Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes 243 Comments

Written by Tim Ferriss Topics: Mental Performance


(Photo: Dustin Diaz)

How much more could you get done if you completed all of your required reading in 1/3 or 1/5 the time?

Increasing reading speed is a process of controlling fine motor movement—period.

This post is a condensed overview of principles I taught to undergraduates at Princeton University in 1998 at a seminar called the “PX Project”. The below was written several years ago, so it’s worded like Ivy-Leaguer pompous-ass prose, but the results are substantial. In fact, while on an airplane in China two weeks ago, I helped Glenn McElhose increase his reading speed 34% in less than 5 minutes.

I have never seen the method fail. Here’s how it works…

The PX Project

The PX Project, a single 3-hour cognitive experiment, produced an average increase in reading speed of 386%.

It was tested with speakers of five languages, and even dyslexics were conditioned to read technical material at more than 3,000 words-per-minute (wpm), or 10 pages per minute. One page every 6 seconds. By comparison, the average reading speed in the US is 200-300 wpm (1/2 to 1 page per minute), with the top 1% of the population reading over 400 wpm…

If you understand several basic principles of the human visual system, you can eliminate inefficiencies and increase speed while improving retention.

To perform the exercises in this post and see the results, you will need: a book of 200+ pages that can lay flat when open, a pen, and a timer (a stop watch with alarm or kitchen timer is ideal). You should complete the 20 minutes of exercises in one session.

First, several definitions and distinctions specific to the reading process:

A) Synopsis: You must minimize the number and duration of fixations per line to increase speed.

You do not read in a straight line, but rather in a sequence of saccadic movements (jumps). Each of these saccades ends with a fixation, or a temporary snapshot of the text within you focus area (approx. the size of a quarter at 8? from reading surface). Each fixation will last ¼ to ½ seconds in the untrained subject. To demonstrate this, close one eye, place a fingertip on top of that eyelid, and then slowly scan a straight horizontal line with your other eye-you will feel distinct and separate movements and periods of fixation.

B) Synopsis: You must eliminate regression and back-skipping to increase speed.

The untrained subject engages in regression (conscious rereading) and back-skipping (subconscious rereading via misplacement of fixation) for up to 30% of total reading time.

C) Synopsis: You must use conditioning drills to increase horizontal peripheral vision span and the number of words registered per fixation.

Untrained subjects use central focus but not horizontal peripheral vision span during reading, foregoing up to 50% of their words per fixation (the number of words that can be perceived and “read” in each fixation).

The Protocol

You will 1) learn technique, 2) learn to apply techniques with speed through conditioning, then 3) learn to test yourself with reading for comprehension.

These are separate, and your adaptation to the sequencing depends on keeping them separate. Do not worry about comprehension if you are learning to apply a motor skill with speed, for example. The adaptive sequence is: technique ‘ technique with speed ‘ comprehensive reading testing.

As a general rule, you will need to practice technique at 3x the speed of your ultimate target reading speed. Thus, if you currently read at 300 wpm and your target reading speed is 900 wpm, you will need to practice technique at 1,800 words-per-minute, or 6 pages per minute (10 seconds per page).

We will cover two main techniques in this introduction:

1) Trackers and Pacers (to address A and B above)
2) Perceptual Expansion (to address C)

First – Determining Baseline

To determine your current reading speed, take your practice book (which should lay flat when open on a table) and count the number of words in 5 lines. Divide this number of words by 5, and you have your average number of words-per-line.

Example: 62 words/5 lines = 12.4, which you round to 12 words-per-line

Next, count the number of text lines on 5 pages and divide by 5 to arrive at the average number of lines per page. Multiply this by average number of words-per-line, and you have your average number of words per page.

Example: 154 lines/5 pages = 30.8, rounded to 31 lines per page x 12 words-per-line = 372 words per page

Mark your first line and read with a timer for 1 minute exactly-do not read faster than normal, and read for comprehension. After exactly one minute, multiply the number of lines by your average words-per-line to determine your current words-per-minute (wpm) rate.

Second – Trackers and Pacers

Regression, back-skipping, and the duration of fixations can be minimized by using a tracker and pacer. To illustrate the importance of a tracker-did you use a pen or finger when counting the number of words or lines in above baseline calculations? If you did, it was for the purpose of tracking-using a visual aid to guide fixation efficiency and accuracy. Nowhere is this more relevant than in conditioning reading speed by eliminating such inefficiencies.

For the purposes of this article, we will use a pen. Holding the pen in your dominant hand, you will underline each line (with the cap on), keeping your eye fixation above the tip of the pen. This will not only serve as a tracker, but it will also serve as a pacer for maintaining consistent speed and decreasing fixation duration. You may hold it as you would when writing, but it is recommended that you hold it under your hand, flat against the page.

1) Technique (2 minutes):

Practice using the pen as a tracker and pacer. Underline each line, focusing above the tip of the pen. DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH COMPREHENSION. Keep each line to a maximum of 1 second, and increase the speed with each subsequent page. Read, but under no circumstances should you take longer than 1 second per line.

2) Speed (3 minutes):

Repeat the technique, keeping each line to no more than ½ second (2 lines for a single “one-one-thousand”). Some will comprehend nothing, which is to be expected. Maintain speed and technique-you are conditioning your perceptual reflexes, and this is a speed exercise designed to facilitate adaptations in your system. Do not decrease speed. ½ second per line for 3 minutes; focus above the pen and concentrate on technique with speed. Focus on the exercise, and do not daydream.

Third – Perceptual Expansion

If you focus on the center of your computer screen (focus relating to the focal area of the fovea in within the eye), you can still perceive and register the sides of the screen. Training peripheral vision to register more effectively can increase reading speed over 300%. Untrained readers use up to ½ of their peripheral field on margins by moving from 1st word to last, spending 25-50% of their time “reading” margins with no content.

To illustrate, let us take the hypothetical one line: “Once upon a time, students enjoyed reading four hours a day.” If you were able to begin your reading at “time” and finish the line at “four”, you would eliminate 6 of 11 words, more than doubling your reading speed. This concept is easy to implement and combine with the tracking and pacing you’ve already practiced.

1) Technique (1 minute):

Use the pen to track and pace at a consistent speed of one line per second. Begin 1 word in from the first word of each line, and end 1 word in from the last word.

DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH COMPREHENSION. Keep each line to a maximum of 1 second, and increase the speed with each subsequent page. Read, but under no circumstances should you take longer than 1 second per line.

2) Technique (1 minute):

Use the pen to track and pace at a consistent speed of one line per second. Begin 2 words in from the first word of each line, and end 2 words in from the last word.

3) Speed (3 minutes):

Begin at least 3 words in from the first word of each line, and end 3 words in from the last word. Repeat the technique, keeping each line to no more than ½ second (2 lines for a single “one-one-thousand”).

Some will comprehend nothing, which is to be expected. Maintain speed and technique-you are conditioning your perceptual reflexes, and this is a speed exercise designed to facilitate adaptations in your system. Do not decrease speed. ½ second per line for 3 minutes; focus above the pen and concentrate on technique with speed. Focus on the exercise, and do not daydream.

Fourth – Calculate New WPM Reading Speed

Mark your first line and read with a timer for 1 minute exactly- Read at your fastest comprehension rate. Multiply the number of lines by your previously determined average words-per-line to get determine your new words-per-minute (wpm) rate.

Congratulations on completing your cursory overview of some of the techniques that can be used to accelerate human cognition (defined as the processing and use of information).

Final recommendations: If used for study, it is recommended that you not read 3 assignments in the time it would take you to read one, but rather, read the same assignment 3 times for exposure and recall improvement, depending on relevancy to testing.

Happy trails, page blazers.

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Posted on July 30th, 2009

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243 Responses to “Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes”

  • NSW
    July 30th, 2009
    6:33 pm

    Okay – it’s official – you are amazing.

    Thank you for the inspiration you provide in SO MANY areas!

    I look forward to testing this out!

    Regards,

    NSW

  • John
    July 30th, 2009
    6:40 pm

    Interesting tactics here, Tim. I’ve got two months left of summer before I go back to college, so I have plenty of time to practice my visual page scanning. I’ve read the speed-reading tactics in the four hour work week book and this is a big improvement.

  • Steve Place
    July 30th, 2009
    6:40 pm

    Good stuff. It seems that when I read speadreading articles, I start reading faster just because I’m forcing myself to be conscious of it.

    Thanks for the tips

  • Tyler
    July 30th, 2009
    7:01 pm

    This is fantastic!

    Now I must ask you, have you ever heard of photoreading?

    It basically is at the same speed, but it uses your subconcious to read while you are in a prepared brain state, and then you later activate the information within your subconcious by asking questions dealing with the purpose of reading the book, while you go back to speed read and “dip” into information spots that your intuition has to told you to check.

    This is all interesting information.

  • Peter Vo
    July 30th, 2009
    7:03 pm

    Just thought I’d share a related method for rapidly digesting books (reading for study as Tim discusses in his final recommendations) in this PDF published by the University of Michigan.

    http://www.si.umich.edu/~pne/PDF/howtoread.pdf

    Appropriately titled “How To Read A Book”, it highlights the concept of reading a book 3 times, each time with a different purpose:

    a) Overview: discovery (5?10 percent of total time)
    b) Detail: understanding (60?70 percent of total time)
    c) Notes: recall and note?taking (20?30 percent of total time)

    P.S. Tim, we met in Sydney last year and you signed my book with “Learn before you earn, and the rest will follow”. You are a great inspiration. Looking forward to your next book!

  • Jordan Laubaugh
    July 30th, 2009
    7:10 pm

    Awesome Tim!

    I have been waiting for this post for a long time. Since I read about your seminar in the book. Really sweet man.

    Jordan

  • Eric
    July 30th, 2009
    7:11 pm

    ok, making your tweets link to stumbleupon sucks for the same reason frames sucked 10 years ago
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9612.html

  • miltownkid
    July 30th, 2009
    7:12 pm

    I’m off to work and will have to try the techniques listed above later, but for online speed reading I love this free web app:
    http://zapreader.com/

  • Jet Set Life
    July 30th, 2009
    7:14 pm

    Hey Tim,

    I brought a bunch of books you recommended to St Tropez this summer and could have really used these strategies :)

    All the best,
    Rob

  • tropicalismo360@gmail.com
    July 30th, 2009
    7:19 pm

    This for me is the efficiency equivalent of the invention of OCR in scanning – especially when it is so easy to have wish lists on services like shelfari, but so little time to actually read them.
    Importance value = right up there.

  • Michael Vanderdonk
    July 30th, 2009
    7:22 pm

    Yeah… that just the tip of the iceberg Tim (as I’m sure you know).

    Very simply just using a pointing device to help the eye track increases reading speeds. Every (and I mean every) fast reader I’ve ever met users a finger, or other marker to ‘pull’ they eye along the line(s).

    My personal preference to training increased reading is to go far faster than possible, not just 3x. 2 to 3 seconds per PAGE. In the beginning they eyes might get only one or two words. Yet after 30-60 seconds, the brain starts to learn and expand that. With everyone I’ve taught, within minutes they are seeing much more than a single word. Then, on returning to their ‘regular’ speed, they find it much easier to see more of the sentence.

    Other tools for training the peripheral vision are some of the games on lumosity and other similar web sites.

    Then we go the other side and train how to read the page in one second, although that takes a bit more effort, training and experience.

  • Julio
    July 30th, 2009
    7:31 pm

    Nice Tim,

    I’ve been following your work for a while and you are one interesting dude. At first (to be honest) I thought you where all about “shameless self-promotion.” And now, after reading your blog for the past year all I can say is that your content is superb, smart and just plain cool.

    I will put this technique to practice and keep reading your posts, it took a while for me to post a comment but I think you are the real thing.

    Keep cool Tim,

    Julio

    • Tim Ferriss
      July 30th, 2009
      7:41 pm

      Dear Julio,

      Thanks very much for the kind words. I hope the best is yet to come :)

      Pura vida,

      Tim

  • steve
    July 30th, 2009
    7:34 pm

    oh can not wait to use this

  • Noah Fleming
    July 30th, 2009
    7:35 pm

    Great post Tim.

    Do you still speed read and at what speed?

    Do you retain things and are the skills lost if you stop practicing? I guess I’m asking if you constany have to retrain yourself?

    Cheers!

  • Tyler
    July 30th, 2009
    7:35 pm

    I’ve got some time blocked off to experiment with this. The potential for increased productivity and effectiveness is enormous. Keep leading us to the promised land, Tim.

