A lot of people coming to me and ask how did I manage my time and do all those writing and business things and eventually becoming productive. And I don’t really have a proper answer.

I actually have told everyone that I just do it. I just do everything at once. And it doesn’t seem to satisfy ‘em. Now by request of my friend on twitter Daniel @darosi I’ll try to sit, thinking and write down about how I work.

Before I start, I must tell you that this is all about mindset. For me, I have to produce something or making progress of something every single day.

Today must be better than yesterday and tomorrow must be better than today – Thus, there are times in my life, when I thought I haven’t create anything for the day and I can’t sleep. Then I create a new blog, and I can sleep well )

What I often heard from people, on why they’re not pursuing their dream, doing what they want to do, achieve more, is lack of time.
“I don’t have time.”

But isn’t it strange that we all have the same amount of time as brilliant Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, etc. Why they seem to have more time to build such empire & wealth?

My twitter profile pretty much describing how I use my time:

Wrote 19 books in 5 years. Owner of @kutukutubuku@desainweb@nulisbuku@tempalabsCommittee member of @freshforum@GirlsinTechID@startuplokal@bincangedukasi
And that’s not all. Describing me need more than 140 characters )
My attitude towards time is this: I make time.

If needed, I will sleep less.

Now that you already know and set your mindset, I will tell you the technical how-to & how I work.

My typical day started at 5 am. Sometimes earlier around 4 am. That will give me 5 hours sleeping and I already fresh.

I will start my day with reading latest news from Fireboard in my iPad. I read mostly about technology and writing. This is also how I try to seek inspirations for my startups or for my writings. If I found great content, I will immediately share it too to twitter. This way I indirectly maintain my followers too. 7 am, I will start writing (while having breakfast and sip my herbal tea). If I have a book writing project, I will continue writing it. If I don’t, I will write blog posts. I write with target & schedule (not only in writing actually but also in business).

And that make me focus on finishing my book. If after some calculation, to finish a 200 pages book in 2 months, I have to write 2 hours per day, and must produce 3 pages on that 2 hours, then I’ll do it. If I can’t make it today, then I’ll bring it tomorrow, so my target would be heavier, 6 pages for the same 2 hours. Consistency and commitment to fulfill the deadline is what I believe.

Writing with target doesn’t mean you don’t love what you write (because it sounds too mechanic). I’m pretty much in love with my writing, and I love my readers most. That’s why by finishing the book on time, I believe I can give benefits to my readers faster, and that’s what motivate me.

9 am. Start checking emails. I received around 100 emails a day. All kinds of it. And they’re not spam. All invitations to speak, meeting, and schedule related, I forward it to my assistant @navikaanggun. All emails with documents, agreements, proposals goes to my other assistant to read and make a summary for me. All emails that needed research also goes to my assistant.

I personally answer interviews from media, emails from my business partners & associates, friends and everyone that I think only me can answer. Yes, I delegate, so I can have more time to think conceptual, find new opportunities and think about ‘what’s next’.

11 am. I go to either a meeting (about works) or to office. I choose 11 am to avoid crazy morning traffic. But yeah, even at 11 am I still got stuck in some points of the streets. I read book or magazine on the way. I also write. Maybe business ideas. Plans. Or poetry.

To see clearly of what I have to achieve today, or this week, or this month, I use Mind Map app on iPad called MindNode. It’s very useful to write down whatever on my mind and make plan. I also use MindNode for outline writing, early stage of book writing. And also to solve problems. If you don’t have iPad, you could use a piece of paper and pen to create your mind map. Read a book Mind Map by Tony Buzan.

To write poetry or note taking while meetings, I use Evernote apps that would sync my note from iPad, iPhone to laptops.

15 pm, after the meetings over, I’ll get back to my office. I still pretty much working behind desk. I must meet my partners once in a while and communicating with my team. I’ve been the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) for my startups. And it’s important for me to make sure that everything’s under control, technology wise.

17 pm,  the activities will vary. Another meeting is usually on schedule. Mostly will be in a form of networking sessions, executing ideas, business talks, community related meeting, interview with journalists, invitation to events, speak in an event, sharing & discussion with people, etc. I’ve been running community events like #StartupLokal, Girls in Tech Indonesia, Fresh Forum and Bincang Edukasi. So this is also the time to think about ‘em.

21 pm, if I’m lucky I should be home by now. Do light email checking. Plan checking. Reading books. Keeping up with friends. Or exploring things that I want to do next. Including: traveling

midnight, sleep.

All day long, I will keep updating status on my twitter @salsabeela. No strict hours for that

“Don’t you have a life?”

