Viewing a movie’s trailer before watching the movie gives you context and lets you know what to expect. Likewise, previewing a text before reading it prepares you to quickly gain an understanding of what you’re about to read. To preview a text, scan it from the beginning to the end, paying special attention to headings, subheadings, anything in bold or large font, and bullet points. To get a big picture understanding, skim the introductory and concluding paragraphs. Try to identify transition sentences, examine any images or graphs, and figure out how the author structured the text.

Preview The Text

Strategically approaching a text will make a big difference in how efficiently you can digest the material. First, think about your goals. What do you want to learn by reading the material? Jot down some questions you want to be able to answer by the end. Then, determine the author’s goal in writing the material, based on your preview. The author’s goal, for example, might be to describe the entire history of Ancient Rome, while your goal is simply to answer a question about Roman women’s role in politics. If your goal is more limited in scope then read the pertinent sentences

Organize Yourself To Read

Reading quickly with good comprehension requires focus and concentration. Minimize external noise, distractions, and interruptions, and be mindful when your thoughts wander as you read. If you notice that you’re fantasizing about your next meal rather than focusing on the text, gently bring your mind back to the material. Many readers reads without focus, then spend time going back and re-reading to make sure they understand them.

Focus Your Eyes On The Text

According to author Tim Ferriss, this habit, called regression , will significantly slow you down and make it harder to get a big picture view of the text. If you carefully and attentively approach a text , you'll quickly realize if you’re not understanding a section, saving you time in the long run.

Attentively Approach A Text

To increase your reading speed, pay attention to your eyes. Most people can scan in 1.5 inch chunks, which, depending on the font size and type of text, usually comprise three to five words each. Rather than reading each word individually, move your eyes in a scanning motion, jumping from a chunk (of three to five words) to the next chunk of words. Take advantage of your peripheral vision to speed up around the beginning and end of each line, focusing on blocks of words rather than the first and last words

Don't Read All Of The Words

Your job shouldn’t end when you read the last word on the page. After you finish reading, write a few sentences to summarize what you read, and answer any questions you had before you started reading. Did you learn what you were hoping to learn? By spending a few minutes after reading to think, synthesize the information, and write what you learned, you’ll solidify the material in your mind and have better recall later. If you’re a more visual or verbal learner, draw a <a href="https://www.examtime.com/blog/speed-reading/">mind map </a>summary or tell someone what you learned.

Write A Conclusion

Approaching a text strategically, reading actively, and summarizing effectively takes <a href="https://thinksimplenow.com/productivity/7-keys-to-reading-faster/comment-page-2/">practice </a>. If you want to improve your reading speed, use a timer to test how many words (or pages) per minute you can read. As you’re able to read faster and faster, check in with yourself to make sure you’re happy with your level of comprehension.

Practice Timed Runs

Slogging through dense passages can be time-consuming, mentally exhausting, and hard on your eyes. Speed up the process—without sacrificing comprehension—with these tricks.

education

Learning & Education

books

Books

7 Tips for How to Read Faster (and Still Understand What You Read)

We all know how paralyzing it can be to start a big project or tackl e a crazy to-do list. So don’t overwhelm yourself with a massive task list! Give yourself 3 to 5 important items that you need to accomplish in one day, and focus on those. If you get them done early, you can always add a few more things to your list, but keeping it manageable will keep you productive — instead of just keeping you busy.

Trim Your Task List

Sit down, look at your available time for the day, and be realistic about what you can get done. Then make a game plan: schedule specific slots of time for each of your important tasks—and be sure to include breaks. By dedicating time and structuring your day, you can take advantage of the times of day you're more focused and more motivated , make tangible progress on important work, and ensure you actually take the necessary breaks to stay mentally fresh.

Swap Your To Do List for a Schedule

One of the biggest reasons we procrastinate is because we simply don’t know where to start. But if you stop working on a task for the day knowing exactly what you need to do next, it's much easier to start again. End every task with a defined “next step” to quickly get back in the zone next time. Don't forget where you've come from.

Step While You're In a Roll

Highly effective people have systems in.place to help them find the exact information they need, right when they need it. A simple system like David Allen's Getting Things Done method (GTD) can ease the mental burden of storing reminders and ideas, and free up brain space for more meaningful and effective work. Don't blur your work space.

