Making it all about developing your reading skills
Because, like with most things you do on a regular basis, reading should be more about developing a skill and less about finishing up a task. Did you notice that shift—from task to skill? That’s a shift in your mindset that you can make, and it’s so small you’ll barely notice it. It won’t take much effort, but look at what you can achieve by doing it.
First, you’ll feel like you’re taking charge over your learning process.
Second, you’ll soon understand you can get proactive so reading becomes a deliberate act in how you process information, rather than a passive act of being on the receiving end of what you see on each page.
And third, you’ll realize that like with any other skill, reading is one that you can develop, improve, and master over time.
Now that we’ve covered why your mindset about reading is important, let’s move on to specific activities you can do to develop your reading skill.
Here are 3 reading tips that can help.
Reading tip #1. Start writing things down.
Why?
If you want to better understand what you read, it’s a good idea to create a system for the entire reading process. In other words, you can give your reading experience more structure so that you can process, retrieve, and recall the material more easily. A good way to do it is to take notes.
What are the benefits?
Taking notes is a valuable skill to learn not just for the sake of giving your reading experience more structure. It’s also really good for your brain because it helps to amplify your focus and concentration, makes retaining and recalling information easier, boosts your cognitive skills, strengthens memory, and engages your critical thinking skills.
How do you do it?
Dedicate a notebook to your reading. Then, as you read through articles and books, start a note on each one by writing the title, author’s name, and date when you read it (I usually just write the month and year), which can be an added memory boost when you look at your notes later.
Focus on key concepts, ideas, and topics. Don’t make it a goal to write down every little thing you read. That will take forever and you won’t benefit from your notes. Instead, boost your critical thinking skills by identifying what is relevant to the topic. If you’re not sure how to begin, try the Cornell Method of taking notes.
Write notes in list format. This saves time, enables you to skim the material when you need it, helps you locate information faster, and makes the review process easier.
Tap into your creative side with drawing and color. Your notes don’t need to be only in text format. You can draw squares, rectangles, or circles around the main topics, ideas and concepts. Use markers or highlighters to prioritize concepts, with one color to mark main ideas and another to illustrate examples. This helps the most important information stand out and makes it easier to find later when you need it.
Reading tip #2. Become a storyteller.
Why?
The very act of storytelling makes any material come alive, whether you’re reading about fundamentals of macroeconomics or the history of ancient Egypt. Storytelling is a great way to take the next step in the learning process. It’s being proactive about what you’re absorbing, instead of passively reading and just moving on to the next thing.
What are the benefits?
Telling a story about what you read is easy to practice because it’s not formal so there isn’t pressure to make it perfect. It also gives you confidence by strengthening your knowledge of the study material, and it boosts your memorization. You can review, recall, and retain what you’ve learned better and more effectively.
How do you do it?
Find your audience. It can be a friend, roommate, study partner, sibling, parent, neighbor, or cousin.
Find the right time. Don’t just assume everyone will want to pause what they’re doing and pay attention to you. Pick a time when they’re not in the middle of working or finishing up a task, so they can also enjoy the story. For example, you can talk while taking a walk together, having dinner, or just chilling out in the evening.
Make it concise. Nobody wants to sit through an hour’s worth of your talking, especially if it’s during their downtime and not an obligation to do so. Think about what is the main point of what you read that you’d like to share, and then explain it in a few minutes. This will force you to prioritize what is the most important piece of the material you read.
Make it lively. Your story doesn’t have to be a list of important concepts. It’s a story, remember? And a good story always has something extra in it to keep our attention and boost our imagination. To make your story interesting, mention an example you really liked and say why you liked it. Add a detail that you found fascinating or unusual. If there’s something that was not clear to you, mention that too. It’s an excellent way to prompt your friend to give their take on what they heard.
Encourage dialogue. OK, so you told your story. What next? Use the opportunity to get your friend’s opinion and point of view. Ask them if they heard or read anything similar, and you might get a recommendation of what to read next. Share your opinions and turn it into a conversation so that you can both benefit from the experience by making it more meaningful.
Reading tip #3. Incorporate it into your day.
Why?
Chances are much greater that you’ll remember details of what you read if you apply them to your life in some way. It’s another example of being proactive with what you are reading.
What are the benefits?
When you apply the details of what you’ve read to your life, it means you are making a connection between learning something new and the way you think, study, work, or communicate with others. In other words, you are applying that knowledge to something concrete and tangible that can benefit you.
How do you do it?
Reinforce your knowledge throughout the day. When you are on your commute or walking or running errands, ask yourself what were the key concepts from the article or book you’re reading. Go over them, remembering what you wrote in your notes and how you emphasized each point. This added repetition of newly learned material will reinforce your knowledge of it even more.
Use it to generate more ideas. Sometimes reading an article can give us ideas on how to do our job better or how to improve one area of our life. For example, we can learn about developing a new habit, practicing a skill, achieving mastery at something, or just going more in depth on a topic that we find fascinating. It’s an excellent starting point to do more research on what interests us.
Take one idea or concept, then practice it. Of course, every piece of new material you read, whether it’s an article from a news website or a classic work of literary fiction, will be full of details and new information. You don’t need to practice every little detail or idea. Find one idea that you liked, then find ways to practice it at work or school. It can be learning a different technique to getting your job done, or practicing a small habit to make your day more productive. Whatever it is, select something that can help you improve your life in some way so that you can really feel the benefit of reading and learning something new.