  • Vale
    July 30th, 2009
    7:41 pm

    This is pretty old information. What I mean by that is it has had time for debunking. While it’s great for skimming, it isn’t the best way to read for deep understanding. That’s why there is emphasis on “DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH COMPREHENSION.” With this method, full and complete comprehension can never be attained. Attack me as a naysayer, but it’s already been proven.

    • Tim Ferriss
      July 30th, 2009
      10:02 pm

      Hi Vale,

      Where has it been disproven? I’d be very interested to see the data.

      There is no magic here, and there is no requirement to read beyond comprehension rate when actually reading for recall. The conditioning and drilling is a different matter with a different purpose.

      If you just make better use of peripheral vision, reduce fixation time and duration, you are not missing ANY content whatsoever. The speed then, is up to you.

      Cheers,

      Tim

  • Sarah
    July 30th, 2009
    7:43 pm

    Thank you, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. It should make my work much more efficient, and I plan to teach my children this in homeschooling.

    I just discovered that several of my children have an eye “problem” that puts them in the tenth percentile or less in their ability to track lines in reading and shift focus. It impedes their performance significantly, in spite of their being highly intelligent. Four to six months of training fixes it.

    It makes sense, then, that there must be training that can optimize the skill of the rest of us who read “normally”. Being in the top 1%, in this skill, can be taught.

    Very cool. I’ve been planning to research this someday, and you just handed it to us.

  • Gordie Rogers
    July 30th, 2009
    7:46 pm

    Could you please provide a picture of how the pen should be held? Cheers.

  • Alex
    July 30th, 2009
    7:52 pm

    Hey Tim, this sounds great and I’ll try it out.

    Btw, have u ever tried (or heard any feedback) on other famous speedreading techniques? (like Photoreading or that Howard Berg fastest reader dude).

    would love to hear your thoughts since I’m sure you researched this stuff pretty thoroughly.

    Cheers,

    Alex

  • NewWorldOrder
    July 30th, 2009
    8:00 pm

    Using this approach on the Made to Stick book, my wpm went from 220 to 374. Those techniques leading up to the second testing, definitely train the eyes to move more efficiently.

  • Baker
    July 30th, 2009
    8:03 pm

    I’m going to take this post and put it into practice shortly.

    About two years ago, I did a similar but much less documented program, which drastically helped. I’ve felt myself slipping though, especially recently.

    I’m pumped you took the time to pass along this info. It’s this sort of content that I really connect with. Keep it up!

  • Name
    July 30th, 2009
    8:13 pm

    I tried this (or something very similar) a few years ago — but after the “test” part I stopped focusing on it, so clearly I stopped reading faster! Any suggestions for practicing this technique when it’s obviously [for me] not second-nature?

  • Learn How to Speed Read | Josh L Mann
    July 30th, 2009
    8:15 pm

    [...] Tim Ferriss claims he has the trick to help you read over 300% faster and retain what you read more efficiently. What do I have to [...]

  • Mike
    July 30th, 2009
    8:24 pm

    Thanks for posting this Tim. Many people have started suggesting speed reading to me since I am starting grad school in the fall.

  • Michael - Fat Loss Tips
    July 30th, 2009
    8:29 pm

    God I wish I learned some of these techniques in time for University. Way too much time wasted on reading crap I needed just for an exam.

    I’ve been using saccadic movements with a lot of success recently but I’ll give the other ideas a go for sure…

  • James Ballard
    July 30th, 2009
    8:29 pm

    Thanks Tim. I unconsciously do some of these techniques, however, I need to take the time and learn the proper ones and really start cooking.

  • Rahul Shankar
    July 30th, 2009
    8:45 pm

    Its like you read my mind! I’ve been telling myself I need to start speed reading and this is just the timely post I needed. I love the detail and preciseness you’ve managed to include in a post of this length.

    I’m seen people recommend entire books to be read and followed on the subject. Have you gone beyond these steps mentioned and focused on other resources for further mastery? And as the poster Tyler asked what are your thoughts on photo reading?

    Best,
    Rahul

    • Tim Ferriss
      July 30th, 2009
      9:59 pm

      Hi Rahul and All,

      I tested PhotoReading when it first appeared on the scene and was being advertised heavily on TV. The short answer: I don’t believe it works as advertised. I have yet to meet anyone who can demonstrate it live and then undergo any type of comprehension or recall testing. I could be wrong, but I don’t believe I am.

      Best,

      Tim

  • John Bardos
    July 30th, 2009
    8:59 pm

    In university I studied several speed reading programs and they do work, to a degree.

    It really depends on what you are reading. Sometimes it is necessary to slow down and let your mind and emotions catch up with what you have read. Not everything should be read quickly.

    It is somewhat akin to inline skating through the Louvre. Sure you can see everything 10 times as fast, but you miss details along the way. Speed reading is basically scanning.

    With that said, I had a professor once who could scan long reports in seconds and give detailed feedback. Maybe I just need more practice. :-)

  • Adam Dunn
    July 30th, 2009
    9:17 pm

    How does Kim Peak do it?

  • Pete W
    July 30th, 2009
    9:51 pm

    Thank for the great post. I just did the exercises in the article. In the 25 minutes it took me to get through the post and the exercises I went from an average of 290 WPM to 420 WPM.

    Now if only the rest of the information on the internet was this useful.

  • jeremy
    July 30th, 2009
    10:37 pm

    Wow, great tutorial.
    I’ll try this out for sure, and hopefully that can help with all the reading I need to get done next semester.

    Thanks!

  • Chris
    July 30th, 2009
    10:37 pm

    Hey Tim,

    Great post…as always. I practiced photoreading quite a bit in college while cramming for exams. I found that I could not effectively recall the information for essay questions and oral exams, but it seemed to really help with multiple choice questions. Then again, maybe I just got good at taking MC tests. Any way I have been implimenting 4-HWW principals for about 2 years now and am loving life on my own terms! Thanks again and best of luck on your next book amigo!

    Chris

  • Sean Ring
    July 30th, 2009
    10:40 pm

    Speed Reading – So How Do Deaf People Read Then?

    Hi Tim.

    Firstly, I love your stuff. Thanks so much for it.

    Let me add to this something that I learned when I took my first speed reading course. I did it when I was an institutional broker for a large investment bank in London. I hated reading the (useless) research that our economists were sending out, so I wanted to cut down my time getting the “house view”.

    My instructor shared this with us:

    He was teaching a class in Oxford. His first student came into the room and sat very near him. Seinfeld would have called him a close talker, I believe. The kid was staring at the teacher’s lips and the teacher, quite unsettled by this, moved away as subtly as he could. The student noticed this and wrote on a piece of paper, “I’m sorry, but I’m deaf, I need to read your lips to understand you.” The teacher now realised why his student was on top of him and was calmed.

    As the tuition began, the first speed reading accessment came in. On average, most people read about 250 words per minute, or about as fast as we talk, as we sound the words in our head as we read. This kid came in at 1,500 words per minute. The instructor was astounded. Now most people, after trying and improving a few times, you can get over 1,000 words – I hit over 1,100 per minute – but it takes a couple of tries. This kid was doing 1,500 per minute every time, without the tuition.

    The instructor was telling the rest of the “normal” people in the room to try to stop reading the words and to just look at the them and trust their brains to do the rest.

    The deaf student, reading his lips, start furiously writing down on a piece of paper, “Do you mean to tell me that people who can hear actually sound out the words in their heads when they’re reading?”

    The instructor nodded.

    The deaf student then wrote this:

    HAHAHAHAHAHA!

    If one is deaf, (I now see) clearly one can’t assign a sound to word.

    They just look at shapes. In fact, one of our exercises to get us accustomed to this was to turn the book upside down and to “read” the gobbledegook.

    Much like Su Doku, which is NOT a numbers game, just a game played with numbers, you need to get 9 shapes in a square, row, or line without repeating. We’re using numbers to do this, but really it’s about the shapes.

    Just stop saying the words in your head and your speed will improve pretty much 3-4x…

    See, the “disabled” have much to teach us.

    All the best,

    Sean

  • Rodney
    July 30th, 2009
    11:04 pm

    Thanks for posting this. Finally someone tells us the actual science behind speed reading. I’ve tried a few reading programs that promised to help me read 10,000 words a minute that were crap. This stuff actually works.

  • Dustin Diaz
    July 30th, 2009
    11:09 pm

    Oh wow, you’re the first to use this photo under correct creative commons terms!! Thanks :) This is excellent.

    • Tim Ferriss
      July 31st, 2009
      11:00 am

      Dustin!

      My pleasure, man. This is a killer photo! Brilliant depth of field and awesome kicks :)

      Tim

  • Eric Smith
    July 30th, 2009
    11:26 pm

    Your recommendation of YMII and Brickwork received a ‘can’t do’ from YMMI for a simple property search and then, Brickwork, a lengthy chat and no follow up within the promised time. I suggest you review you referencing. People are judgrd by the company they keep.
    Eric Smith

    • Tim Ferriss
      July 31st, 2009
      10:59 am

      Hi Eric,

      It’s very much dependent on who you get, and please note that: 1) I have issued warnings about declining quality from these two (YMII doubled in size due to the book) on this blog, and 2) I just completely revised the book (due out December) to make this point clear.

      I’m very sorry for the inconvenience, but the companies were excellent when I wrote the book, continue to be for many people who use them, and I’m fixing the issue.

      All the best,

      Tim

  • Jose Castro
    July 30th, 2009
    11:38 pm

    Tim, Keep it up.!!!! Thanks for sharing so much so far.

    From Dallas to Nicaragua….

    Jose ; )

  • Adam
    July 30th, 2009
    11:42 pm

    I’m really tired, but I gave it a little go. 286 – 468 wpm. 163% increase. I’ll keep practicing because it’s a very valuable skill to be able to read fast. Thanks!

  • richard
    July 30th, 2009
    11:47 pm

    Great post! I shot my Words Per Minute (WPM) rate up very quickly from 230 to 386 with just a few practice runs using this easy and fun program!!

    My goal is about 600 WPM and that’s right round the corne for me.

    I use the “Professional” version but there’s other program versions to choose from based on you or your family’s need.

    http://rocketreader.com

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    July 30th, 2009
    11:59 pm

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  • Alex - Unleash Reality
    July 31st, 2009
    12:51 am

    you are legend!!!

    wasn’t as(s) pompousish as you made out to be :P

    back to uni this week – which means 6AM wakeups and ample reading… so couldn’t ‘av come at a better time.

    i’ve seen some of these ideas before, in Tim’s book methinks, and other places, but the “don’t read in a straight line” bit was power.

    thank you
    alex – unleash reality

  • Ola
    July 31st, 2009
    12:53 am

    Interesting post. I was considering the speed reading exercises for some time now. I don’t know my current speed but I think I enjoy my reading as it is. At least when it comes to casual reading (for pleasure I mean). However when it comes to work I would really like to improve my speed. I often need to look through hundreds of pages in a short time.

    I have yet to do the exercise but I am hopeful for the wpm increase. I will be testing it in a foreign language, namely Polish. I thought it would be interesting if we could compare the results for different languages. You said it was tested in five (Which ones?).

  • Joel
    July 31st, 2009
    1:34 am

    I believe I once saw that the savant who “Rainman” was based on, could photoread, however, science could not explain it and he was the only known person who could accomplish such a thing. That case is probably photoreading’s basis, but I don’t believe there is any way a person can just learn it.

    Good post. Has this been posted before? Maybe it was in the book? I remember it from someplace. Noentheless, I’ve been using this method since I first saw it in 2007. Naysayers, it really works. The only “problem” I’ve found with this method is that sometimes, I don’t feel like I’ve got the energy to focus on it. But thats usually after a couple days living in airports.

    • Tim Ferriss
      July 31st, 2009
      10:53 am

      Hi Joel and All,

      Thanks to all of you for the great comments and dialogue! Joel, Kim Peek (the real “Rainman”) can actually read two pages at once, one eye on each page, and he remembers everything he reads. See the documentary “Brainman” and you’ll see this in action. Incredible.

      Best,

      Tim

  • Alex
    July 31st, 2009
    1:47 am

    MRAGH I haven’t tried it but i am soooooo excited!

  • allen
    July 31st, 2009
    1:50 am

    I’m forcing myself to be conscious of it.

