Master the two-step strategy to efficiently process information and optimize your reading time. Perfect for your speed reading test preparation.
In today's information-rich world, the challenge isn't just reading faster—it's reading smarter. As Arthur Schopenhauer noted, "A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short."This wisdom has never been more relevant than in our current age of information overload.
The challenge is particularly acute when tackling publications like The Economist, where readers must quickly discern which articles deserve their time. The same principle applies to deciding how to approach the "greatest books of all time"—with over 10,000 essential books identified by literary experts, effective winnowing becomes crucial.
The first paragraph serves as an introduction while the last paragraph provides the conclusion. This gives you the complete framework of the content.
The first sentence typically contains the topic sentence and main idea of that paragraph.
After applying the two-step technique, you face a crucial decision point. This is where many speed reading strategies fail—they focus on speed without considering selectivity.
Review the table of contents and identify potentially relevant articles.
For each article, read the first and last paragraphs, then the first sentence of each paragraph.
Cross out articles that don't deserve your time, circle those you want to read fully.
Return to circled articles for complete reading at your leisure.
Filter articles quickly and focus only on content that matters to you
Understand main ideas and structure before diving into details
Quickly determine which articles deserve your full attention