Of course I have )

I do what I love, which is precious and keep me wake up every day. And that’s living!
I have the bliss of time flexibility, meaning, I can go to beauty salon on Monday morning and go to Bali the next day, just because I want to take picture of sunset.

For me, everyday is (as fun as) holiday.

So this is pretty much, my life, and I enjoy it.

One of the thing that will make me look more productive than other is that I make my plans and ideas happen. I act on it.

For me, the right time is always: NOW.

Answer :

There is a difference between being busy and being productive. People can busy themselves in many ways; spending time organizing, preparing, talking on the phone , talking with people, dealing with other people’s problems, etc. However, random busyness can often lead to a feeling of distress if you are busying yourself with things that aren’t really important.

Have you ever had your sleep disrupted because you remembered something you forgot to do? Have you ever felt at the end of the day as though you didn’t get anything done? Chances are you weren’t sitting idle; you probably were busy, but busy doing things that either weren’t critical, necessary or important.

There are many reasons people avoid doing things before they become a crisis. Some people simply prefer to work under pressure and find that only when a deadline is near that they will take the time to the task. Other common reasons for procrastination: the task is too time consuming, difficult, boring or overwhelming.

Mark Goulston, author of “Get Out Of Your Own Way“, has a unique perspective on procrastination, and says that people procrastinate when they are lonely. For example, many alcoholics and substance abusers have difficulty overcoming their addiction until they join Alcoholics Anonymous or another recovery program. Gouslton says that it’s not the 12 steps that help such people to finally give up drinking or using drugs, it’s having the support of a sponsor and a fellowship to look to when you’re wandering off course.

The same is true for people who procrastinate on taking better care of their health. Although it is a well-known fact that a healthy diet and exercise will lead to better health, many people fail to do anything about changing their bad habits unless they are forced to. Some people become motivated when they discover that their clothes no longer fit, while for others it may take something more serious, such as a health crisis. For some, working with a nutritionist or personal trainer is the answer to finally gaining momentum on the path to better health.

Goulston recommends overcoming loneliness-based procrastination by enlisting the support of other people. A procrastinator can become an activator when around others. That’s why people have jogging buddies, study groups and collaborators. Make a trade with a friend and reciprocate by offering to help out with something he or she is trying to get done.

Determine at the start of each day what you need to get done, and spend your time on the tasks you have identified as most important rather than allowing yourself to be distracted by spending time on menial tasks. You have identified a trigger of your stress, and the good news is that you can do something to eliminate it.

Not only will you feel better as a result, but ultimately, you will be more productive, in control and the type of person others can count on.

Time management, in and of itself, will not really help you be more productive. I’m talking about time management in the classic sense of the word. Getting through your “to do” list faster. It’s a complete waste of time.

What you really need to do is to look at everything that you have on your list, and pick the single most important thing. Then work on it, uninterrupted, until it’s completed.

The uninterrupted part is the toughest, by far.  It’s SO easy and tempting to check your email, answer the phone, respond to an instant message, or click over to a website.

But if you can master this ability, you’ll boost your productivity significantly, and you’ll be able to work the same, or even fewer, hours.

This is possible because you’re assuring two things. First, that you’re working on the single most important task at hand. Not the most urgent task, or the easiest one – but the most important one. So often, we plow down our “to do” lists, with our heads down, without seriously questioning whether it makes a difference if we even do most of the items on it.

And the sad truth is – it doesn’t. The 80/20 principle tells us that 80% of our results will come from 20% of our inputs. By picking the single most important task to work on, we’re making sure that it falls within the critical 20%.

And secondly, by focusing 100% of our energies on this item, we’ll accomplish it much faster than we would have if we’d allowed ourselves to be distracted by interruptions, or worse, tried to multi-task and complete two or three items at once.Interruptions are the real killer. It’s amazing how fast you can get something done, if that’s all you do.

I hadn’t realized this until I started using our time management software to measure the amount of active working time I was spending on work items. Sadly, items would often sit on my “to do” list all week, where’d I’d get to them on the weekend.

And with the benefit of no incoming interruptions (because the rest of the world was out having a life), I was able to focus, and get the thing done.

The real surprise came when I checked my elapsed time spent on the task after the fact – I realized that I could get A LOT done under an hour. Like, basically anything on my “to do” list would be accomplished in an hour or less — provided I just sat down and did the work.

So try this exercise tomorrow — pick one thing, and work on it until it’s done.  No distractions, and no excuses.  You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Today after my coaching session with my life coach, we came up with my goal statement. It is – “Be personally connected to people, enjoy and help others live a productive life, and do things that bring out the leader in myself and others..”

