Hey,<\/p>\n
The most popular article I’ve ever written was on speed reading.<\/p>\n
In this course, I’d estimate that almost a third of people start
\ntheir first trial using the tactic.<\/p>\n
The reason is obvious: if you can read faster, you can learn faster.
\nSome subjects require deep understanding, but many can be understood
\nreadily–the time constraint is in actually reading everything.<\/p>\n
That’s why today I’m going to share you some new speed-reading
\ntactics that I haven’t yet added to the course.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Much of speed reading covers the techniques of reading, using a
\npointer, eye movements, scanning patterns.<\/p>\n
But where I feel its biggest strengths lie is not in the manual
\nskill of moving your finger or flipping a page, but in planning out
\n*how* you’re going to read something so you can get the maximum
\nvalue for the least effort.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
How to Read<\/p>\n
Sounds stupid right? You all know how to read. And if you didn’t,
\nthen you probably wouldn’t be reading this.<\/p>\n
But while we’re all taught the basics of reading, we’re rarely
\ntaught the advanced skills: what strategies to use to maximize what
\nwe want from a piece of text and minimize the waste.<\/p>\n
If your goal for reading is pleasure, then strategy doesn’t matter.
\nI’m currently meandering through my copy of Les Trois Mousquetaires
\nand enjoying every minute of it.<\/p>\n
But if your goal for reading is to learn something specific–then
\nstrategy makes all the difference.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Creating a Pre-Read Attack Plan<\/p>\n
The key to successful reading is to create a pre-reading attack
\nplan. This will allow you to focus on what you need to once you
\nstart reading, so you don’t get caught up on things that don’t
\nmatter or skim by the things that do.<\/p>\n
A pre-reading attack plan seems like overkill, but it needn’t be.
\nIn truth, it should only take about 1-2 minutes as you answer the
\nfollowing questions:<\/p>\n
1. What is the *most* important thing I take away from this reading?<\/p>\n
2. Which sections of the text should I highlight?<\/p>\n
3. Which sections of the text should I skim?<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
I’ll give examples from two of my current reading assignments:<\/p>\n
For my ethics class, my textbook consists of essays presenting
\nvarious arguments. With this text, I can answer:<\/p>\n
1. Skeletons of the arguments proposed.
\n2. Statements of fact, premises and conclusions.
\n3. Long introductions, historical references, thematic quotations<\/p>\n
For my information systems class, which relies on meticulous
\nmultiple-choice testing, however, my goal switches:<\/p>\n
1. Terminology, facts
\n2. Bolded terms, definitions, lists and sequences
\n3. Background information, cases, lengthy explanations<\/p>\n
The point isn’t that I skip everything listed in #3 or obsess over
\neverything in #1 and #2. Rather, it’s to be consciously aware of
\nwhat matters for this textual work, so I can deliberately slow
\nmyself on the important parts and use my higher speeds on the
\nless important.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
I’ll be continuing this discussion on speed reading tactics next
\nweek, so stay tuned!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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