In today’s age of information overload, efficiently reading a book and quickly extracting valuable knowledge has become an essential skill for learners and professionals alike. This article introduces a simple and practical reading method to help you enhance your reading ability in just 20 minutes, easily grasp the essence of any book, and turn knowledge into action.
The core of this method lies in three key steps: reading with a clear purpose, creating visual notes, and making an action plan. Once you master these three points, you can quickly understand any book and apply its knowledge to your life or work.
Why Should You Read with a Purpose?
Reading blindly often leads to “information overload” or “reading fatigue.” We often experience flipping through pages without knowing what we want to get from the book, resulting in low efficiency and even no gain after finishing.
Reading with a purpose means keeping your brain focused on the question: “Why am I reading this book?” With a clear purpose, your reading won’t be aimless; you can quickly focus on the content that truly matters to you.
Purpose-driven reading helps your brain automatically filter and connect relevant information, making the reading process more targeted while greatly improving comprehension and memory.
How to Prepare? Five Steps to Build Your “Reading Map”
This “Resonance Reading Method” consists of five steps. Essentially, it mimics the unconscious behaviors of expert readers, systematizing and visualizing them to create a “reading map” that guides you through the entire process.
Step 0: Preparation — Clarify Your Reading Purpose
- Prepare your tools: a book you want to read, a blank sheet of paper (A4 or notebook paper), and colored pens (multiple colors recommended).
- Write down your reading purpose: Spend two minutes writing why you chose this book. Ask yourself: “Why did I pick this book? What problem do I want to solve? What answers do I want from the author?” Write these in the top left corner of your paper.
- Record basic book info: Write the book’s title, author’s name, and even draw a simple avatar or smiley face for the author to add a sense of connection. Note the total pages, and roughly divide the page numbers into three sections for easier navigation later.
- Skim through the book: Flip through casually with your purpose in mind. Listen to the sound of pages and feel the “energy” of the book, allowing your subconscious to start “downloading” information.
- Jot down initial impressions: Close the book and recall the author’s first impressions and keywords you picked up; write them down simply.
- Consider the author’s motivation: Imagine why the author felt compelled to write this book. This will help you grasp its core value.
This preparation usually takes 3-10 minutes. Though it may seem tedious, it significantly boosts later reading efficiency and depth of understanding.
Step 1: Casual Flipping — Activate Brain Information Download
While maintaining slow, even breaths, flip through the pages rapidly without reading the text—just scan with your eyes. This process helps your brain “receive signals” and absorb the book’s information and energy.
You can pick one color to represent your overall feeling about the book—blue for calm rationality, red for passion and motivation—and mark simple notes on your paper as you flip.
Step 2: Draw an Information Curve — Identify Key Pages
Transform your overall feeling of the book into a curve, marking a few nodes where you feel strong “energy” or interest with “↑” signs and note the page numbers. Then prioritize these key pages in the order you want to read them.
This step helps you avoid reading the entire book from start to finish, efficiently locking in important chapters and saving time.
Step 3: Extract Keywords — Make Visual Notes
Go to the marked pages, scan quickly, and pick out 3-4 keywords or short phrases where you resonate most with the author. Write them on your reading map.
This method leverages the brain’s sensitivity to visuals and colors, making the information structure clearer and aiding memory and comprehension.
Step 4: Focused Reading for 8 Minutes with Questions
Based on the keywords, read attentively for 8 minutes with clear questions in mind. Focus on content you are curious about or find confusing, and deepen your understanding. Adjust your breathing to maintain concentration.
If time is limited, you can shorten this to 5 minutes, but the key is to “read immediately with questions” rather than “read later.”
At this stage, you enter deep reading, greatly improving reading efficiency and comprehension.
Step 5: Immediately Make an Action Plan
Reading is not the goal; action is key. Spend 3 minutes to create a specific action plan based on the knowledge you’ve gained.
Divide your plan into three parts:
- Within one week: Small goals you can implement immediately, like trying a method or completing a task.
- Within three months: Medium-term goals focusing on internal growth or skill improvement.
- Within 1-3 years: Long-term goals, such as your dreams or vision.
Writing this down turns your reading results into real-life impact, preventing knowledge from being forgotten and turning it into motivation to change your life and work.
Summary of This Method’s Core Value
Some might think this “Resonance Reading Method” has too many steps or feels complicated, maybe even like psychological suggestion or speed reading with limited effects. But if you strip away the extras and keep the three core recommendations, it truly helps boost reading efficiency:
- Clear reading purpose: Knowing why you read gives direction and focus.
- Visual notes: Drawing and noting keywords deepen understanding and memory.
- Action plan: Immediately turning knowledge into action promotes growth.
Of course, this method works best with practical or management books. Its effect may be less for novels or highly complex professional texts.
Extra Tips for Improvement
- Adjust your breathing for better focus
Kelly McGonigal from Stanford University points out that maintaining 4-6 deep breaths per minute helps regulate heart rate and improve brain focus. Spend a minute practicing deep breathing before reading to enter a learning state faster. - Clever use of colored pens
Different colors can represent different meanings—red for key points, blue for reflections, green for action suggestions. Color coding makes notes layered and clear for review. - “Incubation” during sleep
Post-reading incubation time is crucial. Use a night’s sleep to let your brain organize and integrate new and old knowledge for better understanding and memory the next day.
Conclusion
Reading should not be a burdensome task but a joyful journey unlocking knowledge and self-growth. By reading purposefully with scientific methods, visual notes, and concrete action plans, you’ll find every book can truly empower you.
Even if you spend just 20 minutes a day, you can steadily improve reading efficiency and comprehension, making knowledge your strongest ally in life and work.
Grab a book nearby and try this “Resonance Reading Method” to start your efficient reading journey now!