    Thanks for the tips

  • Kevin Neadley
    July 31st, 2009
    1:52 am

    Tim, very interesting post indeed. If you think about it, reading a book at normal pace doesn’t equal comprehension either so what is there to lose in trying this technique out. I am still at Uni heading into my third year this September and if I could get this technique down and improve my reading speed, I’m sure it would be a great skill to have just like adding another feather to my bow.

    I bet you get tired of hearing “You’re so inspirational” or “Tim you’re the best” but what the hell, you’re an awesome guy with lots to share so I commend you for that. Keep em’ coming!

  • Chloe
    July 31st, 2009
    1:55 am

    Thanks. For online material, I recommend spreed! http://www.spreeder.com
    Adjust the width and words per line to 4+ to increase your peripheral perception. Set the speed to 4 times target, read it, then 2 times target, read it, then target speed. You will not understand the first two passes, but will do surprisingly well at your target speed! Also, use this bookmarklet, which I modified from the site to handle apostrophes and bad Unicode characters:

    javascript:var%20sel=window.getSelection?window.getSelection():document.getSelection?document.getSelection():document.selection.createRange().text;sel=sel+”;sel=encodeURIComponent(sel).replace(/’/g,’%2527′);newdoc=open().document;newdoc.write(%22<BODY><FORM%20ACTION=’http://spreeder.com/’%20METHOD=’POST’><INPUT%20TYPE=’text’%20SIZE=80%20NAME=’passage’%20VALUE=’%22+sel+%22′></FORM></BODY>%22);newdoc.forms[0].submit();

    Attempted repost… silly comment system mangled the bookmarklet.

  • Marko Cvijic
    July 31st, 2009
    2:17 am

    Interesting thing TIm! I’m just at the beginning of the speed reading process and for now it looks pretty amazing :)

  • NSCT
    July 31st, 2009
    2:19 am

    Thanks but how to apply this with reading on computer screen? I use my mouse pointer but it’s not big enough to help me. And I don’t want to hurt the screen with a pen. Any idea?

    I have the same concern with my mobile phone. I read a lot on its little screen but I feel it is not fast enough.

  • JB
    July 31st, 2009
    2:57 am

    I find I can use vertical peripheral for predictable nonchallenging text, skipping like this:
    1
    1
    1

    Here’s my question for Tim: Granted this is faster. Do I need to train it as a habit? I already haphazardly picked up speed reading principles and do use them when comprehension load is light. Will I see a further major cognitive processing benefit by practicing? Or is the real bottleneck cognition past a certain basic proficiency? What’s the value proposition for advanced amateurs?

    For example, when consciously using physical saccajumps I will still regress back to ponder over new things, like the sacca word. And when my perif inferral fills in a word wrong, I’ll go back to reread the sentence. Does this go away with training? Or is cognition the bottleneck at that point?

  • JB
    July 31st, 2009
    2:58 am

    oops, the above should be:
    —1————
    ————-1—
    —1————

  • praveen
    July 31st, 2009
    3:09 am

    This is very true. I’ve checked this method.

  • Michael Kozakewich
    July 31st, 2009
    3:17 am

    I agree with JB. I found myself naturally doing that. If you build a two-dimensional map of the text in your head, piecing it together using alternating ends of a line lets you scan the page faster.

  • Tim Jefferies
    July 31st, 2009
    3:34 am

    Is speed reading this article with spreeder.com overkill? :D

  • JackT
    July 31st, 2009
    3:36 am

    Sounds just like the adapted version of an Evelyn Wood-style speed reading class I took as a kid in high school. Here are some comments that fit with my experience;

    http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1021/does-speed-reading-training-actually-work

    http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=8853

    Corrections backed by evidence — not assertions — are appreciated.

  • Josh
    July 31st, 2009
    3:36 am

    Awesome. I remember seeing someone speed read in high school and always lwanted to learn. I forgot about this for a long time. I haven’t tried it yet because I’m at work, but I will definitely give this a shot. Really, thanks for posting this. I need to read much faster… would save me tons of time with my website and other job.

  • Emi Gal
    July 31st, 2009
    4:18 am

    From 634 wpm to 1012 wpm, thanks mate!

  • szul
    July 31st, 2009
    4:19 am

    Just read about this in your book the other day. It’s definitely something that many people read about, but never condition themselves to use. Back-reading is a major issue when it comes to increasing your speed, so these are great tips.

  • Daily Links for Friday, July 31th, 2009
    July 31st, 2009
    4:31 am

    [...] Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes [...]

  • Dan Cosgrove
    July 31st, 2009
    5:06 am

    If you read this article, you can pretty much scrap any speed-reading book out there. This is an excellent summary, written in readable English, of what countless books on the subject with regurgitate.

    This is a prime example of results vs. effort (getting all of the important information out in a bookmarkable blog post, as opposed to a 200+ page book)

    Keep up the good work!

  • Jeffrey Tang
    July 31st, 2009
    5:40 am

    Enlightening. I realize that I’ve been using a lot of these speed reading techniques without thinking about it. Just things I picked up while trying to finish schoolwork faster.

    A lot of very specific information here; thanks for sharing. I’ll be trying these tips out when I get home from work today :)

  • Ethan Gardner
    July 31st, 2009
    6:01 am

    With all the productivity tips you have offered, I am beginning to think that your first name isn’t really Tim, but rather an acronym for Time Is Money.

    As a person who is a slow reader with excellent recall, I look forward to trying out this technique.

  • Clay
    July 31st, 2009
    6:02 am

    Does anyone have any good recommendations for a book to practice this on that meets the requirements (200 pg, lays flat, etc.)? I don’t really have any books that meet this criteria, and I figure I might as well read something good if I am going to try this out.

  • Steve
    July 31st, 2009
    6:43 am

    Tim,

    Interesting stuff. My question is can you turn it off? After conditioning the brain to read this way, can you simply gear back down and read at a normal pace? I ask because I am one of those people in the world he reads just for the pure enjoyment. I don’t want to speed read Walt Whitman, for example. But if I train my brain that fast is the new normal and then want to go back to regular speed, will it be a constant process of learning and then unlearning?

  • Ken
    July 31st, 2009
    8:05 am

    Hey Tim,

    thanks for the great post. I just did the practice and my wpm went from 222 to 361 (162% increase in speed). I’ll work on it to get faster! Thank you very much. Greetings from the Netherlands.

  • David Stillwagon
    July 31st, 2009
    8:34 am

    I have heard about a few of techniques before and they do help to speed up reading.

  • Eddie
    July 31st, 2009
    8:45 am

    i am yet to check out zap reader, but dynamic reading aside, i constantly use the *readability* bookmarklet

    http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/

  • Speed Read in Twenty Minutes! « CreationPad
    July 31st, 2009
    9:00 am

    [...] Check it out so you can read faster too… [...]

  • Oscar
    July 31st, 2009
    9:12 am

    Hi Tim,

    I read your book, and this article reminded me this technique. I need to put this technique into practice.
    I believe that the training times can be changed. Right?

    “Tenha uma boa semana!”

    Oscar.

    • Tim Ferriss
      July 31st, 2009
      10:47 am

      Hi Oscar,

      Correct. The training times can absolutely be changed.

      Have fun!

      Tim

  • Kristjan-Olari Leping
    July 31st, 2009
    9:29 am

    That kind of techniques clearly help you to increase your reading speed. Basically they are the same things I teach in my speed reading courses. I think there is at least one important thing what has not turned much attention in this post, but what is vital for achieving good comprehension at high speeds. You have to fully focus to the text you are reading.

    The main reason behind poor concentration is that we let our thoughts to wander away form the text. Because of that we do not remember what we read even if we read at slow speed. Actually reading at faster pace can help you to increase your comprehension if you concnetration abilities are poor.

    Consider an example of driving a car. Assume that you are driving at 30mph at any empty highway. Of course you will not drive so slowly there in fact, but let’s say you do. If you are driving that slow then you can shave your beard, eat hamburgers and read newspaper while driving and you will still not crash. Now assume that you are driving at 130mph. Now there is no possibility to read newspaper while driving. The same principle applies to reading. If you are reading at slow pace then you can think on other things while reading. If you are speed reading then there is no possibility to think irrelevant thought. You have to focus your mind 100% to the text or you do not have any chance of understanding and remembering the content.

    So if you force yourself to read faster then it wil help you to improve your concentration. In addition you will benefit from practicing special concentration exercises. For example you could peform following drills:
    1. Counting the words. Take a book and open it on any page. Count words in every paragraph. Count words only with your eyes, do not use your fingers or pencil for that purpose. If you reach the next paragraph, start counting from zero again. Duration of the exercise is 5-10 minutes.
    2. Drawing geometrical shapes. Draw a geometrical shape on the paper (for example circle, square, triangle). Then draw a similar but a bit smaller shape inside the previously drawn shape. Draw it in a way that the smaller shape fits in the bigger shape, but does not touch it. Next draw another shape inside the previous one exactly as you did before. Continue until you reach the shape with minimal possible size.
    3. Reading a boring text. Find a book or journal, which content offers you absolutely no interest. Find 10-15 minutes for the exercise. Read this text as it was the most interesting thing in the world. Avoid any distracting thoughts or making pauses whilst reading

  • Brandon James
    July 31st, 2009
    10:00 am

    I started using the techniques outlines in your book and it’s incredible how effective it is. The interesting thing it that it reframes your approach to reading in general, when you read for efficiency, you don’t wait time on topics that aren’t of value. I’ve used that philosophy on a macro level and started only reading things that I truly get benefit from or truly enjoy. I love how it’s possible to Stoicize everything in life.

  • Au Dang
    July 31st, 2009
    10:09 am

    Hey Tim,
    Thanks for the great article. I’ll surely be using it for school (re-reading a few times of course) and as I start reading for enjoyment again.

    PS: I went to Tsukiji fish market in my VFFs, and now they smell like fish!

  • Alex T.
    July 31st, 2009
    11:41 am

    Finally!!!! I have been waiting for you to blog on this subject. Awesome. Now I just have to wait to see a blog on Capoeira.

  • JackT
    July 31st, 2009
    11:52 am

    I guess I was too subtle. Either that, or there are lots of believers in this thread and very few skeptics.

    As was covered in the links from my previous post, there is a non-trivial trade off of comprehension when reading speed is increased. Speed readers and skimmers tend to have the same level of understanding of text that is processed at the same speed, and comprehension is greatest when reading without either technique.

    If I’m mistaken — and in this technique reduces or eliminates comprehension problems unlike previous speed reading techniques — please feel free to let me know what I’m missing. Facts before assertions, please.

    If this is the holy grail, I’d be grateful for a correction. If not, limits and trade offs should be noted.

  • Gurpreet
    July 31st, 2009
    11:56 am

    Hi Tim,

    Very informative and interesting post as usual!
    I was going to ask you about Photoreading too, but seems you’ve already discussed it with others.

    I bought it back in 1997 and had some success with it, but struggled to make it work to the full extent as promised, and was going to tackle it again recently, so this is a particularly timely article for me :)
    …and the discussion about Kim Peek is fascinating! I’ll definitely find that documentary “Brainman”!

    However, I have seen videos of people demonstrating Photoreading on live radio, etc. (although they were Paul Scheele’s videos) – any thoughts on those?

    I’m definitely going to practice this PX Method…but wouldn’t it be great if both methods (PX & Photoreading) could be be made to work, & used in conjunction?

  • TheFamilyMan
    July 31st, 2009
    12:02 pm

    I swear Tim Ferris has one of the greatest marketing minds of our generation.

  • TNS
    July 31st, 2009
    12:06 pm

    Great post. I did this years ago as the “Evelyn Wood” reading program. The night of “finals”, I read three books in just over 35 minutes with 96% comp. There was mention of a student at USC that read 85,000 wpm. He was tested on a micro-fiche machine, as page turning was the limiting factor.

    ps. I got away from some of it, because I was constantly interrupted by gawkers telling me “you’re not reading that”. I never had the heart to tell them to f*ck off! But I can assure you it works, if you keep with the drills. One day, your eyes will “pop” and you will wonder how you ever got along without it.

    ps. If you’ve ever fallen asleep reading a book, YOU’RE READING TOO SLOWLY!
    YOUR BRAIN IS TELLING YOU “I’M BORED!”

