10 Ways to Finish a Book in a Day

Can we make speed reading a habit and finish a book in a day everyday?

Image credits: Vogue

Reading 800 words per minute sounds really cool. It means that you can read a 200 pages book in an hour. While it sounds cool, it is also important to know when you read fast or what your purpose is for speed reading. Studies show that when you are skimming a text, the less information you take in, particularly for remembering. Therefore, if you are reading a technique article, you may think to be slower. In this curation, you will find the most recommended tips and techniques for reading faster and studies about reading speed.  

1. Be Selective 

Before pulling a book from your shelf and starting to read, you should ask yourself, “why do I need this information?” Filtering unnecessary materials may help prevent you from wasting time.  

2. Skim the Main Points First 

 When you open a book, read the table of contents, diagrams and subtitles first. Getting an overall sense of all chapters and sections gives you a great overview and helps you put together all the irrelevant pieces.  

3. Focus on Keywords 

You don’t need to read whole sentences. Keywords give you the main idea you need. To practice that, you can try the texts that are prepared for reading faster, including bold keywords. 

4. Do Not Reread the Words 

Our eyes tend to reread some words, slowing down the reading speed. Covering words you already read can be a good tactic to stop your eyes from flitting back to earlier words.  

 5. The Indenting Method 

That is a popular technique for training your peripheral vision. The main tip is to focus your gaze just on the middle section of sentences. 

Bob Dylan. Image credits: Ken Regan

 6. Stop Subvocalizing 

Subvocalizing is your first enemy if you want to read fastly. You can chew a gun when you read to avoid this unintentional habit.  

 7. Use Your Finger as a Guide 

Chasing your finger with your gaze prevents you from subvocalizing every word, and also, you can make your reading faster by increasing your finger movement speed.  

8. Make Notes 

That is particularly important for remembering the main points. After using the speed-reading techniques outlined above, you can jot down some keywords or essential information to remember and talk about that easily. 

9. Break, Focus and Repeat 

20 mins. is your optimum concentration time. That is what studies show. Therefore, you should have short breaks every 20 minutes for effective speed-reading. 

10. Benchmark Your Progress 

This allows you to see if your practice is paying off. You can try free speed-reading assessments on the internet.  

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