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Speed Reading: Science or Science Fiction

Published on February 21, 2008 in Mental, Personal, Professional and Reviews. 0 Comments Tags: .

Volumes upon volumes have been written about speed reading. In addition, there’s plenty of software available to help students and professionals maximize their time by cutting down the hours they spend reading. But does speed reading really work or is it an illusion created to rake in the almighty dollar? Let examine some of the facts.

Believe it or not, speed reading has a foundation in psychological research. The concept first developed when scientists in the US Air Force proved that people could recognize a group of four words in one five-hundredth of a second. Unfortunately, the story begins to turn a little bit at this point. Apparently it’s easier to recognize a group of four words quickly than it is to read a page quickly and even when high speeds are achieved, reduced comprehension usually accompanies it. For example, top contenders in the World Championship Speed Reading Competition read between 1,000 and 2,000 words per minute but their comprehension rate is about 50%. For those of us who read for information, 50% retention is utterly worthless.

Don’t despair though! You don’t have to read at 2,000 words per minute to benefit from speed reading. The average adult only reads at about 250 words per minute and with a few simple tips, you could easily read at 600 to 1,000 words per minute. How?

1. Read Chunks of Words- This technique is appropriately called “chunking.” Instead of looking at each word individually, you try to see words as 3 to 5 word phrases. It takes a while to get the hang of it but once you do, your reading rate will shoot upwards.

2. Avoid Subvocalization- Can you hear yourself when you read this sentence even if you’re not talking? If so, you’re subvocalizing. You don’t need to hear the word “car” to picture a car. If you’re used to subvocalization, then this tip may be the hardest for you. Don’t get discouraged! Work at it and soon you’ll be visualizing your books rather than vocalizing them and visualizing is a heck of a lot faster!

3. Use Your Hand as a Pace Car- This technique was named after its founder Evelyn Wood. The Wood Method is accomplished by moving your hand across a sentence at the speed you’d like to read. The method works because as humans, we’re highly attuned to motion and you eye will naturally follow your hand. Try it! It’s an easy way to get started speed reading.

While there are reports of people who can read 25,000 words per minute with perfect recall, those cases are few and far between. You may never finish War and Peace in one sitting, but with a little practice you may be able to finish a Harry Potter book in a couple of hours.

Who is Steve Pavlina?

Published on February 19, 2008 in Blogs, Educational, Health, Mental, NLP, Nutrition, Personal, Professional and Reviews. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Steve Pavlina, once a felon, is now a personal development blogger who maintains a site at www.stevepavlina.com. His interests vary. While some of his posts are the run-of-the-mill personal development articles that describe how to energize your life and get things done, other articles boarder on the weird. The arena of personal development has no shortage of blogs on the web so the question is, “Is Steve’s blog worth your time?”

First I’ll say this; you will not be bored on this blog! You could spend a day on it reading a wide variety of articles ranging from “How to Give Up Coffee” to “The Meaning of Life.” The articles are generally well written and are frequently backed with Steve’s experience on the subject.

One of the articles I found particularly interesting was “30 Days to Success.” It’s one of those things that you read and think, “It’s so simple! Why didn’t I think of that?” Basically Steve suggests that major changes in your life should have a 30 day trial period. Have you been thinking of starting a new diet? It can be a daunting task to change the way you eat forever, but if you just want to stick with the diet for 30 days, it becomes much less of a mental hurdle. The beauty of this principle is that new habits take about 30 days to form so if you find that you’re reaping health benefits from your new diet after the 30 day mark, you’re much more likely to continue. See what I mean? The principle presented is simple, yet powerful.

Don’t get me wrong. There are some things Steve writes about that I’d recommend a lot more research on before trying. One such idea is polyphasic sleep. Polyphasic sleep is taking many naps throughout the day rather than sleeping in one long span of time. Steve suggests that this is possible because you train yourself to enter REM sleep faster. That statement caused little alarms to go off in the part of my brain that holds a psychology degree. I remember reading that a person will go directly to REM sleep if they’re sleep deprived and exhausted. I don’t think people trying this sleeping method are really training themselves. I just think they reach a point where they’re so exhausted they go right into REM sleep. Polyphasic sleep also seems to ignore thermal fluctuations that your body goes through during wake/sleep cycles. For me, polyphasic sleep left too many questions.

The truth is you don’t have to agree with everything Steve Pavlina writes in order to benefit from his site. There are plenty of good ideas there and it’s definitely worth your time to check it out and play around for a couple of hours. Who knows? One of Steve’s ideas may change your life!

Stephen R. Covey The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Published on February 12, 2008 in Books and Reviews. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

People have all kinds of habits, some good and some bad. Some bite their nails and others drive too fast. But then there are a select few that are habitually proactive and begin tasks with the end in mind. These last two are habits of highly effective people. What habits do you have? More importantly, what habits should you have? If you are not sure how to answer that last question, then you desperately need to read Stephen R. Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Covey’s book runs the gamut in terms of personal development. After the initial overview, Covey separates his book into three parts. Each part attacks a different facet of success. For example, the first part is focused exclusively on the individual. Here you’ll learn how to approach the projects that face you every day. Sound like your average self help book? It probably would be if Covey didn’t take an unconventional approach to task management. Einstein once said that, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” That quote pretty much sums up Covey’s philosophy when engaging your most challenging tasks. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People explains how you can elevate your thinking to solve issues that stand in the way of your success.

The next section of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People explains the principle of interdependence and the importance of seeking out win/win relationships with other successful people. No one is an army of one and everyone needs help to achieve their most ambitious goals. The next section of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People explains the principle of interdependence and the importance of seeking out win/win relationships with other successful people. Two heads truly are better than one and if you’re really serious about your success, you’ll need to help others with theirs’. In this section, Covey will teach you how synergy will help you reach your goals in short order!

Finally, Covey also understands that life can’t be all business all the time so the last section is dedicated to renewing yourself so you don’t miss out on the important things in life. Some people tend to get lost in the pursuit of their goals and forget about the important things in life. In the last section of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey reminds you to take a step back every now and then to enjoy life so you don’t forget why you’re working as hard as you are.

If you’re a nail biter or a speeder, then it’s time to get some better habits. With Stephen Covey’s help, you’ll reach your goals a lot faster, and without a speeding ticket.