letters and understand the meaning of the text. Trust me; you won't realize how quickly you learn this technique.
You can't deny that; some words in a sentence are meant to be present to give it a grammatically correct shape. This sentence looks like a lengthy one. At the same time, it has very few meaningful words that you need to understand.
11. Try speed reading courses.
If your technique is not working for you, you can try taking up some reading courses. They can help you with your fast reading practice. You will get a chance to interact with your teachers and fellow students in such a course.
You can easily find such courses traditionally or through online portals. Such as, Read a speeder is a fantastic tool for mastering the fast reading practice. It will work on your visual interpretation and mental focus.
12. Read early in the day.
Scientific proves you are present saying that when you read in the morning, you comprehend it better. When you wake up in the morning, you are optimistic and energetic. You don't have any burden in your mind.
Thus, it is the best time to read and comprehend. Every successful person will agree to this point. Anyway, morning is when you can get the peace that makes this time best to read.
13. Increase concentration
If you are a book lover, you might have noticed that any fascinating book that grabs your attention you can read faster than the boring text. This is proof that to increase the reading speed, you need to be focused.
When you read anything with concentrations, you read it faster yet can comprehend it better. So, it is so essential for you to increase engagement if you are working on your reading speed.
14. Set a goal
You might have experienced that whenever you set a goal for anything, it's not hard to achieve your dream for yourself. You can apply the same technique in improving your reading speed.
Set the goal, like, you want to finish ten pages within a particular time. Know the potential benefits of your reading. Set the deadline for each text, and hit the deadline with your work done.
This will help you a lot in improving your reading speed.
15. Track your time
It can be the best way to see your improvement. Track down the time when you are working on your reading speed.
You can keep a record of the number of words you read per minute. Or you can use any application to do the same. This way, you will understand that how your performance is going. You will also find the motivation to do it.
Doing this technique will motivate you, and also it will help you comprehend the reading material at best.
16. Shape your reading environment
I'm sure every one of you is agreed to this point. Your surrounding environment, while you are reading, has a significant impact on your reading. You can not focus on even your slow task when there is noise around you.
It is difficult for you to focus on your reading while traveling or if you are under stress. When you are reading, you need to be calm and available to read. Your attention should be only on what you are reading. Not even when you are feeling sleepy can you focus on reading?
So, if talking about fast reading, you can not read faster, in such a condition. I would suggest, take a small nap when you are feeling sleepy. Try to make your mind free from stress. Read in daylight hours. You also can find ways that cheer you and make your mood positive.
17. Develop your memory
If I'm talking about fast reading, either you will read the texts without comprehending them, or you will retain the meaning yet can read fast.
It is seen that, when you read faster, you can not comprehend the material entirely. You are more likely to forget many things.
The solution to this problem is to develop your memory to understand what you are read. For this, you need to have a deep concentration and in-depth, comprehensive power.
18. Do not subvocalize
Here is the actual problem and the mistake most of you might make. When you vocalize the word, your mind starts preparing an image; so, it takes time to remember. Thus, reducing your reading speed.
How about, if you read something, and understand it, because, you felt like watching a movie. Sounds great, right? Well, you can do this by taking help from some applications to do this. Let me say Speeder, It is one of the most popular choices for improving your reading speed.
It will make sure that tracking your word works speed at a faster rate monitoring your progress.
19. Practice, practice, and more practice
Nothing can be achieved without practice. If you keep consistency in your work and practice your task, you will always get success.
A daily session of 20 minutes of reading is enough for you to do it at first. This may not look great, but it is indeed beneficial for you to read put daily 20 minutes to improve your reading speed.
Motivate yourself to do it daily. And practice reading honestly. Practice is the only way to get your goal. It may take some time. But you will be successful for sure.
20. Take notes
This will help you the most if you consistently take notes of what you are reading. Recording the critical points of your reading material will help you to avoid re-reading. The particularly noted teach the best and most appropriate way to understand it.
Although highlighting the text is an excellent idea to remember what you read and find it soon when you need it, it also can be bad for your reading as the highlighted text grabs your attention quickly.
So, when you start reading your material for the next time, you first jump to the highlighted text that can hamper your ability to understand the concept.
How can I remember what I read?
Reading something is not a big deal. But the challenge is, comprehending something and then remembering it. Unless you understand what you are reading, you won't be able to remember it.
Yet, I have listed a few essential points if you want to remember what you have read.
Read with a purpose
A purpose is a must. Let me say, if you are reading a textbook for an exam, the goal is, you have to remember it so that you can write an exam.
Similarly, whenever you are reading, put a purpose across so that you don't have to put extra effort. If you are reading something just for fun, there are chances that you will not remember it for a long time.