In this, the second point is about being Productive in life. This made me ask – What is productivity, and how can I measure my productivity at the end of the day/week.

This article defines productivity and discuss how we can be productive in our life.

Productivity = Value / Time

Based on this equation, we can increase our productivity by either increasing the value we deliver, or by reducing the time taken for it, or both. Now we all know how to measure time. But how can we measure “value”

Here is a nice way to measure the “value” of what we do.

Value = Impact x Endurance x Essence x Volume

We can learn about the above using an example of a blogger.

1) Impact : First, according to your definition of value, to what extent is the value provided? Who receives the value you provide. How many people receive it. 1 or 10 or 100 or 1000 or millions or the whole planet? How much do you feel the value you provide ripples outward beyond those you provide it to directly? How quickly do those ripples dissipate? What’s your sense of the basic level of impact of your value? Is it limited or expansive?

The impact made by a CEO of a fortune 500 company or a leader of a nation is different than the impact made by a janitor.

2) Endurance

Secondly, how long does the value you create endure? An hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, a decade, a lifetime, 100 years, 1000 years, 10,000 years, until the end of time? To what extent does your value carry forward in time? Is it quickly consumed and forgotten? Or does it continue to regenerate itself year after year? Does your value create ripples through time?

The Mona Lisa is still providing value hundreds of years after its creation. But other works of art do not provide any enduring value beyond the lifetime of the artist. They are quickly abandoned and eventually replaced.

3) Essence

Thirdly, what is the essence of the value you produce? Do you help people survive? Entertain them? Enlighten them? How much do others value what you produce? What price would they be willing to pay for it? Do they consider your value essential, optional, or undesirable? How unique is your value? Are you the only one who can provide it, or are there plenty of equivalent choices?

The essence of value provided by a janitor is low because it is easy to find people to do such work for little pay. The essence of value of a physicist is potentially enormous because a new theoretical concept could yield a more accurate understanding of the universe.

4) Volume

Lastly, what is the volume of value you create? How much of it are you putting out in a given period of time? What is the quantity in which you produce that value?

For example, Picasso was a prolific artist who created hundreds of different works over his lifetime. Other artists had a far lower volume of output.

Now lets put together above 4 points in case of a Blogger.

The impact of a blogger’s value would be related to the blog’s traffic levels and overall influence among its readers. How many people are reading the blog, and how much do they value what the blogger writes? To improve impact a blogger could increase traffic to the blog or improve his/her writing skills in order to have a deeper effect on the readers. Impact can also be increased if the readers then go out and tell others about what they’ve read. Furthermore, the blogger could use the blog as a means for self-exploration, thereby increasing the impact of the blog on the blogger’s own life.

The endurance of a blogger’s value would be the long-term effect on the blog’s readers, if any. Is the blog changing the long-term thinking and behavior patterns of its readers? Do the readers quickly forget what they read on the blog, or does the information stay with them? Are the readers permanently haunted by what they’ve read?

The essence of a blogger’s value depends on the topics the blogger writes about. Is the blogger writing throw-away posts to get a laugh or generate traffic, or is there a serious commitment to providing deep value? What is the nature of the blogger’s value delivery? Is it financial advice that could help a person become wealthy? Does it provide solutions to important problems? Or is it mostly fluff?

And of course the volume of a blogger’s value would be the quantity of words and posts the blogger delivers.

Now extend this line of thinking to your life as a whole, well beyond the boundaries of your career.

What is the ultimate impact of your life? How many lives are you touching? Are you a person of influence? Or do you exist in relative obscurity?

What will be the endurance of your life’s value? Will your lifetime contributions turn out to be largely insignificant? Or will your contributions ripple on for centuries? What of your value will survive your own death? What of your value will you have the potential to retain after you die (assuming there is an afterlife of sorts)?

And finally, what will be the essence of your life’s value? What is the heart of your contribution? Are you here to play follow the follower? Are you in pursuit of a worthwhile destiny? When you consciously consider the value you’re providing, do you feel empty and fearful or peaceful and fulfilled? What is the meaning behind your deeds? Was that meaning consciously chosen?

You cannot optimize your productivity without consciously and deliberately optimizing these factors. True productivity is far more than volume / time.

Scheduling and Taking action

To complete the flow of productivity, we need to do what is to be done. Once you know what will give the maximum value, schedule them to your calendar, so you know when you will do what.

And once you have put something to the Calendar, make the commitment to actually do it.

Now I know how to be productive

To become productive, I have to

1) Decide how I will add value to people

2) Plan it to do it in most efficient time frame.

3) Schedule them to my calendar, so I know when I will do what

4) Take action to do them on that time.

