Speed reading and speed learning can be an awesome way to rapidly increase your knowledge. Here are some of the quick tips that have helped me to accelerate my learning.
- Create a learning environment
In order to learn more effectively, creating a learning environment is a great idea. Personally I have a reading chair in my office with a music stand that I sit what ever I am reading on. My office is always clean and I have a plant next to my reading chair. This creates a nice environment for me to learn in and helps my ability to learn.
While travelling I try to find a hotel library or a nice comfortable spot somewhere with good, natural light to study, read or learn.
- Control the temperature of the environment
If a room is too warm you will want to hibernate and fall asleep, making it harder to learn. Whereas if you feel too cold it can distract your learning. Having the temperature around 22-23 degrees Celsius is ideal for my learning. Too much warmer and I get sleepy, too much colder and I end up thinking about the toes that I can’t feel anymore.
- Affirm your learning intentions
Affirming that you are remembering and retaining what you read or what you are learning is essential. When most begin to learn at speed they naturally feel that the information is not sinking in or that they do not understand what they are reading. This is not the case. Most have been taught to read by sounding the words of what they are reading in their head. The key to faster learning is to make it visual and allow your brain to absorb the information.
By monitoring your self talk and changing your affirmations from “I’m not remembering this” or “I forget everything” etc. to something like “I remember everything I read” or “everything I read is sinking in” will help keep your brain open and the information flowing into your brain.
- Breathe
Breathing is an essential part of life yet many forget the importance of breathing when learning. By taking deep 20-30 deep breaths before you read or learn and then slowing your breathing down when you are reading can help to open up your mind and make your brain function more effectively.
- Monitor your posture
Studies in psychology and body language show that posture, movements and gestures have an unconscious connection to the brain and what is going on in the mind. Sitting up straight, placing your feet flat on the ground, breathing deep, looking up and keeping your shoulders in their natural position (not hunched) will help you to keep an open mind and allow you to increase your effectiveness when learning.
- Write a list of reasons why what you are studying is important to you
Writing a list of reasons why reading a book or studying a topic may seem like a waste of time at first but it pays off. By writing a list of reasons why it is important to read or study what you are studying will link your study to your values and hence give you greater focus, attention, retention and belief in yourself when learning.
Wrap Up
These are some of the easiest implementable tips to increase your learning ability or speed when reading. There are more advanced tips for speed reading but I’ll leave them for another day. These are a great place to start and essential to master before going deeper with speed reading or learning.
Keep living with Mojo!