  • Dakota O'Neill
    July 31st, 2009
    12:21 pm

    Don’t really get this, not sure if its because I am dyslexic or what but yea. I hope other people get this and get it to work. Wish I do :(

  • Crappykoreabot
    July 31st, 2009
    12:22 pm

    Eh, the whole trying not to speak in your head while reading (subvocalization), well according to wikipedia (I know it can be false, but generally it’s correct) it says that it may be potentially harmful to comprehension, learning and memory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocalization I suggest that you experiment with different techniques, photoreading/speedreading and see what works best for you.

  • Steve
    July 31st, 2009
    12:28 pm

    How well does this work for non-native languages? My reading speed in Chinese is much, much slower than in English and I’m looking for ways to speed up, but I think I’m limited by my vocabulary recall speed, not by eye movement. Any research on whether this is of use in language acquisition?

  • Mark Tennenhouse
    July 31st, 2009
    12:37 pm

    Tim,
    I really like your stuff. keep it coming..

    It is true that we can force ourselves to speed up by fewer fixations, and larger groups of words for each fixation. BUT, for good readers, this is only a minimal gain.

    A MUCH larger increase can be achieved by eliminating SUB-VOCALIZATION.

    That is, eliminate the voice in your head, eliminate reading each word to yourself.

    What am I talking about?

    Well, we learn to read by reading aloud to parents, at school. The habit never leaves us without special training. We read at roughly the same speed at which we speak, somewhere (give or take) around 150-220 WPM. That’s not a coincidence.

    SO..how fast can we understand written text?
    Well, how fast can we think?? The answer is MUCH MUCH faster than our current rate. In fact, it’s hard to say exactly what the upper limit of speed reading is..

    As your posters pointed out, there are deaf people and other rare individuals that have learned how to stop talking to themselves as they read.
    Their reading rates are amazing, over 1000 WPM. This amazing speed can only be achieved by a completely different approach.

    There are methods to eliminate sub vocalization but they are very different from what you’re discussing here. The methods I’ve seen out there simply don’t work.

    Please let me know if you come across any useful methods for eliminating sub vocalization. If you put another tutorial or video out there on the topic, I’m sure it would be interesting.

    thanks,

    Mark

  • James
    July 31st, 2009
    1:01 pm

    Also another way to increase your speed is to increase your vocabulary.
    When you come across a word you do not know. You will stop and reread the words around it to understand the context it is being used. This is another way to increase your speed when reading.

  • fmvs
    July 31st, 2009
    1:01 pm

    Bigup for the nice summary! Ever used speedreading softwares like Acereader? Pretty cool, but I guess keeping it zen and using the good ol’ paper and ink can be just as effective.

    I’m curious: what is your wpm right now?

    all the best!

  • Paul
    July 31st, 2009
    1:19 pm

    I read this title on twitter: “How to read 300% faster in 20 minutes.” I instantly said this link has to point to Tim’s blog and it did…Ha.

    Good work Tim.

    Paul

  • CL
    July 31st, 2009
    1:25 pm

    I would like to see an article on “speed understanding” (if there is such a thing). I think the above techniques are useful for increasing the speed of reading fluff, but for more worthwhile or dense material I don’t think increasing reading speed makes much of an overall impact.

    Understanding to me is about making connections between what you don’t know and what you know. In order to do that, you need to stop reading and think. I’d say the reading aspect of understanding a text accounts for 5% of the time, while developing an understanding or figuring out how to apply the knowledge is the other 95% of the time. So while a gain on 5% of the pie is still a gain, focusing on how to improve the other 95% (how to develop an understanding) might be more worthwhile.

  • Chris
    July 31st, 2009
    2:04 pm

    Tim,

    Most of the material I read these days is digital.
    Any specifics as to how to apply these techniques to reading on a vertically oriented screen?

  • Brant Choate
    July 31st, 2009
    2:19 pm

    Tim,

    You read my mind with this post. I was just looking into speed reading last night!

  • Martin
    July 31st, 2009
    2:25 pm

    Just gave it a go. Googled online stop watches and found http://www.online-stopwatch.com/

    Easily reading over 300% faster after walking through the post.

    It’s strikes me that before the techniques become second nature, it might help to take a few minutes to practice before diving into a book or long reading session… A reading “warm up”.

    thx

  • Eryk Banatt
    July 31st, 2009
    2:29 pm

    Tim, it’s official, you are the most interesting blogger I’ve come across. Your posts aren’t overwhelming and arrogant, your content is always amazing, and you are efficient to the point of being kinda scary.

    Kudos to you, sir,

    -Eryk

  • Will H
    July 31st, 2009
    2:42 pm

    [On visual media]: I’ve taken speed reading to another level: speed watching digital media.
    I use software to speed up online lectures, videos, etc: whenever I’m needed to consume a larger amount of information than per the usual 60 fps. Enounce is an example of this type of software, and I use it to watch opencourseware lectures, for example. Futher, I’ve experimented with ’so-called’ speed reading software– e.g. it flashes phrases of 11 words on the screen in 1/10 of a second.
    Anyway, my question for Tim and everybody: still working on an advanced notetaking system to UP the comprehension from all this reading, and (now) listening. Any suggestions?

    Thanks, Will

    • Tim Ferriss
      July 31st, 2009
      10:47 pm

      Hi Will,

      Search “take notes like an alpha-geek” on this blog. I have an obscenely OCD post on this :)

      Tim

  • Ryan Eliason
    July 31st, 2009
    3:07 pm

    Than you Tim. I appreciate that you bring us practical and useful information. There’s too much information in the world these days and most people are on overload. I also love your “low information diet” recommendation from your 4-Hour Work Week book.

  • Dave
    July 31st, 2009
    3:07 pm

    Are we really in that much of a hurry. I appriciate the skill for sure, but it seems like it would be just adding stress to my already stressful life. I do enough stuff fast :) Cool read.

  • wedward
    July 31st, 2009
    4:01 pm

    I’m curious about how I might best apply this to reading content on the iPhone Kindle app or on Kindle itself… Any recommendations?

    • Tim Ferriss
      July 31st, 2009
      10:46 pm

      Hi Wedward,

      I just bought a new Kindle and you can use the back of a pen or your finger, no problem.

      Good luck!

      Tim

  • matt
    July 31st, 2009
    4:04 pm

    So, from the comments that i read it appears the big thing is to not “say or sound out” the words in your head. By doing this it allows you to comprehend multiple words at a time where as when you sound them out you can only move as quick as you speak. I’m curious to know if there is anywhere i can test my comprehension. I’ll continue to practice, but i never know if i REALLY got all the information i was supposed to out of it. Thanks.

  • Matt Harris
    July 31st, 2009
    4:39 pm

    This is something I’ve experimented with before, but never really fully committed myself to doing. I’ve heard that learning speed reading skills can have a huge impact on someones professional life.

  • lucho
    July 31st, 2009
    4:54 pm

    Enlightening!

  • CH
    July 31st, 2009
    4:54 pm

    Thanks for this post! I just posted a week or so ago asking about speed reading in some other post of yours. I’ve been practicing ever since though I’ve run into some hurdles despite a definite improvement.

    Here are a few concerns I have I hope you can answer:

    1.The pacing method works well, but when I start using your method of fixation (looking at every 3rd word in) I become unsure where I should start and end the pacing of my pen. Should I start from the third word in and end at the third word out as well? Wouldn’t that call my attention away from perceiving whatever is at the margins?

    2. Also, since you fixate on only two or three words per line, wouldn’t it make sense to move your pacer in “jumps” as well to the words you are fixating on? Since I am only looking at 2 words, why am I pacing across the entire line when it defeats the purpose of moving your eyes as little as possible? The pacing calls attention and your eyes move along with the pen rather than just jumping to the two words they are supposed to be perceiving. This reaaally confuses me because the two suggestions seem to be contradictory.

    3. When pacing at such speeds, my hands/pen is moving psychotically fast, making a lot of distracting “wooshing sounds” on the pages as well as just going in between and on lines I am supposed to be reading. Is this normal or am I going waaay to crazy with the pacing?

    4. Lastly, can you recommend any drills that can help me improve my horizontal eye span? A lot of times I’m missing words at the margins that are completely blurred out. You suggest starting at the second word in, but will that condition my eyes to where I will be able to move in to third/fourth word eventually? Or is this something that cannot be improved?

    Thanks so much for this post, speed reading is something I really want to learn to do properly and this is very helpful!

    PS; Just out of curiosity, what’s YOUR reading speed Tim?

  • Matthew Gartland
    July 31st, 2009
    4:58 pm

    Thanks Tim!

    I’ve been hoping that you’d hack reading speeds for a bit now. Brilliant! I’ve always had the frustration of never being able to intake as many books and other publications as I’d like. Problem cured — hopefully. I still have to give these tactics a go.

    Out of curiosity, how do these techniques and the protocol overall apply to non-English texts? I’m unfortunately not fluent, yet, in another language. Have you been successful at replicating the results in other languages?

    Cheers!
    Matt

  • Benjamin M. Brown
    July 31st, 2009
    5:33 pm

    I hadn’t done a wpm test before, but I have tried to speed up my reading (primarily through quicker comprehension and not through technical methods).

    First test, I was at 800.4 WPM. Second test was at 883.2. Solid improvement @ 10.3%. I’m looking forward to trying this method again on my flight home to Chicago on Monday. Would love to get over 1000. I will try to keep track of progress on my blog.

    -Benjamin

  • First Attempt at Scientific Speed Reading & Accelerated Learning
    July 31st, 2009
    5:47 pm

    [...] Read more about the method here. [...]

  • Steve
    July 31st, 2009
    5:49 pm

    This is the same as “Mega Speed reading” from the 90’s Very effective

  • Scott Forman
    July 31st, 2009
    5:56 pm

    This is great! My Mom took a speed reading course in college and always amazed me with how fast she could read.

    Doing your exercises here I increased from 290 to almost 700. What is the next step? Just re-doing these exercises more often or simply reading more as in Step 4?

  • Eric
    July 31st, 2009
    8:05 pm

    Dear Tim,
    Thank you so much for this and other fantastic posts!

    I just did a quick, somewhat sloppy run-through of the protocol and my w.p.m. hopped up from 377 to 829 AND my comprehension seems to have improved too! It really works, what a gift!

    In return I would like to draw your attention to something that I think you might find of great interest and use: Systema (or Russian Martial Art). You may have seen it featured on the ‘Go Warrior’ series or even more recently on the ‘Deadliest Warrior’ series on Spike as used by the Spetsnaz. As a dancer, martial artist and curious human being I think you might find the methodology fascinating. There are some good (and bad or mislabeled) clips on youtube, though the only way to really ‘get’ the system is of course to experience it personally. The following is a link to the various schools operating in California (if you ever get a chance I highly reccomend Martin Wheeler):

    http://www.russianmartialart.com/main.php?page=affiliates&loc=us&sta=CA

    Though of course the real fun stuff happens in Moscow, if you ever get the guts to try and learn Russian ;)

    Anyway, Thanks again for everything!
    -Eric

  • Peter P
    July 31st, 2009
    8:20 pm

    Great post!

    This is something REALLY wanted to see since lately I’ve started reading tons of books, specifically on online networking and what not. And it may shave off a few minutes the next time I take the SAT!

    I like how you challenge both mind and body to their limits, challenging the norm to achieve outstanding results, with others blaming it on sheer talent/luck.

    Well, I tried out the stuff and I can read at LEAST twice as fast, but it feels kind of weird going at this speed, thus I remembered the quote about being afraid of human potential. Keep it up TM.

    PXP

  • Tim Ferriss
    July 31st, 2009
    11:00 pm

    Hi All,

    Just two quickies:

    1) My current reading rate is, I would guesstimate, on average between 700-900 wpm for non-technical, or 2-3 pages per minute. If I want to speed through, I can near double that after 15-30 minutes of exercises, but to reach the highest speed requires constant conditioning. Not close to my Pton days, but — then again — I no longer teach this and have to demo it in front of large groups and do recall tests afterward. Sound stressful? It was. Grab a book from someone who reads at “normal” speed and test their recall. It will be horrendous. Book recall is universally overestimated.

    2) This can be used for any language, though ideograms will naturally be slower to read (Chinese, for example). The language is much denser than English, so you can consume more data with fewer characters.

    Tim

  • Ben Elgar-White
    July 31st, 2009
    11:06 pm

    ive got only one problem, at first it sais “do not read faster than normal” but in the final step, “Read at your fastest comprehension rate”.
    im not saying there wasnt a significant improvement (by these measure, using all the steps i went from 151-356), but im nor sure how much of that was concentration, and how much was training.
    And if it wasnt training, could an individual hold such intense concentration for an extended period of time.
    This isnt an argument against this speed reading, i have only just finished the training, and havnt tried to practice & apply it over time. But i will in the future, and if i see a significant improvemenrt ill be back to talk about it.

