13 Essential Tips for Reading Mastery
13 Essential Tips for Reading Mastery
Let’s start with a thought experiment: think of the 5 most impactful books you’ve ever read. Now ask yourself, “If I implemented just ONE thing from each of these books, how different would my life look?”
For many people, the answer is “entirely different.” Why? Although there are several factors that contribute to inaction, one key reason is that most of us never learned to read…in a way that truly benefits us.
(By the way, if you—like most people—didn’t take at least a few seconds to actually ponder the above thought experiment, you’re the PERFECT candidate to benefit from this article.)
You might be intrigued, confused, or even offended by this idea. After all, if you’re reading this, you clearly know how to read. Most of us learned to read at age 5 or 6 (give or take), and have since then refined our skills through years of education. But what’s missing from most education systems is how to maximize the true impact of what we’re reading—whether it’s a book, article, or caption.
Put simply, many people don’t read as effectively as they could, and therefore miss out on the full potential value. Effective reading doesn’t translate to super-speed-reading, multitasking while reading, or having a photographic memory. Instead, it involves implementing simple strategies that enhance understanding and allow for practical application of newly acquired knowledge.
Reading can be one of life’s most productive activities, but it often masquerades as productivity despite yielding lackluster results. Many people read self-help books by the dozen but fail to act on their newly acquired knowledge, which turns reading into a subtle form of procrastination.
I’ve been there—reading hundreds of books on self-development, business, fitness, nutrition, relationships, and more, but with little to show for it. It wasn’t until I took a hard look at my reading habits that I realized I was reading “just to know things” and feel productive, rather than seeking to fully understand and utilize the content effectively.
This audit was a humbling but necessary revelation. It shifted my paradigm on reading, and convinced me that to truly benefit from it, I needed to change my approach.
Over the past few years, I’ve come across 13 key reading strategies that have made a significant difference for me. While I’m still working on mastering some of them, I’d like to share these tips with you so you, too, can boost your reading efficiency and turn reading into a high-leverage pursuit. While these tips are biased towards non-fiction reading, many of them apply to fiction as well. Let’s dive in.
1) Make time for it - as discussed earlier, reading can either be incredibly productive or a sneaky form of procrastination—it all depends on your approach. To be clear, you’re FAR better off “wasting time” reading just about anything than death-scrolling. It’s also perfectly fine to read purely for enjoyment, rather than trying to be productive every waking hour.
However, when we view reading through the lens of personal growth and a productive use of time, many of us struggle to justify it because we see ourselves as “too busy.” But once you’re equipped with the following 12 skills, you’ll be far more comfortable setting time aside to read.
There’s no one-size-fits-all method, but consistently making reading a priority is the key takeaway. I prefer a simple approach I call the "First 30, Last 15." It may sound complicated, but I can assure you it’s not: I spend the first 30 minutes of my day and at least 15 minutes before bed reading.
Why I Read in the Morning:
- Start the day disconnected: Reading keeps me from immediately diving into social media, news or emails, which I’ve found negatively affects my performance, productivity, mental health, and general daily effectiveness.
- Accountability: While I sometimes read at different times throughout the day, starting my day eliminates any and all excuses for “not getting around to it.” One of the best ways to establish a new habit is to start your day with it. This creates a small win and a sense of accomplishment, which are crucial for sustainable progress. For some, this habit might be training, meditating, journaling, walking, or something else entirely. But if you struggle with making time to read, consider getting it in early.
- Fuel creativity: It stimulates my mind and prepares me for my next task—writing. Some days, I read for just the 30 minute minimum, but other days I’ll get lost in the text for an hour or more.
Why I Read in the Evening:
- Pre-sleep wind-down: Reading helps me relax and prepare for sleep, and is a far better choice than ending the day with a social media dopamine drip. Sometimes I struggle to get through a page and I don't force myself to hit 15 minutes. Other nights I’ll read for 15-30 before calling it a night.
