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Every day we read different types of texts. If you are an office worker then many of your work tasks are related to reading. For example, you may have to read reports, manuals, e-mails, invoices, product documentation, memos and so on. When you study at collage then you have to read books, scientific articles and lecture notes. During our leisure time we spend time on reading newspapers, books and blog posts.

What is the objective of reading? While in some cases we may read purely for fun then in the most cases we are looking for some kind of  information. We want to get to know something. We read news about the stock market for getting overview of the situation and making investment choices. We read meeting notes, for knowing what was decided there and which actions we are supposed to take. We read e-mails for getting information about next week’s work schedule or new price lists.

In case of work related reading we search for the information for practical matters. We use that information for making some kind of decisions. It is actually not so important how we get that information but that we get it and that it is correct.

When we have to read a book or an article then many people have developed an attitude: “I will sit down and read it from beginning to the end. After I have finished it I will know more about on this subject”. We spend much time on reading texts in that kind of manner. A typical office worker spends at least 2 hours on reading.

But when we are looking for information for putting it into use in practice then it is not necessary that we read text in a linear way from beginning to the end. In many cases not all parts of the text contain useful information for us. Spending time on reading those parts is a waste of time.

If we read texts selectively and more actively then we can acquire information faster and spend less time on reading. Whenever you face a text then you should not start reading it immediately. Instead of that use should look through the material and see what it is about. Which parts of it contain useful information? We can decrease our reading load by not reading parts of the texts, which do not give us valuable information.

It is not a sin to read only some parts of the text. It is totally ok if you read only two and a half chapters from a book, which has ten chapters. It is ok if you read only the one third of a newspaper article. It is important that you will read the right parts of the text.

There have been developed many techniques for selective reading. When you learn speed reading then you will learn how to use them. They all have in common that before reading the text you will make a preview of it. That means that you will look the text quickly through before actually reading it. The point is that you have to get to know what it is about in short time. It will help you to not to waste time on reading texts which you will not benefit from.

So feel free to handle your texts freely. Keep in mind that you are search for information (think beforehand what kind of information you need) and be selective. If you find that a text or part of it is not useful for you, then do not waste time on reading it.

kristjan Speed Reading information, office worker, preview, selective reading

Have you ever been bored and tired from having to stay long hours in the office? Has it happened sometimes that you cannot leave office at 5 PM because you are behind your schedule? For most of the people the answer to both these questions is „Yes”.

Long working hours itself are not always frustrating. If you are working on a job assignment, which is interesting for you to perform or if it is a critical task, which will give you an award after being completed then it may happen that you work long hours intensively and you even do not notice how the time flies. And if you can succeed in your task then you will feel you self satisfied and relieved despite the long hours and fatigue. Unfortunately, not all long work days do provide you success. It can happen that although you spend long hours on your assignment, but you are still not able to complete it.

In many cases the fact, the you have to stay long at the office is caused by the fact you have been working slowly that day and probably you have wasted lots of time on unnecessary tasks. It may be the result of poor time management, for example you do not have clear work plans or schedule, or you have procrastinated a lot because you did not have a clear vision, how you should perform you tasks.

Besides poor time management, working slowly can be caused by the fact that lack of skills or knowledge is slowing you down. You may waste time because you are unfamiliar with the new software package, new legislation or Spanish language. But you may be slow because you are a slow reader.

A typical office worker spends about 25% of his/her working time on reading. So if you are a slow reader, it will really matter. If you work slowly you have problems with keeping up with the deadlines and it is likely to generate stress. You have to work longer hours, which means that you will get more tired by working.

In addition, reading faster itself can make your working more pleasure. If you can read faster, then you can think about the topics you read faster. According to a study by Emily Pronin and Daniel M. Wegner http://www.photoreading.co.uk/2006FastThinking.pdf the thinking speed affect persons mood and happiness. In this study, there were made experiments with people, who had to read given statements at different speed. The results indicate that when the survey participants read the statements at faster speed then the participants were more likely to experience positive mood.

If you read and think faster then it can give you more confidence. You will feel that you have the control and you are less stressed by the fear that you cannot finish on time. Fast reading and fast working may create excitement.

So, it means that speed reading skill will first give you an opportunity to save your working time and prevent you from working late hours. Second, it will give you a possibility to get more happiness from the work process itself.

kristjan Speed Reading, time management fatigue, office worker, pleasure, speed reading, stress, time management, working time