    Again, not saying it doesnt work, but has there been a double blind study, or something similar, where the fastest comprehensible speed with a tracer (but no training) has been measure prior to a program like this one.

    Ben Elgar-White

    p.s.
    if this works half as well as im hoping ill probably be reading dozens more of your recomended articles.

  • Au Dang
    August 1st, 2009
    3:30 am

    Thanks for another useful post.
    I’ll definitely practice this method on the beaches of Nha Trang!

    PS: Just went from Tokyo to Vietnam, but during my stay at Tokyo, I went to Tsukiji Fish Market in Vibrams, needless to say but they reek of fish. Just wanted to thank you for those two suggestions as well.
    -Au

  • arb1trage
    August 1st, 2009
    9:24 am

    Went from 306 to 505 wpm! Very impressive but to really increase comprehension I bet I will have to practice. I plan to use this technique in medical school (I will be sure to read everything 3 times, don’t worry).

    Thanks!

  • Kevin Neadley
    August 1st, 2009
    9:58 am

    To everyone who reads this:

    I have been practising these techniques and took my wpm from 220 wpm to 803 wpm. However, recalling this info is proving difficult. Is it right in thinking that if I keep practising the techniques mentioned above, recall will start becoming more easily possible?

    Thanks to those who can help.

  • Jonas Storm
    August 1st, 2009
    10:28 am

    Hi Tim,

    Thanks for another great post. I’ve read some books on the topics and it has helped me to increase my reading speed if I focus on it.

    I did find that I did not enjoy the reading as much when I read at higher speeds. I like to sound out the words in my head and go slow. It’s like telling a story to oneself.

    So when I read to enjoy myself I keep it at 250 words per minute as this brings more life to the stories and I get time to visualize and debate upon what’s written.

    And then when there’s something that I merely have to read I’ll speed it up.
    I also find it useful to use these techniques on books that I’ve already read to freshen up on the subjects.

    What are you guys take on this? Do you speed read fiction/novels?

    Jonas

  • Stephen O
    August 1st, 2009
    10:41 am

    Great comment by the earlier poster (Sean) regarding the hearing impaired speed reader. I am hearing impaired and read way faster than anyone else I personally know, and now after reading that comment and your blog, it makes sense as my world is visual.

  • Mike Yang
    August 1st, 2009
    11:47 am

    Hey Tim,

    Is there more to this training method ??

    Looks like just an introduction.

    Great stuff. Thanks,
    Mike

  • Luiz Campos
    August 1st, 2009
    3:03 pm

    Hi Tim,

    I’ve been trying for weeks to get your contact (email or something) to talk to you about something you would be really interested.

    I’m from Brazil and I just need to send you a file so that you can have a good overview the whole thing. It’s definitely a solid plan.

    Let me know if you might be interested in doing some entertainment web business in Brazil too.

    Well, can’t tell you much here.

    Email me or something.

    Thanks,

    Luiz

  • Sachit Gupta
    August 1st, 2009
    4:47 pm

    Great post! I know you love metrics – i went from 615 to 855 wpm. Solid improvement. What’s the next step? Keep practicing these techniques over and over or is there more?

    Quick questions:

    I stumbled onto this old blog – http://lifestyleentrepreneurship.com/blog/ – has the content from there also been moved to this blog? Also, you mentioned your coming out with a new version of 4HWW in December, what kind of improvements can we expect?

    Keep challenging and inspiring. Thanks!

    - Sachit

    • Tim Ferriss
      August 3rd, 2009
      12:12 am

      Hi Sachit,

      Gotta get to bed, but much more on the new book coming soon :)

      Tim

  • Alex
    August 1st, 2009
    5:01 pm

    OH MY GOD this is amazing. I’ve drilled once so far and went from 300 WPM to 624 WPM. Absolutely astonishing.

  • Anthony
    August 1st, 2009
    7:46 pm

    Hey Tim

    Completely unrelated to the post, but I wanted to make sure you got wind of this ;).

    The third year of a convention I host just rolled by, total success. I can’t say I owe it to you 100% (Seth Godin has been a big influence as well), but I will say I would not have found the balls to continue hosting it through the tough points had I not read and been inspired by 4HWW.

    thanks for doing what you do Tim, hope to have you out next year, will shoot you the trailer when it releases

    -Anthony

  • LNS
    August 1st, 2009
    10:03 pm

    Hi Tim,

    I am just about finished with your book “4 hour work week”. I love it!! I was recently laid off and need major inspiration and I am finding it from your book. I have two questions. I keep doubting myself and the world as to whether I can do what you have done especially given that you are super smart!! I am 42 years old (just about to turn 43) and wonder if there is really still time for me to live the life I want and make a reasonable living into my retirement? Do I still have time?

    Cheers,
    LNS

  • Lori Havrilla
    August 1st, 2009
    10:44 pm

    I could have used this program BEFORE

  • Lori Havrilla
    August 1st, 2009
    10:45 pm

    …OOPS! Hit the wrong key. I was saying, I could have used this program BEFORE I went to college. That was a painful 4 years.

  • Michael Medlock
    August 2nd, 2009
    2:15 am

    Try Tony Buzan’s The Speed Reading Book. (ISBN 1-4066-1021-6) It’s a BBC publication so I don’t know if it is available in the US. Another great book from the inventor of mind maps.

  • Jeremy Sinner
    August 2nd, 2009
    5:29 am

    Tim,

    Not to call you out on anything, but I’m very appreciative of the repost from your old blog. I could never remember the name and always had to search for a bit to get to this information.

    I have been trying to fit this in my everyday life, trying to start reading a few words in occasionally; on subtitles, television show tid-bits like the History channel and what not. And it has improved my reading speed quite a bit from just passive practice.

    Can’t wait for the new book to come out. I hate to try to ruin any surprises, but I hope you have some bits about Crossfit in there.

    Respectfully from Fussa City,
    Jeremy

  • Steve
    August 2nd, 2009
    6:54 am

    thought you of all people would like this TJ quote…
    I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one a month, and I feel myself infinitely the happier for it.
    – Thomas Jefferson

  • Rick
    August 2nd, 2009
    7:53 am

    this is good stuff, but it doesn’t have to be either/or with something like PhotoReading.

    I’m a fan of PhotoReading and use it successfully. Photoreading as a system is a multi-stage process and people always get hung up on the actual photoreading step. I actually view that as one of the least important parts of the process. I believe the information outlined above on this post can be used successfully in conjunction with Photoreading.

    The thing I don’t like about this type of approach to speed reading is it still uses (or implies usage of) the paradigm of “the reader’s job is to read every word in the book and remember as much as possible”, which is absolutely false. The reader’s job is to get their needs met from the material. Sometimes that requires reading every word, usually, not so much.

    I love how Photoreading stresses the entire process of reading. First determining intention, what does one desire to obtain from the material? Then utilizing tools like mind mapping to lay that out. Approaching written material with clear intention does wonders for the experience. Then the multi-pass system is absolutely the way the brain is wired to interact with written material. The concept of one pass through, remember as much as you can, is sorely outdated.

    The material presented above is actually close to one of the photoreading techniques, ‘superreading’. I believe it can all be utilized together.

    Good stuff, thanks for sharing it.

  • dasa
    August 2nd, 2009
    1:52 pm

    Hi dear Tim,

    a friend gave me your book to read just few days ago. Now I have a technique how to be liberated even faster :) Thanks for both.

    I just wonder how it would be with other languages as English is not my mother tongue. I suppose it could take a bit more time cos the range of the shared word register is not that large. Any research in that way?

    Love Dasa

  • Jacob
    August 2nd, 2009
    2:58 pm

    Hey Tim,

    I loved this article. Speed reading is one thing, comprehension is another, what about memory? If you can’t recall the information (for application) the other two elements don’t seem all that important.

    Do you know of any systems out there or techniques where one can increase their memory? I’m familiar with the link/peg methods and have recently started working with Ruslans Mescerjakovs Phenomenal Memory System. Do you have any experiences/feedback on how one can increase their memory of written material?

    Thanks!

    Shaju

  • elizabeth mars
    August 2nd, 2009
    3:58 pm

    ole!

    thanks, Tim,
    e

  • Andy
    August 2nd, 2009
    4:13 pm

    Tim,
    a great summary of a key life skill.

    Listening is another area where a speed increase can be a huge benefit. We recently built a little site that lets you automatically speed up your podcasts, letting you get through more, and with less distraction.

    http://www.podshifter.com lets you set the speed you want to receive your podcasts at, and then they are automatically provided to your iTunes in that faster speed.

    While it was built for ourselves to use, we find that pretty much anyone keen on speed reading will also love speed listening.

  • Naomi
    August 2nd, 2009
    4:32 pm

    Hey Tim,

    I’ve been following your crazily-speeded-up learning adventures with interest and I have a question: have you ever applied your learning techniques to gymnastics / learning to do flips?

    This is something I’m struggling with at the moment, and I wondered if you have any pointers.

    cheers
    Naomi

  • Yak
    August 2nd, 2009
    5:46 pm

    OK I have a problem with this..I dont understand anything I am “reading”

    Fast: Yes, but what was it about? No idea.

  • Will
    August 2nd, 2009
    9:06 pm

    Hey Tim,

    I’ve been on the market for checking out speed reading courses like PhotoReading and the like.

    Do you know if the PX Method will be made available anytime soon?

    Thanks!

    - Will

  • Schmidty
    August 3rd, 2009
    1:22 am

    @ Sean Ring

    Love the story and comment. Very inspiring.

  • Mary Hui
    August 3rd, 2009
    2:28 am

    Wow, my speed has gone up from a slow 198 wpm to a new 385 wpm! The catch is, the new speed seems to have been detrimental to my comprehension – has anyone else experienced this problem?

  • Felix
    August 3rd, 2009
    4:05 am

    Dude, I officially love your Blog. So much inspiration in here. I enjoy every post. Thanks so much!

    Felix

  • Rocky Adams
    August 3rd, 2009
    6:07 am

    Thanks for everything Tim. You’re a calss “A” stud. I’m looking forward to increasing success, and appreciate your help.

  • tom
    August 3rd, 2009
    8:44 am

    speed reading is EASY.
    I use the Kim Peek method. Start reading slowly, gradually increase the speed until you are reading 1 line per second. Then have a surgeon remove your corpus collosum through your nose. Now you should be able to start reading the left page with your right eye and the right page through your left eye. Remember what your eyes see (concentrate!).

    It’s that simple folks.

  • Tiit Pähn
    August 3rd, 2009
    8:50 am

    Just finished reading every single comment on this post:) Got many great tips and hopefully this will help my Economics @ University of Tartu

    Thanks Tim

  • Curtis
    August 3rd, 2009
    9:11 am

    Tim,
    Finally! I have been awaiting this post for awhile. I actually purchased the PX Project from the site referenced in your book (your assistant was kind of enough to tell me there wasn’t one). That shows you how excited I am to improve my reading speed and for self – improvement items.

    Thank you for your constant insight in ways to improve my life.

    You’re the man,
    Curtis

  • Jan Cisek
    August 3rd, 2009
    9:11 am

    Really helpful info about speeding up reading – and research (and
    experience) shows that comprehension increases the quicker you read.
    However, speeding up reading is only one aspect of more effective reading.
    For retention, you also need to read with purpose, and use various other
    techniques to make sure you remember the stuff you need. On our Spd Rdng
    course we also teach numerous strategies which save much more time than
    simply reading faster. Happy to share if anyone’s interested (or you can
    check our site or download 37 speed reading techniques).

  • Ben Davidson
    August 3rd, 2009
    1:41 pm

    Tim,

    Thanks for the post. I’ve been using this method since I read the book, but it’s nice to have a digital copy that I can link to easily.

    -Ben

  • Ben Davidson
    August 3rd, 2009
    1:54 pm

    Tim,

    Of other note – Once I started using the principles in 4HWW (particularly the 80/20 principle), college got much easier. Within one semester I was able to increase my credit load by 50%, decrease my homework time by at least half, and raise my GPA by almost an entire point. I even managed a social life in there, which is something I’ve always struggled to have time to do!

