How reading can boost your productivity
What's the story
Active reading is a technique that involves engaging with the text so as to better understand and retain it. By using certain strategies, readers can increase their focus and productivity. This method is especially useful for students, professionals, and anyone who wants to make the most of their learning. Here are five effective ways to include active reading in your routine, absorb information better and faster.
Previewing
Preview the material before reading
Before diving into a text, skim through it for a few minutes. Look at headings, subheadings, and any highlighted or bolded terms. This gives you an overview of what the content is about and helps you set a purpose for your reading session. By knowing what lies ahead, you can better focus on key points and anticipate important information.
Questioning
Ask questions while reading
Engage with the material by asking questions as you read. Think about what the author is trying to convey, or how certain concepts relate to what you already know. This technique encourages critical thinking, and keeps your mind actively involved in processing information rather than passively absorbing it.
Summarizing
Summarize key points regularly
After completing a section/chapter, take a moment to summarize its key ideas in your own words. This practice not only reinforces understanding by forcing you to actively process information, instead of merely recognizing it on the page, but also helps you remember them by creating mental connections between different pieces of information.
Highlighting
Highlight important information sparingly
Highlighting is a handy tool for marking important points in a text, but overdoing it can lead to confusion during revision sessions. Instead of highlighting paragraphs or whole pages, it's better to focus on important phrases or sentences summarizing important ideas or arguments. This way, important information would stand out, making it easier to find and revise later without going through unnecessary bits.
Reviewing
Review notes periodically
Regularly revisiting notes taken during active reading sessions helps reinforce knowledge over time without overwhelming yourself with too much new material at once. Each review session should aim at consolidating previous learnings while identifying areas needing further exploration, if necessary. This ensures continuous improvement in comprehension skills. Overall, productivity levels remain high throughout the learning journey.