Most people start AND end their day connected (hell, many are connected virtually all day), which is a recipe for increased stress, untapped potential and low quality sleep. Instead, set aside dedicated reading time. It doesn’t have to be daily or at the same times I do it, but consistent practice, even in small doses, is the best way to build any habit. Developing a regular reading routine is the first step to getting more out of your reading and applying the next 12 strategies.
2) Pause and ponder - When you come across a chapter, paragraph, or even a single sentence that resonates with you, take a moment to pause and reflect. Ask yourself:
- Why did this resonate with me?
- Can I put this into practice today? How about now?
- What nerve did it strike, and why?
- Have I been missing something like this all along?
- How can I use this information to improve?
Although a later tip is to learn to speed-read, some moments in a book deserve extra time to sink in. Whether it's a minute, five minutes, or the rest of the day, allow yourself the space to let these insights marinate. This simple practice can enhance your understanding and make your reading experience more fruitful
3) Skim & skip - Although some books are absolutely worth reading cover to cover, there’s nothing wrong with skimming or skipping parts that don’t spark your interest. Furthermore, there’s no written rule about how to skim and skip; you can skip sections, pages, or chapters entirely, or perhaps jump forward to read later chapters that look more interesting to you at this moment, and come back to earlier sections later. You can even start with the last chapter if you want.
There’s no such thing as a “reading sequence police officer” waiting to reprimand reading sequence offenders.
Depending on your mood, jumping around and/or skimming content can be a more engaging and enjoyable way to navigate and comprehend the text; it may even be a more efficient use of your time than always reading in sequence. Remember, there are no rules stating you need to read every word of every book in perfect order, front to back. You’re in charge!
4) Learn to speed-read - When most people think of “speed reading,” they imagine it’s just about getting through more pages quickly. While this is certainly one benefit, a more important one is that speed reading can counterintuitively enhance comprehension.
To speed read effectively, you need to be both focused and alert. If you’re focused but sluggish, you may find yourself daydreaming or nodding off. If you’re alert and stimulated but distracted, you’ll read the words without understanding them. Entering a "flow state"—where you're both focused and alert—is the ultimate goal for productive reading. If you’re new to speed reading, try this "crawl, walk, run" strategy to improve your pace:
Step 1: Stop Subvocalizing
Acknowledge that you don’t need to say or mouth every word you read. Many people move their tongues or whisper words as they read, which is inefficient. You can read much faster than you can speak, even in your head.
Step 2: Use a Pointer
Follow the words with your finger or a pen. This technique helps with focus and moving quickly line by line. Once you’re comfortable, remove the pointer and try using just your eyes. This can be thought of as “training wheels”, but can also be used as a way to enhance focus even if you no longer routinely use a pointer. I revert back to this technique quite often when I’m alert but struggling to focus.
Step 3: Avoid Re-Reading
Commit to not re-reading sentences or paragraphs, as this habit likely slows people down more than any other. A great way to practice this technique early on is to employ it when reading something less important so you’re less worried about missing key details.
Step 4: Choose a Scanning Technique
Experiment with different scanning techniques. My favorite is to focus on the spaces between words, which allows you to use your peripheral vision to read 2 words at a time. With practice, you’ll eventually find you don’t need to look directly at each word for it to register. You can also start recognizing patterns in the author's writing style which will subconsciously enable you to finish sentences before reading them fully.
The biggest benefit of speed reading isn’t getting through more books quickly—it’s staying focused and alert, which improves comprehension.
5) Quality > Quantity - Many people take pride in how many books they've read as if it's a measure of intellectual superiority. However, someone who has read 25 excellent books 10 times and implemented their newfound knowledge will gain more insights and have greater success potential than someone who has read 500 random books once.
As in other areas of life, effectiveness isn’t always about doing more. For example, an entrepreneur who focuses on high-leverage tasks will achieve more in less time and with less effort than one who spends hours on low-ROI activities. Similarly, a lifter who performs 12 focused, high-quality sets per week per muscle group will see better results than one going through the motions on 35 half-assed sets.
