Effective Reading

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Start of article...

If you are like I am, I read a lot.  It's where I learn a lot from what other people have written.  It might be a blog. A book. An article. An eBook. 

But HOW do you remember what you want from the article?  

Here is my system, that I usually use. (I have to admit that I don't use this all the time, but am working on improving on this great habit.)  I use this when there is something that I am reading that I would really like to learn from.  

Here is my system ....

1. I really like to print out what I am going to read.  It's an essential element of my reading process.  But I usually print double sided and 2 pages per side to cut down on paper and ink.
2. I select a place and time when I will not be disturbed where I can devote my full attention to the reading.
3. I have a highlighter and a pen in hand.
4. When I start, I look at the title and ask myself, "What am I reading?".  This puts my mind in the right frame of mind, focused on that type of content.
5. Most reading is broken up into chapters, and often into subsections with headers.  Don't skip the chapter titles and header titles.  Just like the title of the book, read the headers and ask yourself, "what am I going to learn in this section / chapter?".
6. Read the chapter or section, paragraph by paragraph.  If there is an important concept in the paragraph, then highlight it with your highlighter.  Remember, just highlight the essential element, not the whole paragraph. 
7. If something in the article makes you think of something related to what you are working on, then use your pen and jot that idea down immediately in the border of the page.  Trust me. Do this immediately because you will forget 90% of your ideas if you wait to the end of the paragraph.
8. Once you are done with the chapter, review it by only reading what you have highlighted and ideas you have jotted down.  That should only take an extra couple of minutes, but your retention will skyrocket.
9. IF you are compulsive, once you are done with the book, article, etc.  you can transcribe the essential thoughts into your journal for future reference.  Be sure you mention the name of the book, article, etc.

There you have it.  Give it a try.  I can't guarantee how much this will increase your comprehension and retention, but I am pretty sure that it will be far better than your normal reading.

Now you try it...

Share your thoughts, ideas and feedback below.

 BTW...the image for this blog post is an example of using this system...

If you are spending time reading, isn't it better to spend a little more time to read effectively with better comprehension and retention, than to race through it ... and not remember anything?