How I learnt to double my reading speed.

And, save two hours of my time every day.

Reading is something I’ve always sucked at! I’m one of those people who start reading a book, yet never finish it. I came to the conclusion that its because I was a slow reader. It would take me forever to read a Harry Potter novel (not that I ever would). Life’s too short right?

Well, the average person spends 4 hours per day reading. Just think about how much time you spend every day reading books, newspapers, magazines, web articles etc. Imagine if you could double your reading speed. You’ll save approximately two hours per day!

We live in world where ‘Time’ is our biggest commodity. Everyone values their time. Think about your daily activities. These day’s you’d probably rather text then call someone. Fast food is often the more convenient choice over restaurants or cooking. We even pay premium prices for next day deliveries. It’s all about saving time.

I was inspired by Tai Lopez, a successful entrepreneur and mentor, who during his TEDx Talk mentioned he reads at least one book a day.
I instantly became fascinated with the idea of being able to read more. But, just like most people, my excuse was “I haven’t got the time”.
I decided to look into the art of speed reading and I’m going to share with you what I’ve learnt.

It’s simple, the more you read, the more you learn. And, just like the well known quote by Francis Bacon goes “knowledge is power”.

There seems to be overwhelming connections between wealth, success and reading. Some of the worlds most successful people are big readers.

Former US president J.F Kennedy was a known speed reader. It’s said he could read up to 1,200 words per minute. That’s 6 times faster than the average reader. He was known to read 6 newspapers every morning; with just one cup of coffee! Now, if you compare that to most people, it takes us 6 cups of coffee to read just one newspaper!
J.F.Kennedy believed the ability to speed read was crucial to his success and power. In fact, he thought it was so beneficial, he even encouraged his staff to learn the the art of speed reading too.

Bill Gate’s and Warren Buffet, two of the worlds most successful and wealthiest people in history, also believe in the importance of reading.

A student at the University of Nebraska asked both Gates and Buffett “If you can choose one superpower, what would it be?”.
A wise Bill Gates responded by saying “the ability to read super fast”.
Mr. Buffett immediately backed Gates by adding “Yeah I agree, I’ve probably wasted ten years reading slowly.”

Gates also goes on annual retreats to do nothing but read, reflect and research; something he calls ‘Think Week’.

“I create a life to-do list, do a lot of research, and think through big ideas and challenges deeply.” — Bill Gates

It is said that Gates will plough through dozens of inspiring books during ‘Think Week’.

So why do we read so slow?

The biggest reason we all read slow is down to lack of education. Think of it this way, when did you learn to read? The chances are you learned in school when you were around 5 years old. We’re all taught to read word-by-word; with children books such as “Cat in the Hat.”
My teacher would make my class read out loud. I understand why she did this. It’s because she wanted to make sure we were pronouncing the words correctly. The problem is that now, even when we ‘read in our heads’, we’re still automatically voicing each word. Notice the voice in your head whilst you’re reading this? This is called Subvocalisation. Now, stop and think about that for a sec. This means you can only read as fast as you can talk. Fast readers learn to eliminate subvocalisation.

The average person reads 150–250 words per minute. At that speed we find it difficult to read one book a week, let alone one book a day like Tai Lopez. Luckily, we can all learn to read a lot faster.

Your brain has the ability to think rapidly. Think about when you’re driving a car. How is it that you’re able to focus on the road, listen to music, control the wheel and chat to your friend over hands-free… all at the same time?
In fact, most people find they can drive better when they’re driving fast. This is because your brain is responding to the momentum and focus levels. Reading is the same. You can read a lot better when you read fast.

How to instantly increase your reading speed.

First things first. You need to establish your Words-Per-Minute count.
Now that you know your WPM, you can easily monitor any improvements.

Eliminate Regression:
Get this — 20–30% of your reading time is spent re-reading words. What a waste right? Learning to eliminate regression can increase your speed significantly.

Eliminate subvocalisation:
Subvocalisation is the most difficult habit to eliminate. This takes time and practice to cut out. Some say humming or listening to music whilst reading helps.

Increase comprehension by finger reading:
Your eyes and brain are configured to respond to motion. Have you ever noticed when you count, you often use your fingers? This is because your brain is trained to process motion extremely quickly. By simply using your finger to underline each word, you can improve both speed and focus. Each day, you can increase the speed of your finger guidance whilst reading. Don’t worry too much if you don’t understand what you’re reading to start with. Comprehension comes with practice. You need to allow time for your brain to learn your new reading method.

Top Tip: Use your left-hand. Your left-hand connects to the right-side of your brain; which is your creative side. Using your left-hand will improve focus levels and imagination.

And finally, Practice! The more time you spend reading, using these speed reading techniques, the better and faster you will get. Try to practice at least 30 minutes everyday, and track your progress.

Since learning these techniques, I’ve doubled my reading speed and I’m reading more than ever before. Reading is one of the best self investments; and it’s something we can all do! Tweet me and let me know how you get on.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you got value out of this article. It would mean so much to me for you to hit the recommend button below. Peace!