Learning to speed read, part 1
Thanks to Learnerbly and the generous learning budget, I’ve now got wayyy too many books on the shelf that I have yet to read.
Even at my current rate of about 1.5 books a month, it’s going to take me 5 years to get through the current pile, let alone the size of this pile 5 years from now.
“You should learn how to speed read” my brain, every day for a week
But is it a real thing?, Like, I legit don’t know. I’m going into this with a load of scepticism, I’m expecting the space to be full of just-buy-my-course and get-rich-quick vibes.
Does it work? Can I learn to speed read and not sacrifice comprehension? I’m going to give it a go and bring you along with me if you’ll come.
But before we begin; let’s start with a measurement.
Who are the experts?
What are the practicable skills?
Read just the middle - read less
Reduce Subvocalisation - increase speed
One of first things I hear about is “subvocalisation” which is your little inner reading voice. Apparently you can stop this? Like there’s another level after “stop reading out loud” where you “stop reading in loud”.
Use a pointer - read smoothly
Questions going into it
- How tiring is it?
- How much does it effect comprehension?
- How much FOMO feeling is there after finishing it?
- Will I feel comfortable saying “I read it”?
- Can I get through my pile of books with this technique?
- Is this something that’s limited by my preference of physical books, or is there a big impact by going digital?