Stay Organized

Your motivation and creativity are at a high point in the morning, So instead of starting your day by checking emails (which can quickly derail your plans, as what you intended to accomplish gets pushed off or lost among incoming requests), wait a few hours to check your inbox and work on a more significant project while your mental energy is still high.

Tackle Your Most Important Task First

Waiting in line at the grocery store, for the next bus stop, at the bank, in the elevator, etc. doesn't have to be wasted time. Bring a book you’ve been meaning to read, clear a few emails, or catch up on status updates. Or simply let your mind wander and observe the world around you. You never know when your next great idea will hit you! Use your time efficiently.

Use Idle Time to Knock Out Admin Task

Create a distraction-free zone where you can go to focus when necessary. Block time off on your calendar where you won’t be disturbed, turn off your email and message notifications (or better yet, disconnect from the internet entirely), and focus on a single important task for an hour or two. Create a timeline like you are the only person left in the world.

Schedule Meeting With Yourself

productivity

Productivity

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

13 Simple Strategies to Work Smarter

We believe these benefits are a result of increased blood flow to your brain during exercise. It also tends to counter some of the natural reduction in brain connections that occur during aging, in effect reversing some of the problems.Aim to exercise several times per week for 30–60 minutes. You can walk, swim, play tennis or any other moderate aerobic activity that increases your heart rate.

Exercise Regularly

Sleep plays an important role in your brain health. There are some theories that sleep helps clear abnormal proteins in your brain and consolidates memories, which boosts your overall memory and brain health.It is important that you try to get seven to eight consecutive hours of sleep per night, not fragmented sleep of two- or three-hour increments. Consecutive sleep gives your brain the time to consolidate and store your memories effectively.

Organize Your sleep

Your diet plays a large role in your brain health. I recommend my patients consider following a Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes plant-based foods, whole grains, fish and healthy fats, such as olive oil. It incorporates much less red meat and salt than a typical American diet.Studies show people who closely follow a Mediterranean diet are less likely to have Alzheimer's disease than people who don't follow the diet. Further research is needed to determine which parts of the diet have the biggest impact on your brain function.

Eat a Mediterranean diet

Your brain is similar to a muscle — you need to use it or you lose it. There are many things that you can do to keep your brain in shape, such as doing crossword puzzles or Sudoku, reading, playing cards or putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Consider it cross-training your brain. So incorporate different activities to increase the effectivenes.

Stay mentally active.

I don’t recommend any of the paid brain-training programs available today. These programs often make promises that they can’t keep or focus on memorization skills that aren’t useful in everyday life. Your brain can get just as good of a workout through reading or challenging yourself with puzzles. Finally, don’t watch too much television, as that is a passive activity and does little to stimulate your brain.

Challenge Your Brain

Social interaction helps ward off depression and stress , both of which can contribute to memory loss. Look for opportunities to connect with loved ones,friends and others, especially if you live alone. There is research that links solitary confinement to brain atrophy, so remaining socially active may have the opposite effect and strengthen the health of your brain. For your own safety to not have COVID-19 try to keep your social distant, make sure everyone wears his/her masks correctly.

Remain Socially Involved

These 5 tips will help keep your brain healthy, slow decline in memory and lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.

health

Health

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

5 tips to keep your brain healthy

The first step is to fully devote yourself to developing your creative abilities. Do not put off your efforts. Set goals, enlist the help of others, and put time aside each day to develop your skills.

Commit Yourself to Creativity

One of the best ways to develop creativity is to become an expert in that area. By having a rich understanding of the topic, you will be better able to think of a novel or innovative solutions to problems.

Become an Expert

One common roadblock to developing creativity is the sense that curiosity is an indulgence. Rather than reprimanding yourself, reward yourself when you are curious about something. Give yourself the opportunity to explore new topics.While rewarding yourself is important, it is also important to develop intrinsic <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-motivation-2795378">motivation </a>. Sometimes, the true reward of creativity is the process itself, not the product.

Reward Your Curiosity

When it comes to building your creative skills, you need to be willing to take risks in order to advance your abilities. While your efforts may not lead to success every time, you will still be boosting your creative talents and building skills that will serve you well in the future.

Take Risks

Insecurity in your abilities can suppress creativity, which is why it is important to build confidence. Make note of the progress you have made, commend your efforts, and always be on the lookout for ways to reward your creativity.