This completes the loop of deciding and taking action.

And adding value, I can do by making sure I focus on activities that gives the best Impact, Endurance, Essence, and Volume, and if I do this with the most efficient use of my time, I become a productive person ! Inshah Allah

In this part, we learn more advanced topics in Speed Reading. Make sure you have a good understanding of the material covered in Part 1 and Part 2, before you move on to Part 3.

Preparation for this article Series

In preparation for this article series, I went through almost 5-6 books in Speed-Reading, DVD programs, and Audio CD’s in addition to the information I already know from the speed-reading course I took.

The materials that I went through are huge in content, and include reading exercises and study drills. Since I want to present you with a condensed 3 part series on the topic, I have skipped many other good techniques we can use for Speed-Reading.

As I explain two key techniques below, please be aware that my intension is to introduce – with my limited writing space – important Speed-Reading concepts to you, so you can be inspired to take this area of study forward. Use these materials as a foundation and starting point for your own study process.

Two Major Concepts: Managing Sub vocalization, and Effective Vision Span

Let me introduce two major concepts in Speed Reading –Managing Sub vocalization, and Effective Vision Span. For each concept, I will give one specific technique you can apply that will give tremendous improvement in your reading.

1) Vocalization and sub vocalization

Adapted from the best selling Speed-Reading book – “Remember Everything You Read: The Evelyn Wood 7-Day Speed Reading & Learning Program “ by Stanley D. Frank.

Vocalization means to read our loudly. Sub vocalization is to read aloud silently. Most of the time when we read, we sub vocalize. The problem here is – we read for our ear to listen, and hence we read in normal speaking speed. And this hinders you from reading faster than your normal speaking speed.

When we see a portrait painting, or a person – we don’t read out to ourselves, the characteristics of the person. We let our eye decide about it, and we internalize information using pictures.

Our goal will be to move from sub vocalization to visual-vertical technique. i.e., eliminating the silent sound and replacing with visual perception. Then, we do a vertical sweep of the page, without reading line-by-line.

There are areas where sub vocalization is helpful. For e.g. reading poetry, dense text materials, double-checking, dialogues, reading your favorite fiction novel, etc. As I discussed in Part1, you need not speed-reading everything. If you want to speed-read, we have to avoid sub vocalization.

“Talk out Loud” Exercise:

Take a book and spent about 2 to 4 seconds per page just looking at the content. When you look, say out loud some keywords that you notice, and again say loud, some questions about the words. The reason of this saying out loud is to keep your internal voice “busy” and prevent it from doing the reading for you. While you do the glance and read loud, continue glancing the page 2-4 sec per page. Do this for 6 pages, and then come back to this exercise.

Welcome back “after doing” the exercise. Now, you will notice that the content of material (however small) you have accumulated in the 6 pages you read now is because of your “visual reading” rather than your auditory facilities.

The more you practice this technique, more you will be trained to read using “visual” appearance of the words in the page, without any further testing or checking. Then your speed and efficiency will leap forward significantly.

2) Vision Span Technique

Adapted from the Speed-Reading book “Triple Your Reading Speed, Fourth Edition by Wade E. Cutler”

Your eye movement decides your speed: the speed of your reading is based on the how you move your eyes over the words. If you move your eyes every one-word you read, then it will take more time than reading 4 or 5 words and then moving your eyes. A very fast reader reads one line with two-eye movement – For shorter lines just one. This is what we should aim to achieve.

As you read this line, notice how your eyes move across the words. For an average reader, his eyes tends to move across the printed line in a series of short jerks, stopping approximately once per word. This is called fixations or eye stops per line. Any reduction in the number will increase the speeding rate.

To reduce the number of stops, we have to train our eyes to see a larger area of the page each time you stop – i.e. “fixate”. This would require enough practice from your side, and the reward of this effort cannot be anything less that you becoming a speed-reader.

Four Different Examples of “Eye Stops”

Very slow Reader

Yo u R e a d W o r d b y W o r d
1 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Slow word-by-word read

You    Read Word by Word
1            2          3      4       5

Better than average reader

When You read word by word

1                         2                3

Accelerated Reader

When You read word by word

1                     2

Exercise: Two Step Process

The most important exercise, which follows, is designed to help you learn a technique for reading with only two eye-stops or fixations, regardless of the number of words. If you wish to triple your reading speed, it is imperative that you master what follows.

Imagine the line you want to read vertically divided into 4 parts like below.

A test to read | with two-step pro | cess technique | World is good!
A                                   B                            C

Above is a line that I have split into 4 parts – using three vertical lines A, B, C.

