The dog stole my homework, I mean my speed reading!
Let’s say you attended a speed reading training. You have learned the techniques to train your speed reading. Maybe you also bought a speed reading device. Yeeeey! Wonderful! You feel full of enthusiasm, and now that you’ve discovered how they work for you, you can’t wait to overcome all the speed reading thresholds and set record after record one by one. Well, maybe you’re telling yourself that you will not get to 10,000 words per minute, as some have, but at least 2000-3000 words per minute would be nice, right? :-)
The following day you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Are you late? Ooooh … speed reading? Maybe tomorrow!
On the third day, you wake up in time. You’re telling yourself that you will be able to get started. Today’s the big day. But how unfortunate! Something has come up! You may have stained your coat, maybe someone gave you a call, maybe a neighbor came to ask you something, maybe your cat didn’t use the litter box, maybe your baby fell and got hit, etc. Maybe tomorrow? :-)
Have you ever experienced this sensation when trying to create a habit? If you have, raise your hand!
(I stopped typing for a while and also raised my hand!)
What’s to be done?
Here are some practical approaches and valuable tips that go well together (but also separately). If you think there is only one correct way of the ones below, take the one that suits you best! On the other hand, if you prefer to have different options, try them all!
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To create a habit, especially early in the morning (as recommended for speed reading exercises), include it into an already existing routine! For example, after coffee and before getting dressed! Or between jogging and breakfast! If you have the same daily routine, you can set your alarm every morning simultaneously. Stick a post-it right around where you make your previous habit (for example, on the refrigerator door or on the bathroom door, on the bathroom mirror, or over the cooker). If you have another routine on weekends, include your new habit in your specific weekend routine!
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To wake up faster, wash with cold water as soon as you get out of bed! Wash your eyes well! Also, let the water flow behind your ears, down to your neck! The instantaneous wake-up effect is guaranteed.
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Start jogging as you wake up, and just after leaving the bathroom, do your speed reading exercises when you return! It will naturally continue the physical activities because it trains your eyes.
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Prepare a playlist with upbeat music (without lyrics!) while doing your exercises! That will energize your activity!
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Lock your dog, canary, cat, and other meowing, barking, or tweeting creatures in a space where they have something to do: give them something to play with. If you have a small child, give them something to play with, ask them not to come to the room where you do your exercises, ask someone else to watch them, or, if they can concentrate, do the activities together!
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Avoid trying to attract into this habit people who are skeptical or who have not attended the course. If someone in your family really looks interested in doing the exercises together, then it’s good. But first, you do them! So first, it is you that has to master them.
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Avoid telling everyone that you start doing speed reading exercises. Unfamiliar people might expect a change overnight, which is not the case. Instead, continue to do your activities even if you don’t notice any differences immediately. After a week or two, they will manifest themselves if you do your exercises well every day and have patience with yourself.
Conclusions
Of course, what I have written here can be valid for speed reading and many habits you may wish to train for your health and development! Take your time for this; you will see results with patience and perseverance. Beyond speed reading, you train your discipline!
I would like to mention that, following such principles, within a year, almost every morning, I have reached a reading speed of 10.000 words per minute!
Text copyright © Marcus Victor Grant 2015-present. Translation by Cristiana Brezeanu of the article “Programul de antrenament zilnic pentru citire rapidă“ that was initially published in Romanian on January 10th, 2015, on Discerne. Text copyright © Marcus Victor Grant, all rights reserved.
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