The same principle applies to reading. It’s not about how many books you’ve read but what you have to show for it. Stop treating your book count like your body count. No one really cares, and unless you’re actually implementing something useful from the books you’ve read, the total quantity is largely irrelevant. Focus on reading thoroughly and applying what you learn, rather than just amassing numbers.
6) Take action - every non-fiction book you read will be filled with potential action steps. Some of them may not apply to you immediately—or ever—and that’s fine. But some of the calls for action in books you read throughout a lifetime will be things you know you should implement immediately. One trait common among highly successful people is that they’ve mastered the art of minimizing the time between deciding something and actually doing it.
This is a hard pill to swallow for many wanna-be high achievers, but if you truly implemented just 1-2 things from a dozen of your favorite books, you’d be much closer to your goals—perhaps even well past them and onto more lofty ones.
Any time you have the gumption to take action, don’t wait. Do it today. Do it NOW, even. You can even put down the book for a few days, a week or a month while you take massive, deliberate action. This is a key point to remember when reading any non-fiction book; don’t just consume, take action.
7) Re-read - wait, didn’t you just say not to re-read things? I sure did. But the great thing about reading is you’re the shot caller. Just because re-reading will sometimes limit your comprehension does not mean it’s off limits. Some sentences, paragraphs, chapters or entire books deserve to be re-read, maybe even several times over.
If you don’t fully understand a passage, page, or chapter you just read, but you understood it enough to know that there was something of value in it, it’s often a great idea to re-read it to solidify your grasp on the concept. In other cases, perhaps it was something you fully understood, and it impacted you in such a way that you know you need to see it again.
Sometimes we need to see things more than once, and revisiting it a 2nd, 3rd or 15th time is what finally makes it click. Although re-reading due to lack of focus is something to work on (bring in the trusty finger!), intentionally retracing your steps can be a highly effective strategy. There are certain books on my bookshelf I’ve read and/or listened to over a dozen times. When re-reading most books, I typically use the skim and skip technique, as well as the next technique, taking notes.
8) Take notes, use stickies/tabs - you may or may not already mark things down or put dog ears or sticky notes in your books. If so, you’re well on your way to reading mastery. But if not, it may be worth considering. A word of caution: some people do take this strategy too far. If you’re highlighting every sentence and marking every page of the book (I’ve seen used books like this), what’s the point?
Strategically marking parts of a text to revisit later is a great way to maximize a book’s utility. My preferred approach is to jot down brief notes in a notebook I keep with me while reading. For example, if I encounter a word or phrase I don’t understand, I write it down to look up later so it doesn’t disrupt my reading flow. If an author includes an intriguing story as part of a lesson, I’ll note it or bookmark it to explore further after finishing the book.
For more tactical books, or those I expect to revisit often, I use sticky notes to mark the most relevant sections for easy access. My typical strategy is to be brief and concise with my markings and notes the first time through a book. Then, if I deem it necessary, I’ll skim and skip a second time through and be more comprehensive with it. There’s no right or wrong way to do this (seeing a theme?), but it’s certainly worth considering if you want to squeeze every ounce of juice from a book.
9) Note the difference between books and audiobooks - While listening to books and reading them both have value, it’s important to be honest with yourself about your learning style. For example, I learn significantly better when I physically read a book than when I listen to one. I'm a verbal (written text) learner through and through, to the extent that I routinely turn on subtitles for every show, movie, or YouTube video I watch.
However, some people would rather watch paint dry than sit down with a book. While you can train yourself to become more of a verbal learner, you don’t necessarily have to. But if you learn better by reading and struggle to absorb information through listening, yet you only listen to books, you may be selling yourself short.
One effective strategy is to either read a book, then listen to it, or vice versa. This often leads to a more comprehensive understanding. Some people even like to do both simultaneously. Knowing your learning style and tailoring your habits accordingly is a high-ROI reading skill.
*Pro-tip: just like reading faster can improve comprehension, so too can listening at a faster playback speed. Most audiobook narrators read excruciatingly slow, allowing dead space for the listener to lose focus. Try putting your audiobooks (and podcasts) on 1.5-2x speed. It will take a bit to get used to, but once you do, you’ll likely find that normal-speed talking tends to put you to sleep.
