5 Things You Should Know When Learning to Read Faster

Jason wanted to learn how to read faster because he knew it would help him become successful in life. He came across some information about speed reading and that’s where this all began…

There’s not a lot of free information available on speed reading so he did his best to learn what he could. Jason figured out that if he learned to read faster he would be able to study for classes and enjoy some more reading in his personal time.

What he didn’t see are these 5 things that no one warned him about..

I believe there are 5 main things that everyone should know when they start to learn how to read faster.

Removing Subvocalization

Sounding out words in your head or “reading out loud” in your head is by far the hardest thing you need to “shut off” when learning how to read faster.

Whenever I take a break from reading frequently, I start to subvocalize and my reading speed plummets.

Just like learning to play a sport, removing subvocalization while reading will take a lot of practice and determination to master.

It’s Not a Race

When you start learning to read faster, the goal is to slowly get faster. If you start trying to read three times faster than you can right now, you’re won’t hardly catch any words and your reading comprehension is zilch.

Hopefully if you’ve read the other articles here, you’ve learned that you can’t simply double your reading speed overnight.

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see much of an improvement; it took me a year to get confident in my skills.

It Takes Time and Practice

Understanding that there is a process in learning to read faster is crucial to your success. I see a lot of people give up speed reading because they aren’t able to read 400-500 words per minute after a few weeks of practice.

Typing on a keyboard is something most people are good at and take for granted – think how long it took you to be able to type without looking, let alone fast.

Learning to read faster is the same principle and it will take time and a lot of practice to increase your speed.

Short Practice Sessions Are Best

This may sound counter intuitive to what I just told you about needing to practice a lot but short practice sessions are best. Your eyes need time to rest – reading for hours can strain your mind and body and putting too much time into each session will not yield the results you think you should get.

Taking 15 minute chunks of time to practice reading faster or reading in general will help acclimate your eyes. If you haven’t been reading much at all, you may have to start in smaller chunks.

If I don’t have something I’m reading in particular, this is what my “schedule” looks like:

15-30 minutes reading in the morning
(2) 5-10 minute sessions during the day
10-20 minutes reading in the evening or before bed

You may look at this list and wonder what 10 minutes of reading will get you, but if you add up my total day’s worth of reading you’ll see I read anywhere from 35 – 70 minutes a day.

When you start reading faster, that can mean you read a book every 2-3 days… when’s the last time you’ve finished just one?

Reflecting Back on What You Just Read

Reflecting back on what you just read is important for reading comprehension and increasing your enjoyment for reading. Whether you are reading a non-fiction book on marketing or reading a sci-fi book by one of your favorite writers, actually remembering what you read is important.

It is hard to pick up where you left off and not have a clue on what you’ve read, right? I know I wouldn’t want to read a book where I wasn’t able to remember who a certain character is or how they are in the position they are in.

Conclusion

Read every day and you’ll get faster eventually. I promise if you listen to these tips and make an effort to read just a little bit faster every day, you’ll look back on this journey and realize you are able to read and learn anything you want to without taking much time.

Do yourself a favor and take a break to read a book for just 5 minutes and then go about your day. Come back a little later when you need a break from whatever you’re doing and read 5 more minutes.

If you do this every day, I guarantee you will learn how to read faster in no time.

If you have any comments or questions, leave them below and I’ll answer them!