    The breakdown:
    BEFORE 4HWW
    —13 Credit Hours
    —3.00 End of semester GPA
    AFTER 4HWW
    —19 Credit Hours
    —3.92 End of semester GPA

    Again, I also decreased my homework time by about 50% in the second semester. That’s 50% of what I spent with fewer credits.

    If you want, I’ll tell you about what you have taught me in the areas of body management, too. For now, suffice it to say that one blog post of yours taught me more than either of the training courses I have taken in college, with faster results.

    Thanks again for everything, Tim!

    -Ben

    • Tim Ferriss
      August 3rd, 2009
      6:49 pm

      Ben, thanks so much for the awesome feedback! Totally made my day :)

      Keep up the great work,

      Tim

  • Terrance
    August 3rd, 2009
    4:41 pm

    I believe that even a simplified form of this “speed reading” could change the atmosphere and attitude of most public high schools.

    Perhaps 80%of the foundation of learning is READING and learning to read well can change every thing for a young person.

    Good vocabulary and reading/comprehension speed can make ALL the difference in a young person’s life of learning.

    Thank you Tim for striving for excellence.

  • Rich
    August 3rd, 2009
    5:00 pm

    This Princeton PX Project seems to a bit water down or short cut version of the original Zox Accelerated Learning System Details: http://bit.ly/DtkM1

    The website rather loooooong, but this is the orginal source of the speed reading techniques.

    It was originally developed in the 70 by retired business Richard Welch.

    The original program still 33 years later is the best by far. Numerous other people have copied elements of, but ultimately the leave out some of the original training techniques, which still work.

  • Alex
    August 3rd, 2009
    9:08 pm

    Looks awesome. I know a couple people who have a lot of trouble in school because it takes them so long to read. I’m going to show this to them next time I see them (and try it myself of course).

  • Read A Whole Book In Under 3 Hours | Style Through Intelligence
    August 4th, 2009
    4:37 am

    [...] other day I read a blog post by Tim Ferriss (Find it here) on how to speed read using a method called PX. This exercise takes around 20 minutes to complete [...]

  • kyle
    August 4th, 2009
    7:48 am

    timbo!

    thanks for your thoughtfulness and heart. really.

    separate question: If you could go back in time and have a conversation with 22 year old tim, what would you try to communicate to him? -or- What is the one thing you wish you knew when you were 22?

  • Meena D.
    August 4th, 2009
    7:58 am

    thanks Tim indeed i’ve been a poor reader but not any more i assure you. I’m gonna make sure i make do with this idea you’ve given me. It’s a great one keep it up !
    Meena……..

  • Casey
    August 4th, 2009
    10:11 am

    Tim,

    I spend a lot of time slogging through NASA documents, so this could easily save me hours everyday!

    First time visiting your site, and you have me hooked. Can I be your side kick?

  • Steve @ Freedom Education
    August 4th, 2009
    10:56 am

    Hey Tim,

    Love the Princeton video. It’s the first time I’ve seen it and it was really good. I love how you addressed the first question from your own personal experience. This video is the real Tim (me thinks) because it’s authentic and it’s just you speaking from the heart. More of us should learn how to do that.

    Cheers and all the best Tim,

  • Lou Aarons
    August 4th, 2009
    5:03 pm

    Tim,

    Some of the comments are on the mark, e.g. Mark Tennenhouse suggests that minimizing subvocalization should speed up reading & asks for methods
    to reduce this silent speech. In looking at this issue, I basically agreed with Edfeldt (Silent speech and silent reading, Chicago, U. Chicago Press, 1960)
    that subvoclization per se is not diagnostic of reading ability (Aarons, L. Subvocaliztion: Aural and EMG feedback in reading. (1971) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 33, 271 – 306.)..

    If altering the fine motor controls of eye movements and eventually having good comprehension has been demonstrated (beyond subjective evaluations by the learner), it would be helpful to cite the studies, It has been my personal belief and feeling that both enjoyment and comprehension of read text requires slower text reading with some wandering of the mind than that available in speed reading.

    The note on perceptual expansion and the comments on the use of speed reading in foreign languages reminds me of the effects of marginal stimulation use in my Japanese & Spanish language programs. The method used divides auditory input between the left & right brain hemispheres while the learner’s attention is focused on the foreign word (right ear > left hemisphere) and the simultaneous equivalent native word (left ear >right hemisphere). Most listeners show a right ear advantage hearing the foreign word as clearer, louder, or better tha the native language word (which they may or may not hear consciously. The learner automatically links the the two words. Similarly, if an eye fixation controls focal attention, than peripheral (non-focal attention) may be used to absorb the meaning ot the read material. Please excuse this somewhat academic analogy. Those interested may take a peek at:

    https://www.mhprofessional.com/product.php?isbn=0071443517

  • Chris Weingartner
    August 5th, 2009
    8:03 am

    Do you have any advice for someone who sub-vocalizes each word and basically sees only one word at a time? (Very slow reader, yet maintained a 3.8 average in a large and respected University)

  • arvind
    August 5th, 2009
    8:58 am

    cool technique Tim! This will really help me to get through my final semester of varsity more easily.

  • Pat
    August 5th, 2009
    12:48 pm

    Although I don’t agree with the address of ‘timbo’ I would be quite interested in what you have to offer in short form to this question.

  • Larry
    August 5th, 2009
    2:21 pm

    This is intense. I did the exercises in about 25 minutes yesterday, and spent about an hour reading afterward. In the reading afterward it was a struggle to read faster and comprehend, and I was skeptical about any lasting effect. Today when I sat down to retry the exercises and conditioning I found myself comprehending quite a bit of what I was scanning at the exercise speed. Even at 2-3 lines per second I was picking up most of what I read, even while consciously trying not to bother with comprehension.
    So: amazing. Thanks so much for posting this!

  • Natalie Michelson
    August 5th, 2009
    2:42 pm

    Haha, it’s my dream to be able to read so fast, and a lot of people have told me about speed reading but never really gave me the tips on how to get started with it. Thanks for these suggestions! I’ll give them a try and see how it goes :)

  • Benjamin Lonchar
    August 5th, 2009
    3:30 pm

    Great post Tim,

    This is great I have a few books I have been wanting to read but am still reading The World is Flat (great book). I should be able to finish that up any day now and get moving on the others.

    Thanks again Tim

  • scoobydubido
    August 6th, 2009
    11:29 am

    DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH COMPREHENSION??? doesnt work for medical books thou!!!!

  • Heather Martinson
    August 6th, 2009
    4:03 pm

    Hi Tim!

    I just listened to your Ted talk and am responding to your invitation at the end. I didn’t find any of your blogs that talk about education, so I don’t have an idea what point you’re at now, but I would love to share with you where I am.

    I’m coming from completely outside school systems – homeschooling. The lessons that public schools can learn from homeschooling are tremendous. You know, we don’t have to appeal to the government to try something new. If we want to re-tool, we can be up and running with a new program in 10 minutes. We have learned so much, that it really is a shame that classroom children are being left behind.

    Here’s a list of myths that society holds on to so dearly:

    1. Children can only learn from credentialed teachers.
    2. More words means higher intelligence.
    3. More desk time means more learning.
    4. Passed tests means learning happened.
    5. More schooling equals more success.
    6. Learning is hard, boring work

    I have explanations and examples for each of these myths. I have started a school where children have the amazing opportunity to teach themselves.

  • Bert Heaton
    August 7th, 2009
    9:23 am

    Hi Tim,

    Great stuff. I am of course biased, but believe that the best way to dramatically increase your reading speed and comprehension is with PhotoReading, a technique developed over 30 years ago by Paul Scheele, founder of Learning Strategies. Millions of people have bought the book, purchased the home study course or taken one of our classes.

    Bert

  • Chadwick
    August 7th, 2009
    9:24 am

    Tried it and doubled my speed from 210 to 420 the first time. Not a bad start. I think with practice and persistence, anything is possible.

  • Jerry Sablo
    August 7th, 2009
    5:05 pm

    I’m a little confused.

    Chris Weingartner’s situation is similar to mine, coming from a background of 28 years’ proofreading. I read every word, and I’m tired of hearing myself! How can I turn my voice off?

    The other part I have a question with is what Lou Aarons refers to:

    ” I basically agreed with Edfeldt (Silent speech and silent reading, Chicago, U. Chicago Press, 1960) that subvoclization per se is not diagnostic of reading ability (Aarons, L. Subvocaliztion: Aural and EMG feedback in reading. (1971) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 33, 271 – 306.).”

    Are we talking about reading speed, and not reading ability?

    Anyway, Tim, thank you for you post. Now I will have to get your book, 4WWW.

  • ami ronalds
    August 8th, 2009
    1:08 am

    thanks for the nice piece of information.

  • Henry Barth
    August 9th, 2009
    5:17 am

    Thanks, now that I can read faster I’ll have to buy three to four times as many books.

    There should be a federal “cash for books” program.

  • Tim Rosanelli
    August 9th, 2009
    9:04 am

    Excellent Tim,

    I took a speed reading course before that outlined these exact technique and increase my reading from 250wpm to 900 wpm on written materials. These results are great, but I noticed a dramatic decrease in speed when reading materials on a computer screen.

    Do you have any tips for increasing the speed on computer reading (I instantly go from 900wpm to 500wpm, Try it out.)? I noticed a few things myself. Usually books, I am able to read with two fixations per line but since the words on the computer are larger each fixation appears to encompass less words, therefore, greatly decreasing my speed. I also noticed a decrease in speed because of the paging down a page.

    Any Advice? Maybe, a good topic for a future article. It seems that all of these speed reading courses are for books and they seem to ignore the fact that people read more and more on computer screens.

  • Miles
    August 9th, 2009
    10:38 am

    Tim, have you tried out any of the software products that help you read faster on the computer? RapidReader (thick client) and Reasy Reader (Firefox plugin) are my two favorites.

    More at http://mileslasater.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/reading-quickly-through-technology/

    Anyone know of a piece of software that assists you in learning to read books faster?

    Miles

  • Suresh Kannan
    August 9th, 2009
    12:08 pm

    Hey Tim

    Congratulations!!! You really have the balance. Health, Wealth, Happiness, Money and Relationships. It would’nt have come all of a sudden. Somewhere, it must have started in this direction a mentor or a book when you were really young isn’t it. Can you tell us when or who was that triggered you to unlock this Unknown Stupendous Human Potential.

    Regards
    Suresh K

  • W. D. Terrell
    August 9th, 2009
    4:21 pm

    The program is sound. The only limitation of success is the reluctance of some to be skeptical. Having successfully taught the similar Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics program over 50 years ago I can attest to the benefit when one follows the directions without question. I had one exceptional student in grad school who read scientific texts as fast as he could turn the pages with excellent comprehension. The key to success with technical material is having a sound understanding of the vocabulary and terms used in the particular discipline. I personally read Michener’s ” The Source” in 25 minutes over 50 years ago and can still relate the story anytime, including the description of the main characters. The imagery can be even more vivid when reading prose and poetry. This technique should be taught in every school in the country.

  • Tim Rosanelli
    August 10th, 2009
    7:44 am

    Okay Miles,

    I checked out the software plugin for Firefox and tried it out. It’s a great tool. I need to check it out a bit but this looks like what I’m looking for.

    Tim

  • Michael Pearson
    August 10th, 2009
    11:20 am

    Tim,

    Are you affiliated with Derren? He uses your text and PX Project spiel as his own, but seems to be using the technique that avoids mental or subconscious vocalisation mentioned above in comments, rather than what seems to be the core of your approach.

    http://derrenbrownart.com/blog/2009/08/scientific-speed-reading-read-300-faster-20-minutes/

    Keep up the great work,

    Michael

  • vinayak kamath
    August 10th, 2009
    3:04 pm

    Tim

    The “do not daydream bit” is very critical to me… Have you seen people with attention deficit conditions improve speed and more importantly concentration? How about dyslexics, any experience with them?
    Vinayak
    PS. I read the 4 hour workweek last year and it inspired me to take off backpacking in Europe for a month.

  • Mohit Soni
    August 10th, 2009
    9:34 pm

    After reading the article, I doubled my reading speed from 300wpm to 600wpm. I’ll thrive to increase it.

    Thanks Tim!

  • Jason
    August 11th, 2009
    12:19 am

    Excellent Tim,

    I tried this in high school but just couldn’t/wouldn’t let go. So I’ve been reading around 250 wpm for years. Painful. At the end of PX Project I was up to 910 wpm.

