If you have been practicing for 10 minutes or so a day since your workshop, you may be feeling somewhat at ease with some of the new techniques. If not, don't worry. These behaviors take some time to move into your comfort zone.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH THE TECHNIQUES YET TO REAP THEIR BENEFITS.
This is important. Your brain needs the speed reading techniques you learned to operate efficiently, but it will still try its best to hang on to old behaviors. Don't worry. Keep at it and trust that it works.
During times of doubt, remember those moments in the workshop when it felt like it was happening for you.
1. Remember the book of questions that proved that you can "see the words and know them" without thinking.
2. Remember during the practice when you were doing the Overview step and I asked you what you got. You were able to tell LOTS about what was happening in the book even though you had not read it yet. You can see the words and know them.
This week, practice noticing that during the Overview step, you are able to understand quite a bit about what is going on in the chapter. Also notice any resistance you feel to believing it!
Sometimes you will notice that you glance at a phrase or sentence and a part of your mind totally knows that you get it. But a parallel part of your brain will sometimes be there as well saying, "come on, that's ridiculous - you can't know that - you didn't read it." When that happens, just acknowledge the thought and let it pass with a gentle: "yes, I know it seems that way, but I really am able to see the words and know them instantly."
This inner struggle will fade for some in time. In my case, it is often there, in the background, even after all these years, but it doesn't bother me. I just smile to myself and note how curious it is that my brain is always challenging me.
Be sure you invoke the reading process with each book:
1. Start by assessing how accountable you are going to be held to this book (is it an assignment, background reading, something you have to know for a test, or something you have assigned to yourself to bring into your life?).
2. Look over the book and get a feel for its layout and the table of contents. Look through the index if the book has one. Be thinking about what you think you need to get out of the book (or article or report).
3. Think about how you are going to lay out your notes. What would be the best approach to
accomplish your objective? Your objective might be to know the whole book for a test, to get a feel for the author's ideas for general background knowledge for a project you are doing, or to search for information about a particular topic that interests you.
4. Have that thinking result in a preliminary plan for your notes (Chapter by chapter, by theme, or whatever).
5. Conduct the Overview phase. Don't spend more than 3 or 4 seconds on a page. KEEP MOVING. You will be back! See the words and know them. Be sure you are RELAXED. Just let the words wash over your eyes in a smooth, sweeping motion. Use your pacer. Notice what ideas jump out at you. Don't worry if they are accurate. You will be back!
6. After this overview, you have a pretty good idea of the general content of the chapters of the book or whatever it is you are reading. You know enough at this point to make some choices.
a. Decide if you need the book at all. Maybe it isn't really what you need right now. Shelve it for later.
b. You may decide that something in Chapter 4 is what you were hoping to find and just focus on that chapter, leaving the rest of the book for later if at all. There is no law that you have to digest an entire book to get what you need from it right now.
c. If it is a pleasure book, you might decide that it isn't something you want to get into right now. Shelve it for a few months and come back and see how it feels then.
7. Go back, chapter, for the Gist stage. Here you are going line by line, taking in half of the line at a time. Do this in a relaxed state. Practice seeing the words and knowing them. Let the meaning build. Take notes if you are being held highly accountable for the book.
8. If at any point you feel like you aren't getting anything, stop, take a breath, and start again. You will be fine.
9. Go back, chapter by chapter, for the Details stage. Here you are also going line by line, taking in two or three (or more) words at a time. The details will eventually come through at this stage. Keep adding to your notes.
If the book is really dense, you might go back for another pass. If the book is really easy, you might be done after the Gist stage. You control the process.
Don't forget to RELAX and ENJOY the learning process!
Good luck!
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