Imagine your eyes are sponges. You are to set them firmly in line A. Try to expand your vision and read maximum you can. Then, move your eyes to line C, and do the same (expanding the vision and reading the content around C)

Repeat above drill line by line – several times on a 1-2 count. Make sure you expand your vision when reading from each point.

Resist any temptation to stop more than twice on each line, or to scan or sweep visually. If you do more than two stops, you will see mainly blurs as your eyes hurry along with the words, in which case your comprehension will not be satisfactory.

This is the two-stop method. For each line, you move your eyes only twice. This needs practice, and then, once you master it, you can just skim through the page within seconds!

Speed-Reading Graduation

Find out how much time it will take for you to read an article of 900-1000 words (Most of my articles are 800-1000 word range). If you can finish any of my article, in less than a minute – bravo! You have successfully completed the speed-reading course!

Conclusion

With this article series, my intension was to bring together best contents of books, Video and Audio materials in Speed-Reading into a condensed 3 part series, and open the world of Speed-Reading to you, and to give you some practical tips that you can start immediately apply to your life. And I believe I have tried my best to achieve that goal. May He accept.

My advice to you is: Learning speed-reading is like learning to make gold from air, opening treasures of wisdom and knowledge; that you never thought you could learn in a lifetime. Inshah Allah

Though it takes patience, practice and dedication from your side, if this skill is mastered, it will change your life. The way it changed mine.

Reference

1) The complete Idiots guide to Speed reading – Abby Marks Beale
2) Triple your reading speed – 4th Edition – by Wade E Cutler
3) Speed reading – by Tony Buzan
4) Remember Everything You Read: The Evelyn Wood 7-Day Speed Reading & Learning Program by Stanley D. Frank
5) Breakthrough Rapid Reading – Peter Kump
6) Speed Reader X: Speed Reading Made Easy [Cd-Rom]

We continue from where stopped on Part 1. This part will introduce you to some basics on speed-reading, and we will expand on this information, in our advanced study in Part 3.

What I present here is only dip of the ocean. I would encourage you to use these as a starting point of your own reading research into deep Speed-Reading.

Here is how to Study the Materials (Especially if you feel overwhelmed with the information!)

It is not knowing lot of things that matter, it is applying them that matter.

When you learn speed-reading, what you need is to do is to learn ONE technique. Make sure you understand it well, and then go back to reading exercise and practice on that ONE skill you learned. Clock your timing and see how much you have improved.  And then move to learn next technique, and repeat the process.

Choosing a study buddy

I encourage you to have a study buddy for this. What you are undertaking is important, and a study buddy would add a lot more value to you, than you doing this study alone. Ask your friend to join you today!

Difference between Speed Reading and Photo Reading

There is difference between speed-reading and Photo reading.  Speed Reading is about increasing your current speed with good comprehension of the material. There is not much emphasis placed on retaining the data for long time, though many techniques help to remember information for an extended time frame.

In Photo Reading you learn about techniques to remember the things you read in a way you can recollect them anytime. And you would need a different set of skills for it. Photo reading is out of scope of this article series, and I will cover it in detail in another article series – “How to Do Photo Reading”.

5 Introductory strategies for effective Speed-Reading

1) Carving out time to Read: To speed-read, you need to become a reader. Irrespective of how slow or fast you read, you should dedicate minimum 30 min of reading every daily.  Without the step 1, you will not have practice time to put the speed reading techniques to practice. So, commit yourself to min 30 minutes of reading every day. Also commit to finish the book you have started.

However, do note that the amount of time to devote for the study cannot be determined by a rigid formula. You see – you are the best person to decide on your reading time per day. Make sure it is “minimum” 30 minutes per day!

2) Preparation for Speed Reading

Yes. There is some preparation we need to do!

a) Selecting a quite and comfortable environment.

This step is important. Make sure the place you choose for reading is quite and comfortable. This is essential especially during the early stages of your study process.

b) Don’t regress as you read.

One thing we do when we read is to go back to what we have read. Resist that. If you feel you missed something, don’t worry, you can read it later point of time. For now, try to continue reading without going backwards.

c)   You should see the whole page. Make sure you hold the book in a way you can see the whole page. This helps to make sure you can easily master the next point.

d)   Have your Page Ready to be turned – Make sure you have the page in a position that is ready to be turned. This creates a sense for your mind to finish this page, and move on to next!

e)   Don’t let your mind wander when you read. You cannot remember or comprehend what you have covered visually when your mind wonders elsewhere. This might seem very simple – but many times your slow reading speed will be directly related to this.

f)     Time boxed Reading: If you read with a specific time deadline – like, ‘I will finish this material by end of today’, then you will be more focused to go over the material before the deadline, and this will help to improve your speed.