    My comprehension is a bit still a bit shaky but with work I know it will improve dramatically and if not I can just read it again in my spare time.

    Hey, one nice instant improvement – I just busted through 180 comments in record time (for me anyway) normally I glaze over before the end.

    Two thoughts:

    If you vocalize like I do – force your tongue to stay still. Put the tip on the roof of your mouth or behind your teeth. Then read faster than you can speak. There is a point where the voice just gives in. And oh yeah – don’t daydream…

    Second – for reading digital materials. Try increasing the zoom level (of the browser or the application) to 150% or 200% – whatever works for you. I find that if the text is too small I lose track of the next line plus the eyestrain gets to be too much.

    Thank you,

    Jason

  • Keith Roberson
    August 11th, 2009
    7:29 am

    Speedreading is very much like watching a film in fast forward.
    It works well in subjects, like nonfiction, where timing and nuance are less important to deep comprehension.

    Watching a film in FF, is great for “scanning” scenes, and general action.
    (Sometimes its even better…)

    But if you’re REALLY interested in comprehension, then you MUST slow down and replay the events at a slower speed.

    There is more going on in my brain, then simply decoding the words.
    I am simulating the actors in the scene. I visualize it in real time, giving the actors their dignity in timing and nuance.

    Scanning can certainly help you spot the parts to focus on for simulation.

    But, Just as when we want to analyze a film, in order to analyze the greatest amount of detail and subtlety, we watch the scene in SLO-MO.

    I guess if your word memory is very good, you can replay the scene in your mind without re-reading the text.

    But I have a hard time, especially considering the subtlety of word-play and spoken timing within dialogue, believing that you can read dialogue at high speed, and still get all the nuance and subtlety an actor would bring to his spoken dialogue.

    By slowing down, I allow my mind to fill-in much of the missing detail of the scene, and I can emulate the actor, emotional pauses, even his intentions, etc, more effectively. My brain builds a much richer story via simulation and emulation of the scenes and minds of the actors.

    By doing so, I increase my comprehension.

  • Russ
    August 11th, 2009
    8:06 am

    Hey;

    I tried this for five minutes or so and seemed to read at about 600wpm with full comprehension. Unfortunately, it left me with what feels like motion sickness – light headache and nausea – so I think I’ll stick to trundling along at 300wpm and skipping the dull bits.

    I mostly read for pleasure anyway and don’t often find myself having to process a stack of papers in a short time.

    Interesting though! I was linked here from http://derrenbrownart.com/blog/2009/08/scientific-speed-reading-read-300-faster-20-minutes/ btw.

  • Jonathan Franzone
    August 11th, 2009
    8:14 am

    That is a very interesting technique for improving reading speed and comprehension. I’ll definitely be giving this a try. Thanks, Tim!

  • danielmeieriscrazy
    August 11th, 2009
    11:19 am

    Thanks, I have been meaning to do this for awhile, I was going to listen to the audiobook again and take notes on this section, but now i don’t have to!

  • John Thomas
    August 12th, 2009
    4:47 am

    non-speeding reading (MASSIVE regression to double-check comprehension) WPM = 130 wpm yikes.
    speed reading, partial comprehension, max speed WPM = 812 wpm.

    A Whopping 624% speed increase. Yippeee!! This’ll come in handy. I already differentiated from a “thorough reading” (very slow, high comprehension) and a “skim reading” fast (but certainly not this fast) and lower comprehension. This technique probably tripled or quadrupled my speed/skim-reading mode while maintaining the same level of comprehension and partially increased thorough reading wpm speed as well. Grazie. Cheers!

  • John Thomas
    August 12th, 2009
    5:02 am

    Just wanted to reiterate how awesome I think this approach is. I love how it employs:

    Fixation Elimination/Mitigation
    Regression Elimination/Mitigation
    Peripheral Vision Maximization/Utilization

    And implicitly the Time Constraint on reading is very comforting. I’ve liked audio books because of their set time (avoiding regression and fixation that can cause certain readings to be unexpectedly long). So Having a set reading time ensures elimination of such regression-fixation hangups, stalls, and delays and creates smoother more “ETA capable reading”.. cool!

  • Philosophy, Technology and Math » Blog Archive » 11 Ways to Make Your Brain Stronger
    August 12th, 2009
    1:04 pm

    [...] at speed reading, and making yourself read faster. Need help? Check out these simple instruction to improve by 100% in 20 minutes and then download this PDF document and read [...]

  • Ben Elgar-White
    August 13th, 2009
    2:39 am

    Ok, i posted a while ago somewhat skeptical right after the exercise, but now im using this to read mostly semi-technicle books (i.e. astronomy in the middle east) which requires occasionally stopping to work out a basic equation, but im still reading about 250wpm with total comprehension, more than double what i did before, with practice i hope to get to around 600 for non technicle books.
    thanks tim, this article got me doing something ive been meaning to for a long time.

    Ben

  • GaryK
    August 13th, 2009
    8:13 am

    Happened to find your blog from a new follower in Twitter and I got to say love how social media can let you come across inspiring articles.You got me trying the technique and I hope I can read PC articles faster with the technique.Thanks Tim, for the inspiration today.

  • Daniel
    August 13th, 2009
    8:50 am

    Tim and All -

    Apologies if this has already been covered – too many posts to read (at my current speed anyway :) – but I’m curious: how does the technique translate to pages of different size and format? given that it relies partially on muscle memory of the eyes how can it?

    For example, if you develop the technique by practicing with a small book won’t you have to relearn the technique to speed-read text that spans the width of a 24 inch computer monitor? Seems like there would necessarily be a curve to overcome every time you encounter material that is formatted differently than your training text . . .

    Thanks!

    Daniel

    ps. Tim- I’d venture you’re familiar with the Gunning fog index – Do you know what the index number was for the material you trained/taught on? Was there a standard fog index for the PX project?

  • Michael Kozakewich
    August 14th, 2009
    4:43 am

    I spent Sunday speed-reading some stuff, and I think it drained me for the next couple days. Since then, I’ve been able to keep up 1000 WPM fairly easily. It’s a matter of getting into the groove, and not letting your mind wander.

    I set the font-size way up, squish all the text into a window about four inches across, and set it to scroll at about 1000 WPM, and I can manage to cascade down the text relatively fine as it scrolls. It’s hard to learn things like that, but I can go even faster for things I already know, like blog posts about topics I’m familiar with.

  • Eli Baker
    August 14th, 2009
    7:57 am

    Woody Allan took a course in speed reading. He read War and Peace in one hour…he says it’s about Russia!

  • race42008.com » Blog Archive » Friday Diversion
    August 14th, 2009
    9:47 am

    [...] I ran across this interesting item linked at Marginal Revolution.  It claims to teach you to…speed read in 20 minutes (up to a 300% increase).  It’s a fun exercise, so check out his technique.   [...]

  • Deodoro
    August 16th, 2009
    7:31 am

    Hi, would you mind if I translate this to portuguese and post it in a blog (and link it back here, of course) ?

    • Tim Ferriss
      August 18th, 2009
      1:48 pm

      Sure! Just be sure to link back for all my Portuguese-speaking friends :)

      Um abraco,

      Tim

  • Diego Scataglini
    August 16th, 2009
    1:35 pm

    Hi Tim,
    great post. For those that would like to practice with online content, I created web based reading pacer @ http://www.eyercize.com
    It’s free and it comes with a bookmarklet.

    I originally built the tool for myself, because I do most of my reading online and speed reading online content is usually much harder then printed material. There is more eyestrain, lower resolution, and a lot more.

    You can set the tool to exercise all aspects of speed reading and simulate normal book reading.
    Most users can’t believe how fast they can read and how quickly it happens when they are forced to do so.

    One thing that I like about using the pacer is that I can concentrate on the reading and not on the technique.

    Tim, please give it a try and let me know what you think.

    Diego

  • Hamish Oudney
    August 16th, 2009
    8:45 pm

    I’ve practised these techniques before, and they work fantastically well.

    The one principle which easily doubled my reading speed immediately, is to read with your eyes, not with your ears.

    We are still in the habit of reading like we’re 10 years old. Our teachers told us to read aloud to the class, and nothing has changed, we’re still reading each word aloud but not using our voice. We need to learn to shut the internal voice up and let the more efficient sense do the reading. Have this in mind while reading and you’ll read faster than ever.

    When reading on computer, ensure that you have the web page set so that you can see the whole page without having to scroll down.

    If it’s a technical book, firstly you should decide if you need to read the whole book or just one section. How many times have we read the whole book when we could have just read a few select sections?

    Also, decide what question you’re trying to answer, so that you have a purpose for reading. When you have a target, it gives you motivation for reading difficult passages.

    Thanks for the info Tim

  • Boris
    August 17th, 2009
    3:59 pm

    Wow! Just went from 276wpm to 600wpm in the first sitting. I love it. Thanks Tim!

    Can’t wait to see what a month of practice will do.

    BTW, in case someone else is looking for a timer, I used Weird Metronome 1.4 from download.com. It’s small, free, and easy to use (just set it to 60 or 120 bpm).

  • Nick
    August 17th, 2009
    9:17 pm

    Thank you so much! I just went from 345wpm to 1000 wpm in an hour!!

  • Anne Marie
    August 18th, 2009
    6:23 pm

    yeahhh just went from 330 words per min to 980 words per min. Should have read all of the Omnivore’s Dilemma (practice book) like this.

  • exapted
    August 19th, 2009
    12:37 pm

    I’ve been interested in the human vision system for a while, so this blog post makes sense to me. I love how simple in concept it is. As a proof-of-concept, I highly recommend those who are skeptical or curious to try http://www.spreeder.com/ to read a random blog post that you haven’t read yet. I can read so much faster with spreeder. I just put a techcrunch post into spreeder and found it really easy to fully comprehend it at 800 wpm.

  • Lib
    August 21st, 2009
    10:37 am

    I went through the exercise one time, and went from 273 to 806wpm! I’ll definitely have to stick with this. Thanks :)

  • Link-a-tron « A. Ekerplay and the Personal Legend
    August 24th, 2009
    2:53 am

    [...] ever want to rush through anything EVER again, but oh-so-clever Tim Ferriss has written about learning how to read 300% faster whilst still savouring every word and I’m anxious to try it out with my new [...]

  • Joornaal
    August 25th, 2009
    4:39 am

    Wow, this really does work. I did not go all the way to 300% but I did improve my reading speed considerably.

  • Hushpreet
    August 25th, 2009
    11:33 am

    The story told by Sean Ring is brilliant!

    I for one am really struggling to quiet down that internal voice, does anyone have any tips?

  • Sean Ring
    August 25th, 2009
    5:57 pm

    Hi Hushpreet,

    Thanks for the kind words.

    I’d definitely try turning the book upside down and running your finger across the page while following it with your eyes. It’ll feel like nothing’s getting done. And that’s how it’s supposed to feel. Since you have nothing to sound out, it will feel a bit strange the first few times around. Then turn the book right side up and give it a go to see. Rinse and repeat as often as you need, for it takes practice. Hope that helps.

    All the best,

    Sean

  • A Guide to Speed Reading » Lone Gunman
    August 26th, 2009
    2:01 am

    [...] PX Project is a single 3-hour “cognitive experiment” designed to increase your reading speed. Average increases using the technique are apparently in the region of 386%. The technique seems to [...]

  • technolitics.com § The Untrained Eye: Why Gullibility Sometimes Pays
    August 26th, 2009
    2:57 pm

    [...] no delivery. It was with that skepticism in mind that I dug into Tim Ferriss’ article “How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes.” With grad school looming, a potential boost in reading speed seemed well worth a few lost [...]

  • brad
    August 27th, 2009
    7:48 am

    this is great stuff tim. thanks a ton for all the incredible wisdom.

    best,

    brad

  • Barry Graham
    August 30th, 2009
    11:45 am

    I tried this today and it seems good, I was distracted rather a lot while doing the exercises because the topic of the pages I randomly chose in the book I randomly pulled from my book shelf, was eye fixations. While it wasn’t talking about speed reading, it was pretty close. I am not kidding!

    Here is the question I have for you Tim. When I use the pen and follow the top of it, the text is blurred. Is that what you are suggesting we do? Or are you suggesting that we use the pen to make sure we don’t skip lines, but while we are moving the pen from the 3rd work on the left to the 3rd word on the right, it doesn’t matter if our eyes fix on certain words rather than following the pen exactly?

