My 500-Pages-a-Day Speed Reading Challenge Starts in 2014

"Reading Woman" by Ivan Kramskoy
Source: Wikipedia.org

I love reading, particularly speed reading. I really do. I am a voracious reader and when I find a good book, I would not put it down 'til I'm done with it. My love for books started way back when I was in grade school. I remember the first book I read, but not the title. I am not so good at remembering book titles.

It was a second hand book donated by a US school though I have no idea how it came to my hand. It was a hardbound book with red covers. The pages of that book were already yellowed and some tattered but I can still recall distinctly the feel of its pages in my fingers and the old paper smell of it. I do remember reading it over and over again that I lost count already. Of course I remember the stories with rich and colorful illustrations on each page. Most these illustrations stuck in the art part of my brain me until now. That's how that simple red book left its impression on me.

Now law books are a different story.

Not only are law books heavy, they need a lot of analysis before one gets the gist of its contents. I am partial to topics which I can relate such as civil law and remedial law. I love watching CSI so I am fascinated with Evidence!

Now, I wanted to do a challenge to force myself to read law books. I am currently working on varying challenges that will eat more of my time and put to the test my time-management skills. I have planned to do some backreading of law subjects since September but have not done much progress due to my schedule. So now I have to force myself to make good on that promise.

It is quite simple. I promise myself to speed read 500 pages a day. I know that is not much when you are in law school but it can somehow help refresh my mind on the different topics I need to master. I hope to start by first day of 2014 and so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! This could mean less time for my other pursuits --- like sleep for instance. :)

I really, really hope to finish reading 500 pages per day and that would take me about 8-10 hours. If I'm not able to complete the said number of pages, I aim to at least log some couple. So I hope you bear with me and perhaps read with me if you can spare time in your hands.

To learn more on how you too can save time and get the proper training to speedread, simply click on this blogger's speedreading partner, 7 Speed Reading.

The Value of Speed Reading in Law School

Speed reading should be one of the basic weapons in your arsenal as a law student. It significantly reduces time spent on studying. Law school means tackling voluminous reading materials on a regular basis and this is where speed reading becomes handy.

Learning how to speed read is pretty easy when you know the basics. First thing, you need to learn to put yourself under some sort of stress by setting a definite time to finish a specific number of pages. I do this by, say, I need to finish 300 pages of textbook in 2 hours.

Then, you have to train your eye to spot on words that are relevant, while merely skimming over the not-so relevant mumbo-jumbo of (articles, conjunctions, etc.), and simultaneously making a mental note of important points in what you are reading. In goes like this, it is akin to jotting important ideas and notes in your head and mentally highlighting them, in you mind that is. In short, teach your brain to multi-task. I do a mental bulleted version or mental highlighting of those phrases and words that are worthy of remembering.

Finally, after you put down that volume of material, review and recall the important points. If some ideas are still unclear or you miss out some pertinent stuff in the reading material, go over it fast, of course.

So there, that's how speed reading saves me time. It is very helpful when you try to read voluminous books before a class or before your exam. I often do two readings in order to reinforce what was read the first time, and for better results and retention.

I once had to finish a 500-600 page Prof. Balane book in 4-5 hours, I didn't have much time left since my exam is the day after. With speed reading I was able to do a second reading of that same book all in one day. Isn't that great?

For more help in training yourself how to speed read, the Extreme Speed Reading E-Book might be a good idea for you to try. There are also online accelerated reading training courses that you could try like SpeedReaderX.