3) Why and what for? To read any book using speed reading, you should have a “Why” and “What for?”

Why – Why did you pick this book to read?

What for? What you want to achieve by reading this material?

For e.g., if you have a time management book that you are interested in reading. You chose to read because your friend recommended it (your why) and you want to find some ways to manage your time better (your what for).

4) Getting the bird’s eye view of the book:

While in your helicopter, look for the below info

1. Copyright date: To tell you how current the material is. This puts the information in historical perspective
2. Table of contents: This gives you outlines of the book/magazine and which topic will be interesting to you.
3. About the author: This information gives you about his/her expertise, where he/she is coming from, and what you might expect to find in the material.

4.         Front matter. This includes introduction, preface, foreword, etc.

5.         Thumb through the book. Stop briefly for layouts and typography. Maps photographs, cartoons, etc

6.         Illustrations or photos: a picture is worth thousand words, especially if it has a caption, and quickly provides clues to the reading content.

7.         Quotes and information placed in the margin: This material usually reflects something valuable.

5) Finding the meat of a Chapter:

Start with these areas

1.      Title – Title reflects the subject or theme of the material.

2.      Introduction – Introduction points you in the direction author want to lead you.

3.      Subheadings – Subheadings are the legs of the meat.  When you come to a new subheading, you know you have entered a new subtopic area.

4.      First sentence of every paragraph – Focus on the first line! By just reading the first line, you will know what that paragraph is about!

5.   Conclusion Part. Typically last paragraph or two that summarizes the ideas present in the full chapter. Make sure you read the conclusion and understand it well.

Above steps, with practice will only take few minutes of your time. And it should come as the first approach to handle any book you want to read.

How I should Implement what I learned above?

If you ask my recommendation – I would start with “Not to regress” item and reading for minimum 30 min every day.

You can choose which one best interests you. You need not implement everything suggested in this material. Write down the 3 best ideas you want to implement. Then – take ONE idea you want to implement this week.

Summary:

In this part, we continued from where we stopped on Part 1, and discussed some key strategies you could apply to improve your reading-speed. If you can do what I explained in this Part, you should be able to dramatically improve your reading.

In the final Part, we will get into advanced techniques, and that part is for Students who have mastered the contents in this Part, and can apply them in their daily reading.

Before you move to the Next part, take time to practice what we learned in this part, and when you are ready to go to next level, read the part 3. Till then, Practice Practice Practice !

It is not what you know that matters; it is what you do with what you know that matters!

To be continued.

In today’s world, an ordinary reading skill will not help because of too much information and less time we have in hand to absorb and learn them.

If an average reader with a 250 word-per-minute read a 300-page book (with around 500 words per page), he/she will take 7 hours to read it. If the speed is raised to 1000, you can finish the same book in 1 and half hour.

How speed-reading can change your life

Before I took my speed-reading course, my reading rate was 250-300 words. Today I read with a speed of approx 1000 words per minute. That means if I go to a library or a bookstore, and browse a book, by the time I leave, I would have finished that book. And I am in the process of increasing the rate even more!

It is very easy for me to finish 4 or 5 self-improvement book in one day – as I do while preparing for an article. And with right skills, you too can do the same.

This two part article series on Speed Reading

Here is how I am organizing this topic:

Part 1: Introduction to Speed reading, and setting the stage for our study. Here we learn what is speed reading, difference between Fiction and non-fiction, how we became a slow reader, and concept of “Meat, Potatoes and Veggies”

Part 2: Here we continue from what we learned in Part 1, discuss the difference between Speed Reading and Photo Reading, Choosing a study buddy, and learn “5 introductory strategies for effective speed-reading”.

Part 3: We go to advanced level and learn about eyes movements, vocalization, and sub-vocalization, vision span and introduce you to a two effective technique: Sub vocalization and Visual Span Reading, and a special “Two Step Process”. We will end the series with references to reading and video materials you can use, and how you can take your speed-reading study to next level. Inshah Allah

Taking inventory of yourself:

Lets find where you stand regards to your speed. Take any large paragraph, and count the number of words in it (using word count option in your text editor). Read with your regular rate from start to end, and time it. Then divide the total words in the document by the total time it took for you, you got your reading speed!

Reading time is not the time taken read the book from A to Z – line by line. It is time difference from when you started it, and by when you reached the end, with enough comprehension of the material.

When we speed read, we should also be reading to understand and comprehend the material. Hence we can also define Speed-Reading timing as – the time took to comprehend the content of a book or an article.