    BTW great book, I listened to it on CD, the unabridged version, and I lent it to one of my managers. My only suggestion is to remove the bad language so that people with young children can listen to it without having to worry about them hearing language we don’t want them to use. I also bought the hard copy book as a back up now I’ve listened to it. I work for a consulting company where we have to be billable 44 hours a week so I am not sure that I can ethically do exactly what you suggest, but there were some very helpful ideas in there.

  • Dan Seidman
    August 30th, 2009
    5:26 pm

    These guys plagiarize your post?

    http://chetday.com/howtoincreasereadingspeed.htm

    • Tim Ferriss
      September 3rd, 2009
      12:56 am

      Hi Dan,

      It would certainly seem that way. Based on the “Adaptagenix” reference, it seems he pulled it off of my first blog (before this one and the new edits). It’d be nice to at least get a link back, but life is too short to chase everyone.

      I just try and take a few deep breaths, laugh, and move on…

      Thanks for the heads up, though. It’s important to be aware of who does this.

      Cheers!

      Tim

  • Matthew Cornell
    September 1st, 2009
    8:34 am

    While reading all of a piece faster is a great goal, a significantly faster *effective* rate is possible by selective reading and non-method scanning. I.e., question what you want to get out of it, and apply strategy. FYI on-topic link: I’m told my article “How to read a lot of books in a short time” has helped a lot – http://matthewcornell.org/blog/2006/02/how-to-read-lot-of-books-in-short-time.html

  • Matthew Cornell
    September 1st, 2009
    8:37 am

    http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/07/30/speed-reading-and-accelerated-learning/#comment-47699

    While reading all of a piece faster is a great goal, a significantly faster *effective* rate is possible by selective reading and non-method scanning. I.e., question what you want to get out of it, and apply strategy. FYI on-topic link: I’m told my article “How to read a lot of books in a short time” has helped a lot [link in name]

  • amIT singh
    September 5th, 2009
    3:12 am

    well i have been preparing for many exams to get into a good B school here in India

    this technique to read faster has really helped to read and answer the reading comprehension section of CAT really quickly i have almost double my reading speed
    thanks

  • Alexander Mendoza
    September 6th, 2009
    5:19 pm

    Antes de nada, gracias por que desde que lei tu libro mi vida cambio, y no es solo un modo de hablar.

    y eso que aun no he encontrado el producto adecuado que vender.

    sobre este metodo me parece asombroso y me gustaria poder emplearlo y adaptarlo al español para ofrecerlo como un producto en internet, si me daria su permiso.

    gracias por dar lo mejor de si

  • Beka
    September 7th, 2009
    7:30 am

    So this is my first comment…way to take off the training wheels :). I’ve had this sitting in my Google Reader until I had about a half hour to practice and try it out–I wish I’d made time sooner. My reading speed increased from 310 wpm to 650 wpm with adequate comprehension in about 40 min (I went through each step a couple times and didn’t move on until I’d hit the target practice speed). Another great post, Tim!

  • Jure Jesenovec
    September 8th, 2009
    2:49 pm

    Very interesting concept that works in many cases. I use this regularly for reading through all emails and news, easy reading etc.

    As I understand the main theory behind this concept is increasing ones’ recognition ability. The reading speed would be limited only with our own personal ability of recognition the semantics at the given density of information flow. Reading insainly complex mathematical equation has extremly high density in comparison to yesterdays’ yellow pages.

    But I must ask you Tim, where is the limit?

    If I’m reading my favorite magazine, I deliberately slow down, take my time, enjoy the lines… For all other material I use your suggestions from chapter E in your book – elliminate :) The book is excellent!

    WBR,
    JJ

  • Antoinette
    September 10th, 2009
    10:02 am

    I really enjoyed your blog about speed reading training and I have this to share.
    During the Vietnam war when new draftees were required to be trained and ready almost the next day, the US Govt began a test program with elementary schools. My school in rural Virginia happened to be selected and my class was the test subject. I was 9 at the time. We sat in a darkened room with the page projected on the screen in front of us. At first the light showed a paragrapgh at a time and went slowly. Then it went down to a line at a time, then a few words, then one word. Once we had mainteained that speed it began to pick up speed. Each session lasted about 30 minutes and after each session we were tested on comprehension, even to the point of being asked if specific words were used and how. As you can imagine the class quickly split into several levels of speeds. Suprising though, the comprehension was almost equat to the base line comprehension level (and I know this because the teacher was a friend of the family and they often talked about it later).
    This process went on for the whole semester and then disappeared from the classrom never to be seen again.
    While as an adult I’m not comfortable with how we were used as guinea pigs, I am thankful for the training. The speed I attained allowed me to do many things I would not have been able to do without it. Standardized tests were much easier, homework was less time consuming, etc. The down side is that after years of speed reading I’ve had to really work to slow down to read for pleasure- not that I enjoy the book more if read slowly- I just hate having to replenish the reading material supply at such a fast rate! Also- sometimes my friends kid me that I can’t have finised the whole book that fast- I just smile and move on to the next book:)

    So I say to Yale and other nay sayers- this program works but it will not change your basic comprehension levels. If you didn’t understand the words before you read them- reading them faster won’t change that. It will, however, allow you to intake more information that may, when digested, allow you to increase your understanding. And it will certainly give you the extra time for looking up new words and concepts.

    Thanks for including the atrticle. I’ve printed it out for friends so now I can get the books I loan them back faster!

  • Eryk Banatt
    September 12th, 2009
    3:06 pm

    I raised my reading speed from 426 WPM to 934 WPM in just about a half hour. Thanks for the help, Tim! I’ve tried things like photoreading and other programs that are days long, and this was the fastest and most effective improvement.

    With much respect,
    -Eryk

  • Tom Forese
    September 16th, 2009
    8:12 pm

    Tim-thanks for the tip……..very helpful.

    I read the other day that when the train was being introduced naysayers warned that speeds of 40 miles per hour would cause the heart to explode.

    Progress will always have its critics!!!!!!!

    When will we see another Tim Ferris book?

    Tom

    • Tim Ferriss
      September 17th, 2009
      8:57 pm

      Hi Tom,

      There is a new edition of 4HWW coming out very shortly. More news soon ;)

      Pura vida,

      Tim

  • André Branco
    September 17th, 2009
    7:44 am

    @Tim

    I couldn’t avoid remembering this quote:

    “I took a speed reading course and read ‘War and Peace’ in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.” —Woody Allen

    I guess we should not overdo this technique beyond the point where we are still enjoying the reading. =)

    Best,
    André

  • odin
    September 17th, 2009
    9:09 pm

    This is trully brilliant! Real effective methods that can be put to use immediately.Can’t wait to try it.

  • Jim Hardin
    September 22nd, 2009
    5:50 pm

    Hi Tim!
    I just found your blog. Wow there is a lot of cool stuff here. This post on speed reading is very interesting and I think I am going to put it to the test. I would love to be able to read faster. I have 3 kids and not a lot of time to read books, but if I could read faster I could fit it in. It would be awesome!

  • durbin
    September 26th, 2009
    8:57 pm

    “you will need to practice technique at 3x the speed of your ultimate target reading speed. Thus, if you currently read at 300 wpm and your target reading speed is 900 wpm, you will need to practice technique at 1,800 words-per-minute”

    That should be 2x or 2,700 wpm, no?

  • Paste Interactive » Blog Archive » Using Summarize on Mac OSX to Read Faster
    September 29th, 2009
    8:46 am

    [...] you truncate as much of the text as you like, getting it down to a much more scannable size. Like speed reading SummaryService is sucking out all the redundant words, transitions, and filler that make text more [...]

  • Dave
    October 2nd, 2009
    6:02 am

    Tim,
    Very useful information. Thanks. I’ve always been frustrated with my reading speed. To learn to read by more than a word at a time, I created a program which I’ve now turned into http://www.ReadSpeeder.com. It’s 100% free and can be used with any text. It will automatically find the ‘natural’ phrases in text and present these sequentially. The result is you can quickly grasp the meaning of each phrase without having to think of the individual words. Using it feels like the thoughts are lifted from the text directly to your mind. That’s how it seems to me, but please give it a try and see what you think. It even comes with a bookmarklet so you can use ReadSpeeder directly on ANY web page! Plus you can save any text to be read later, or to be shared with other users, or to be read on a ReadSpeeder iPhone app. I created ReadSpeeder because I really enjoy reading but I’ve always been so frustrated with my reading speed. This really has helped me to read faster and understand what I read better, and to end my habit of saying the words in my head, and going back and re-reading a passage multiple times. Anyway, if you try it, I’d love to hear what you think.

  • nickriebe
    October 7th, 2009
    11:24 pm

    I agree with Durbin,

    Isn’t the technique practice speed 2,700wpm for a target rate of 900, not 1,800??

    nick

  • Rob
    October 8th, 2009
    2:00 pm

    Hmmm….

    I tried the exercise, and while my reading did improve, it was more like 30%, rather than 300%. I wonder if I’ve done something wrong, or if this requires a lot of practice to get to 300%. I know some of the posts say they went up 300% in one session, but that simply is very very far from my experience.

    Thanks.

  • Andre P
    October 14th, 2009
    7:06 pm

    Wow, Tim! I had looked into lengthy speed reading courses in the past and always thought there was too much of a time investment for something that wasn’t proven. Over the past 20 minutes, I went from 252 WPM to 637 WPM with the same comprehension.
    I wish I had read your book and this blog back when I was in grad school!

  • Thomas
    October 17th, 2009
    9:11 am

    i am wondering how well that works for books/research papers which are more sophisticated (ie. math, physics, computer science).
    Esp. how well can you remember it? With 3000 words per minute you can probably read the whole linear algebra theory in a week ;)

  • Nur
    October 28th, 2009
    12:47 pm

    I just started working in a book shop, and I need to read a lot of books so I can recommend them.

    These techniques would help me expand my repertoire..

    (started with 200 wpm
    ended up with 425 wpm)

    Thanks

  • Blogg/slaskhink « Träning, internet och annat
    October 29th, 2009
    7:09 am

    [...] Troligtvis kommer det inte bli så mycket egen text utan mer funderingar, korta meningar och länkar. Dock kan det vara bra att vara förbered på att det kanske dyker upp tyngre textstycken. Så passa därför på att läsa Speed Reading. [...]

  • Kyle
    November 1st, 2009
    7:35 am

    WOW! I always read slow and there’s a book for school I need to read by tomorrow. Knowing it would take me several hours to finish it at my normal speed, I Googled something along the lines of “how to read faster” and this game up. I started this exercise at 182 wpm, and within 10-15 minutes doubled my speed to 365 wpm! The best thing is, I do not feel like I have uncovered my full speed potential yet. I think that with some more practice I will be able to read at 400-500 wpm.
    Thank you Tim!!

  • Louche
    November 1st, 2009
    9:58 pm

    I’ve read about this stuff before, though never done these exact technique practices. I think that it has helped me to skim better in the past. I can’t say that the periphery thing has ever helped me much with comprehension speed, and especially cutting off the edges. That just gets me leaving words out and not understanding a thing. Why the heck would you begin reading three words in? You just missed three words. Maybe there’s something I’m not understanding, but you need to explain it better.

    I always get suspicious when the majority of commenters are full of praise, but for something they’re only about to try – later, tomorrow, but certainly not yesterday or last month. Nonetheless, I will keep working on this. It hasn’t improved my reading speech yet.

  • Internalizing & Manifesting What We Read | Smart Boy Designs
    November 10th, 2009
    9:47 am

    [...] has compiled great information in aiding individuals in increased reading speeds. The blog post, Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes – is a great [...]

  • Patrick Thompson
    November 12th, 2009
    4:22 pm

    I just released an iPhone speed reading app called QuickReader. It is currently being featured by Apple on the app store “What’s Hot” list.

    It is a speed reading eBook reader that works very well with the protocol described in this article. Essentially you follow a guide through the full-page text, similar to using a finger or pen, but in this case the guide is a highlight, a long/short underline, or an outline. It allows you to adjust the fixations to one or more fixations per line (called stops in the app) or 1 or more lines per fixation and you have fine control over the guide speed from 100 to 2000 WPM. The guide encourages proper tracking, eliminating regressions and back-skipping. And at anytime you can take a speed test to determine your current reading rate.

    The app comes with 20+ full-length eBooks. You can see a video demo of how it works at quickreader.net/videos.

    Looking forward to the new edition of 4HWW.

    All the best,
    Patrick

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