When you have a vital purpose in front of you, your mind is ready to accept that; it has to remember what you are reading.
Skim first
You can try it out.
Try skimming through what you are reading. When you are skimming through the text, try to understand its heading, subheadings, outlines, and structure your text.
It will help you to know the nature of your reading material. And you will be able to read and remember the text.
Conclusion
What you read is not a challenge for you. But, when you have too much to wrap up readings, you need to increase your reading speed. And then, remember it. So, considering those elements, I have complained about some techniques that will help you improve your reading speed and remember it. I hope you find these techniques helpful.
Raj Sharma
What are the reading mechanics?
I would say the reading methods or your posture while reading. If you are reading while lying on a bed, you would probably feel sleepy after some time. And it is obvious.
Similar way, your sitting position while you are reading has a considerable impact on your remember capacity. If you sit straight on a chair and put a book on the table, bend a bit, and read the book, there are more chances to remember what you are reading.
1. Highlighting and note-making
This can be a great and easiest way to remember what you are reading. You need to develop the habit of note-making and sometimes to highlight the text. It will help you majorly.
What you write down as your notes have more chances to get remembered. Also, the highlighted part. Even though you think you forget something, you can quickly jump to those sections that you have highlighted and prepared the notes for.
2. Think in pictures
Visualization can be your best way to remember. Think about the story that you heard in your childhood. You can tell the same level even you get older. You still remember it as it is because you have a visual for the story.
The same technique you have to apply here. If you can think in the picture that you are reading, you will get more benefits from it.
3. Get context
It would help you if you tried to know the history behind the book. For example, if you are reading an autobiography of a businessman, you would try to know,
➤ What are they successful in?
➤ What do they do?
➤ How did they succeed? And so on.
You can do some preliminary research to know about them a bit. And then you can turn to their book. This will help you remember many things.
4. Be focused
Nothing can be more potent than your focus while you are reading.
It is best if you can read with focus. Don't get involved with watching TV or being surrounded by the crowd while reading, as these things will distract you. And you won't be able to focus on what you are reading.
5. Rehearse again soon
Whatever you write down can be remembered for a long time if you reread it on the next day of making the notes.
Practice will help you a lot to keep remembering what you read. Go through the text again and again. Keep updating your mind with the exact text continuously to reflect what you read. And you will get the progress soon.
6. Become familiar with the topic
If something is too new for you, you will take time to adapt it. Right?
Let me say you are a science student, and you are asked to read something about other fields, excluding science; you will take time to read it, comprehend it, and at last remember it.
The same principle is applicable for every piece of paper of reading. If some topic is too new for you, you won't be able to understand it quickly. But when you get familiar with it, it will be easy for you to remember.
7. Try writing practice
It would be time-consuming. But it works. When you practice some mathematical question, try writing it down multiple times until you understand it and remember it.
You can try out the same method here. It won't be straightforward to write down the theoretical material. But it works on remembering it.
Write down what you want to remember again and again. And you will remember it easily.
8. Take your time
There's nothing wrong if you want to take more time to finish your reading. What important is how much amount of the text you can remember.
So, don't look at the time. Take your time and read out the book. Time should not be the barrier. If you don't understand any line, go through it again and again, and finish it.
Give your mind the required time to get the reading done with comprehension. But, this doesn't mean that you are stuck in with the exact text all day long.
9. Take notes on the page.
As I said earlier, when you take out the notes from what you are reading, it will help you remember what you read.
It would be more helpful if you could make the notes on the first page of your book. This will help you to first go through them and recognize them at first.
Yet you feel you are missing something; you can go back to the chapter and re-read it.
10. Read out loud
Even my class teacher used to suggest we read out loud when we were reading. As, this way, you can remember anything much better.
There is scientific evidence behind this theory. And even successful people agree with this theory. You can try it out.
When you read out loud, your ear is also attentive to what you are reading. This way, you provide your brain the information in two ways, through your speech and your listening path. So, I'm the chances of remembering what you read is more.
11. Practice meditation
Yes, meditation can help you with referring to what you are reading. Meditation is the ultimate way to improve your memory. Meditation makes you calm and teaches you to be present at the moment.
When, after meditation, you will read something, you will be able to remember it better than ever. Please note, I'm not saying that you have to meditate whenever you are reading. But, a small session of meditation can improve your remembering capacity.
12. Read without distractions
Distractions are the killer of your memory. While reading, you need a calm place, probably in the morning time. Also, don't multitask when you are reading. Focus on only one task, i.e., the reading.
Scientifically, whenever you read with concentration, you can remember it better. So, concentration is the best way to comprehend what you are reading.