For an average reader, reading-speed will be around 300 wpm (Word per minute) Make sure as you learn each technique, you time yourself, and see how much you are progressing every day.

What is Speed Reading and how it is helpful in life?

To navigate a city, you can go street by street, or take a helicopter and enjoy the city as a whole. This is the difference between speed-reading and regular reading.  Reading a material from word to word, cover to cover, is typically not the most efficient or effective strategy. Efficient way is to – read by taking a Helicopter ride of the book!

Origin of the word “Speed Reading”

Evelyn Wood (January 8, 1909 – August 26, 1995) was an American educator and businessperson. She coined the phrase “speed reading and developed a system that was taught in seminars. As a result of her efforts, she is sometimes known as “the Pioneer of Speed Reading.

Deciding What to Speed Read and What not to Speed read

I am a fan of mystery fiction novels, and I read them regularly. Even though I know speed-reading, I don’t read these novels using the speed-reading techniques. Because, my goal in reading this fiction is not to finish it, but enjoy the process of reading, feeling and living in the magical world created by the author!

Thus, if you ask, here is my take on what to Speed-read?

1. Non fiction materials
2. Newspapers
3. Magazines
4. Blogs
5. Light novels
6. Self improvement books

What not to speed-read?

1. Words themselves aren’t easy to read
2. Your reason “why” prohibits it (More on this “why” factor later)
3. You want to appreciate the author’s style
4. You need to really think about what you’re reading
5. You are editing, not reading
6. When your goal is to enjoy the reading, and not necessary finishing it quickly.

Decide your content: Fiction Vs Non-fiction. Fiction is easier to read because it engaged the brain visually, auditory and kinesthetic feeling. It’s like your own movie playing in your head while you read.

Non-fiction is different. Textbooks, newspapers, or study materials. They don’t engage in visually, auditory or kinesthetic way. Instead they engage your brain digitally, providing data and information.

When you approach a material for speed-reading, understand what kind of material is it (Fiction or Non-Fiction) and base your strategy accordingly.

With this introduction, Lets begin: How we learned to read slowly?

Lets go back to how we learned to read. We learned reading by reading it loud to our teacher – in our regular speech speed. Once the oral checking is done, we go back to house and practice our self-reading to our self. And we read in the same speed we are taught to read to teacher. As days went, we learned new words and sentences, but we followed the same (slow) speed. And this became a habit for us.

Meat, Potatoes and Veggies.

Contents of any reading material can be divided into three: Meat, Potatoes and Veggies. The most important information is the “Meat”, and other explanations and details are Potatoes and Veggies.  When speed reading, you should look for the Meat and leave the potatoes and Veggies for later.

Summary: In this part, we learned the concept of speed-reading, and set the base for our study process. Before we go to Part 2, a small homework for you! – The exercise for finding your current reading speed. Do it before reading next Part!

Remember: You need to take action in order to succeed!

To be continued.

Would you like to improve your writing skills? Even the most experienced writers could hone their writing skills. All writers could use help becoming a better writer. It’s a good idea to hone your writing skills when you’re just starting out as a writer. Learn all you can about the craft by reading other writers. Read your favorite authors and study their writing style, tone, and voice but don’t copy them. Use their body of work as a point of reference of where you’d like to go.

10 Tips to Be a Better Writer

Read. If you’re a writer who doesn’t like to read, you may ask yourself why you want to become a writer. Most writers are voracious readers. They’ll read classic authors like Mark Twain or authors currently on the #1 Best Sellers List. They’ll read poetry, short stories, novellas, haikus, and screenplays. Magazines and newspapers pile up in their office. Reading make you become a better writer.

Write every day. Whether you write in a journal or on a blog, write every day. This is the greatest way to improve your writing skills. You’ll be able to assess the improvement of your writing. Don’t feel bad if your previous writings weren’t that great. All writers strengthen their skills over times.

Take a writing class. Enroll at your local college, university, or adult education center. You can audit classes. This means you take them without having the credit apply towards a degree. However, you may enjoy the classes to enroll in a degree program.

Take a writing workshop. Taking a class at your local bookstore or library taught by a local writer is a great way to become a better writer. The setting may be more intimate, and you’ll be able to have an in-depth Q&A session.

Ask for feedback. This scares most writers because of the fear of the rejection. Constructive criticism will help you become a better writer. Ask other writers that you respect to review your work. They’ll give you direct and honest feedback without the sting. If you’re luckily enough to know a couple of editors, ask them to review your work. The feedback you’ll receive will be invaluable.

Join a writer’s group. Make sure you join a group that is professional. Before you commit to a group, check it out first. How do the writers conduct themselves? Are they professional? Do they provide helpful feedback? Does everyone have a chance to have their work reviewed? Check out a few groups before you make your decision.

