Speed Reading Tip: Read a Chunk of Words at a Time
Since my mother’s death in late 2012, I have been working on major yearly personal projects that can have an impacton my professional life. First, I had the World Virtual Book Tour as a tribute to her, then my informal Liberal Arts Education, and this year, it’s The Invisible Mentor 2015 Reading Challenge. But the interesting thing is that all the three projects are very much related and they are projects you do for more than a year – they are all connected. Life is like that, and I am sure you can relate with your own examples. I am still working on my informal liberal arts education because I have not yet met all the reading requirements. I have taken 12 courses, and when I started to focus on taking courses that will aid my profession, I started to reap the benefits. The Invisible Mentor 2015 Reading Challenge will allow me to fill all the requirements for my informal liberal arts education, and much more. Additionally, since we are reading diversely, it will also allow me to conduct another World Virtual Book Tour.
So what does speed reading have to do with any of this?
A lot actually!
With the Challenge, the aim is to read a book a week for 52 weeks. But we are not reading 52 random books since we are reading for solutions. Our reading is intentional because we do not want to become another statistic – another person who loses a job to robots or other technologies. To read all these books while keeping pace with all the other things we have to do each day, we have to read faster while increasing our level of reading comprehension. These days, with access to so much information, the typical person has to spend a large portion of each day, reading emails or other work-related documents. To keep abreast, you also have to read journals and perhaps a few blog posts to stay on top of not only their jobs, but your industry and niche. This means that all of us have to have productivity hacks to process information much faster, and by reading chunks of words at a time, we will get more reading done in less time.
Related Post
BrainRead – Effective Speed Reading – Reading like the Swedish by Göran Askeljung
The Invisible Mentor 2015 Reading Challenge
“30 books written by authors born in 30 different countries.
Book that will allow you to perform your job better.
Book that will allow you to develop a new skill.
Book to improve your writing.
Book to improve your memory.
Book to help you read faster.
Science fiction novel.
Mystery, detective or drama.
Children’s book that you did not read as a child.
Book that’s over 400 pages long.
Book about religion.
Book about psychology.
Book about sports or one that uses sports metaphors.
Book that blends disciplines.
Book about doodling or sketchnoting.
Graphic novel.
Collection of comics.
Book about art or an artist.
A book about nature.
A collection of short stories.
An epic poem.
Collection of poetry.
Book about How X Works (For instance, I have How Language Works, How Music Works and How Winning Works.
Book written at least 100 years ago
A trilogy, quartet, quintet, or more!”
If you spent some time thinking about the challenge, you will realize that if you carefully choose the books, they can aid your career progression. For instance, the most successful people know how to speed read, they read poetry, they read diversely, they have hacks that enable them to remember more of what they read, they are good at problem solving and well-written mysteries can teach you how to problem solve. An important part of the challenge is figuring out which books to actively read that will allow you to develop new skills and learn new techniques to perform your job better. You get my drift.
Related Post
Reading Globally: The Invisible Mentor 2015 Reading Challenge
C.E.O. Libraries Reveal Keys to Success
But I return to the point that you have to read faster, and a simple way to do that is to practice reading chunks of words at a time. One of the items on the 2015 Reading Challenge, is to read a book to help you to read faster, and my recommendation is BrainRead. I read BrainRead last year, and it’s an excellent book, but it’s one of those books that you have to read more than once because there is so much to process. This year, in the next few weeks, I will be reading BrainRead again, because speed reading is such an important skill to have. In the book, there are many exercises to practice that will teach you to read chunks of words at a time.
Another option, that complements BrainRead, is to either get an app such as Read Racer, or browser extensions such as AcceleraReader that will train you to read multiple words at a time. Additionally, expanding your vocabulary makes it much easier to read chunks of words at a time since you recognize the meaning of more words by sight. By mastering this one speed reading tip – reading a chunk of words at a time – you will increase the speed at which you read.
Related Posts/Further Reading
How to Rapidly Build Your Vocabulary?
Rapid Reading and Retention Workshop
Key Takeaway
Reading diversely will enable you to attain professional success, and you can read more books by simply reading chinks of words at a time.
Key Actions to Take
- Purchase the digital version of BrainRead – Effective Speed Reading – Reading like the Swedish
, and start reading and practicing the exercises. - Purchase a speed reading app and download a speed reading browser extension.
- Practice reading chunks of three words at a time.
- If you have not done so already, participate in The Invisible Mentor 2015 Reading Challenge by joining my LinkedIn Group, Leaders are Great Readers.
- Create a notebook in Evernote to save notes while reading books.
- Sign-up for an online diary such Diaro to record your experiences while reading broadly.
, and start reading and practicing the exercises.Liked this post? Share on social media as well as subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more! If you’re new to the blog, visit the Start Here page for my pillar posts.
Author Bio: Avil Beckford, an expert interviewer, entrepreneur and published author is passionate about books and professional development, and that's why she founded The Invisible Mentor and the Virtual Literary World Tour to give you your ideal mentors virtually in the palm of your hands by offering book reviews and book summaries, biographies of wise people and interviews of successful people. Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.
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