- 1). Eliminate distractions that break your concentration when reading. Turn off your cell phone, radio, television, and computer. Find a quiet, comfortable place to sit where you know you will not be interrupted. Tell others that you are studying and that you would appreciate that they respect your privacy.
- 2). Take notes on everything you read to increase your retention of the material. Lightly mark key concepts or pages of your book in pencil. Use a highlighter to mark key passages worth remembering or returning to for further study. Use post it notes to write longer notes to yourself about the value of a certain passage.
- 3). Study difficult passages or passages that you don't understand. Read difficult passages out loud to yourself. Rewrite difficult passages and extract each idea piece by piece. Write a paragraph about what you learned in a journal or notebook.
- 4). Perform speed reading drills to decrease the time it takes to read. Set a timer for 10 to 20 minutes and read as much as you can during that time. Review how much you've read. Reset the timer and perform the drill again. See how quickly you can complete the drill, aiming to reach a faster goal each time.
- 5). Read the tops of words, focusing your eyes on the white space above each line of text. According to Dr. M. Dennis Jackson, author of A Programmed Study of Accelerated Reading Skills, the tops of words are easier to recognize than the bottom. Place an index card half way through the line of text to cover the bottom of the letters and train your eyes to read just the top portions of words.
- 6). Take regular breaks from reading to rest your eyes. Resting your eyes will help keep them refreshed and increase the longevity of your reading time. Focus on an object in the distance for 10 to 15 seconds before returning to the book.
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