Stop asking people for their opinion. If you write graphic novels, don’t ask someone to read your work if they won’t like or get it. They may not understand the concept; it won’t interest them. All that matters is that you enjoy writing graphic novels.

Follow your passion. What do you like to write? What is your passion? Don’t write something because you think it will make you money. Your words won’t be authentic and readers will know it. If you’re passionate about travel, write about it. If you love movies, write a screenplay. Follow your passion and it will take you place that you can only imagine.

Write what you know. If you’re a life coach, write articles that will help people. If you’re a recovering alcoholic, write about it because your articles will help other addicts. Writing what you know is the easiest way to become a better writer. You’ll enjoy writing what you know and it will be more inclined to write every day.

Attend a writer’s conference. Conferences are fun! You get to network with editors, writers, publishers, and agents. Most conferences are three days, usually Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If there isn’t a conference in your area, find one and make a vacation out of it. You’ll receive expert knowledge from people in the business while being on vacation. It’s a win-win situation

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Rebecca Sebek, owner of Savvy-Writer.com, a website dedicated to freelance writing. Visit Savvy-Writer.com, and you’ll find information on blogging, screenwriting, client relations, publishing, how to gain web traffic, eBooks, keyword research, social media, and much more. You’ll find FREE stuff such as a Beginning Blogging/SEO PowerPoint Slide, interviews, videos, and other valuable information that can help you with your freelance writing business, publishing and screenwriting efforts, or help you become a freelance writer. http://www.Savvy-Writer.com

How much water should you drink each day? — a simple question with no easy answers. Studies have produced varying recommendations over the years, but in truth, your water needs depend on many factors, including your health, how active you are and where you live.

Though no single formula fits everyone, knowing more about your body’s need for fluids will help you estimate how much water to drink each day.

Health benefits of water

Water is your body’s principal chemical component, comprising, on average, 60 percent of your weight. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues.

Lack of water can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don’t have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions.

Nearly all of the major systems in your body depend on water. How much water do you need?

Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish its water supply by consuming beverages and foods that contain water.

A couple of approaches attempt to approximate water needs for the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate.

• Replacement approach. The average urine output for adults is 1.5 liters a day. You lose close to an additional liter of water a day through breathing, sweating and bowel movements. Food usually accounts for 20 percent of your total fluid intake, so if you consume 2 liters of water or other beverages a day (a little more than 8 cups) along with your normal diet, you will typically replace the lost fluids.

• Dietary recommendations. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3.0 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.

Even apart from the above approaches, it is generally the case that if you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce between one and two liters of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate.

Source : Lifeforlife.com

Asalaamu Alaikum WaRahmatullah.

The state of being in debt has become a common state for people today.  Something that is so incremental can not exist without reasons and causes.  Knowing the cause of something makes it easier to fix or prevent.  Some such causes for debt are:

1) Emergencies : I will not start off assuming that people are in debt unnecessarily.  Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for which one needs to borrow money with the sincere intention of paying it back.  An illness, loss of a roof, lack of food, and many other reasons are understandable for borrowing money.  However, having borrowed the money technically puts a person into debt, but if the need is dire and the intent to pay is sincere then there is a higher chance of getting out of it sooner, Allahu Alam.

2) Instant Gratification: We live in a world that is fast, digital and instant.  Everything is available right away and we are happy instantly.  Based on this need, credit has played a huge role.  One swipe of plastic and something you don’t have money for is in your hands to take home.  This gives birth to a whole host of issues, in addition to debt, like impatience, over-spending and the inability to appreciate the work and time required to obtain something.

3) Impressing others: Jealousy, greed, showing off, pride… there are a lot of diseases at work for this one.  The need to show others up, or have the better, latest, greatest and more expensive is unnecessary and damaging.

4) Needing the latest and greatest: It’s good to have interests, but if they require a person to always upgrade to the next, best, latest and greatest version, then its an expense that is neither necessary nor important.  Too much indulgence in any hobby can cause a person to spend more money than intended.

5) Lack of Knowledge and support: Without the proper tools and knowledge on how to manage money, and the right support system to keep you on track, it is very easy to lose control of one’s spending.  This has to do with the ease with which we can attain money that is not ours.  One of biggest ways to get into debt is to not obtain the right knowledge and tools to manage debt on a daily, monthly and yearly basis.

May Allah Subhana waTa’ala guide us to the knowledge that allows us to manage our money and spending in ways that please Him Subhana waTa’ala… Ameen.

Wasalaamu Alaikum WaRahmatullah.