Build Your Confidence

You won't be able to develop your creative talents if you don't make time for them. Schedule some time each week to concentrate on some type of creative project.

Make Time for Creativity

A mind map is a great way to connect ideas and look for innovative answers to questions. Create a mind map by writing down a central topic or word. Next, link related terms or ideas around the central word. While similar to brainstorming, this technique allows for branching ideas and offers a very visual way of seeing how these ideas are linked.

Use Mind Map

Once you have developed some basic creative skills, it is important to continually challenge yourself in order to further advance your abilities. Look for more difficult approaches, try out new things and avoid always using the same solutions you have used in the past.In addition to challenging yourself, you also need to create your own opportunities for creativity. This might involve tackling a new project or finding new tools to use in your current projects.

Challenge Yourself and Create Opportunities

The "six hats" technique involves looking at a problem from six differing perspectives.2 By doing this, you can produce more ideas than you might have had you only looked at the situation from one or two points of view.<ul><li>Black Hat : Use a negative perspective. Which elements of the solution won’t work?</li><li>Blue Hat : Think broadly. What is the best overall solution?</li><li>Green Hat : Think creatively. What are some alternative ideas?</li><li>Red Hat : Look at the situation emotionally. What do your feelings tell you?</li><li>White Hat : Look at the situation objectively. What are the facts?</li><li>Yellow Hat : Try to be positive</li></ul>

Try the Six Hat Techniques

Never expect creativity to just happen. Look for new sources of inspiration that will give you fresh ideas and motivate you to generate unique answers to questions. Read a book, visit a museum, listen to your favorite music or engage in a lively debate with a friend. Utilize whatever strategy or technique works best for you.

Look for Inspiration

Check out 17 fun and useful ways to help you develop your creativity and creative problem-solving skills.

creativity

Creativity

17 Ways to Develop Your Creativity

Short study sessions help the synapses in your brain process information much better than lots of information in long sessions. Try setting aside 30 minutes before or after work to dedicate to your study. Avoid all-nighters, start planning and reading early in the study period and make a study schedule.

Study in short chunks

Create the ideal study space, and gather all the books and items you will need. This prep time also prepares the brain for study. Also, limit distractions – if you must listen to music, choose melodic music without lyrics and of course, leave your phone alone and stay off social media.

Get In The Zone

You absorb information better when you’re alert, well-fed and rested – and even better after you’ve exercised. It's important to ensure you’ve consumed nutritious foods to get your brain powered up – things like fish, nuts, berries and yoghurt. It also pays to stay hydrated and get up to move in between your 30-minute sessions.

Sleep Well and Exercise

Your brain stores information better when you’ve written something down after you're read or heard it. So this means you'll probably have to lose the highlighter and start writing the essentials on flashcards. A good system to use is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitner_system">Leitner System </a>, which utilises the principle of spaced repetition and increasing intervals.

Write Flash Cards

Learning to make connections when you consume information pays dividends. While you study, think of the various ways that the information you are reading, watching or listening to is connected to one another. This is called contextual learning. Try to group related information on one flashcard.

Connect The Dots

Make a list of study goals and tick them off when you complete them. Not only will it motivate you and give you a sense of achievement, it will help you feel in control and reduce any study stress.

Set Goals

Practice tests are a good way to see where you’re at, and where you might need to focus. There are some great templates that you can find online to help with the structure. If you come across something tricky in your readings, make a note of it and remember to test yourself later for a challenge.

Test Yourself

Tests have shown that people who study material to teach it to others, absorb the information more logically than those who are merely studying for themselves. A US <a href="http://www.cehs.ohio.edu/gfx/media/pdf/Horvath.pdf">study </a>has shown that students who engaged in peer learning scored significantly higher on a reading test than the students who had not, indicating the effectiveness peer tutoring can have on academic achievement.

Aim The Teach

Whether it's by yourself, with a friend or family member, read your flashcards and summaries out loud. A handy trick is to close your eyes and try to recall what they say to help further cement your main points and arguments.

Read Alloud and Recall

The key to success during stressful peak periods is to work smarter, not harder. We uncover 10 tips to help you maximise study time and reach your goals.

7 Tips for How to Read Faster (and Still Understand What You Read)

13 Simple Strategies to Work Smarter

5 tips to keep your brain healthy

17 Ways to Develop Your Creativity

10 Proven Tips to Study Smarter, Not Harder | SCU Online

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