10) Learn to quit - I’ve read countless books front to back that, in hindsight, I should’ve stopped reading after a few pages, or at most, a few chapters. Many of us with type-A personalities live by the painfully trite mantra, “never quit”. But I’d like to take this opportunity to give you permission to quit.
A common trait among the world’s most successful people is that they’re exceptional quitters. They’re able to quickly identify when it’s time to quit—whether it’s a business venture, relationship, bad habit, workout plan, or in this case, a book—and without further ado, take action without hesitation.
Time is a finite resource, so if you’re not finding value in what you’re spending it on, there’s no shame in quitting. I don’t care if the book has 10,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, or if your most successful friend swears by it as the fundamental reason for their success. Not everyone will find value in every book.
This tip extends far beyond just reading; being an exceptional quitter will enhance many areas of your life. Of course, there are certain things—like SFAS—in which quitting is a non-option if you want to succeed. But the ability to identify and let go of something that isn’t serving you is a superpower.
11) Cheat on your book - building on the previous tip, it’s ok to “cheat” on your book. What’s this mean? Think of it as a polygamous relationship with your reading. There’s nothing wrong with having 2, 3, or even 5+ books on rotation. This is something I’ve done for ages, and until somewhat recently, felt guilty about. But once again, there are no rules. If you want to read more than one book at a time, go for it!
Sometimes, you may be in a mood where only a certain type of book will satisfy you. “Intuitive reading”, or reading based on what you feel like on any given day is an excellent approach.
I combine this habit with tip #1. I have 1-3 books in my morning rotation and 1-2 different ones for pre-bed (usually less mentally stimulating books or novels). You may find that the combination of reading multiple books simultaneously sparks insights or ideas that would’ve otherwise remained dormant if you were only reading one. If you want to “cheat” on a book, have at it. They won’t get jealous.
12) Do the checks on learning/prompts - Many of the best books include prompts, checks on learning or action steps to take moving forward. Candidly, I used to skip these, and it undoubtedly reduced reading’s potential value for me. Some of these prompts may not apply to you, but I’m confident that at least one or two in most books will.
There’s no right or wrong way to approach this. You can take time right away to reflect, make a plan, or take immediate action. Alternatively, you can wait until the end of your reading session to go back and complete the prompt(s) that feel most relevant. (If you follow tip 8, you’ll know exactly where to look!)
I encourage you to do your best to apply at least one thing from every book you read, even if it seems minor. If you were to read 25 books and apply one or two action steps from each, you’d be light years ahead of the competition.
13) Teach - the ultimate measure of insights gained from a book, conversation, lesson, podcast discussion, movie, or any piece of content is whether or not you can confidently teach it to someone else.
Teaching is the best way to solidify your understanding of a subject or concept. If you can’t teach something clearly, and beyond that, make it understandable to a 5 year old, then you’ve yet to fully grasp it. Not all books are worth this exercise, but the more a book resonates with you, the more valuable it will be to teach it to others. An additional benefit is that it’ll help build and strengthen your communication skills and confidence.
The key point to remember is that until you can teach someone something, there’s still room for improvement. Learning is one thing, but teaching what you’ve learned to others is a level of mastery that few people ever reach. Learn, reflect, gather your thoughts, and teach someone else. Watch what happens to your knowledge base.
To Conclude
Reading is ultimately a highly personal journey, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. The key is to experiment, discover what works best for you, and capitalize on it. Whether you’re practicing speed-reading, skimming and skipping, taking notes, “cheating” on books, quitting what doesn’t serve you, or teaching others what you’ve learned, the goal is to extract the maximum value from each reading experience.
Don’t be afraid to experiment, challenge yourself, and find your unique style of reading comprehension. Remember, it’s not about the number of books you read, but the value you gain from each one. Mastering 25-50 books will be far more fruitful than simply checking off 250-500 books.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment below on which of these tips you’ve implemented before or plan to implement going forward.
Leave a comment
Please note, comments must be approved before they are published