A lot of people know the importance of reading and, perhaps, enjoy it too. However, some of them struggle with finding motivation, time, or the necessary techniques to read consistently and make reading an inseparable part of their lives. As a result, they find reading a difficult, sometimes boring activity to do. The reason behind this is the most common mistakes that people make while reading. These mistakes make the reading process difficult and unenjoyable and prevent reading from being a part of your daily habits. If this sounds familiar to you in a way, keep reading, as we are about to explore the five reading mistakes that you probably also make.

Reading only one book at a time

It is a common misconception that it is better to finish one book, and only then start reading the next one. The main reason why people think this way is because they think it helps the reader concentrate only on one work and understand it better. But even school students read different textbooks on different subjects, and they don’t mix the materials of the textbooks. Another example of this can be the people we communicate with. We don’t have only a single person in our lives – we interact with many different people, yet we always remember these people and what is going on in their lives. The same goes for books. Furthermore, throughout the day, your mood changes and you may want to read something corresponding to it. Let’s say, if you feel happy and don’t want to read that tragic drama that’s on your desk, take a more entertaining book and enjoy it. Then, when you feel like continuing the other one, just do it. Don’t limit or force yourself to read what you don’t want to. That’s the number one rule for becoming a better reader.

Not using speed-reading

Almost every book has parts that are boring or uninteresting. And if you think that it is wrong to skip those parts – you are making a huge mistake. There is a 90% possibility that these boring parts will simply make you close the book and switch to another activity at some point. This will slow down the reading process, or worse – you will never open that book again. Instead, you can use speed-reading as a superpower to quickly go through those parts without losing any comprehension and get back on track with the interesting parts of the book. So, next time you encounter boring pages, you have the solution: speed-read and don’t feel guilty about it!

Not taking notes

Another very common mistake is not taking notes while reading. And I am not talking about just writing down quotes or lines that you like. It is all over the Internet, and you can easily find it whenever you want. Instead, you can note whatever you take from the paragraph, the quote, or the book. What did you learn from it? Did something change in you after reading it? Do you relate to any of the characters and why? Did the characters use any technique that helped them to become a better version of themselves? Can you do the same? Start taking notes like this now, and you will see how way more effective your reading becomes. Even if you want to write down more informative things or facts, do it, that is also to your benefit. It will help you remember better whatever you learn from the book, and when you get a chance to show the knowledge gained from it, you will feel good and want to read more to know more.

Reading without a purpose

If you read books only for the numbers and the check mark – put down the book now, because reading it will start to feel like a burden at some point. You need to set a purpose before starting to read any book. Do you want to explore a new area of work? Do you want to understand the situation in a certain time period? Do you want to know the style of a given author? Or maybe you want to read a good romance for entertainment? Understanding your intentions with the book and reading it with a purpose will definitely help you to become a more effective reader.

Trying to remember it all

Yes, it is good to remember what you read. But there are a lot of things, details and facts in any book that you are going to forget them anyway, no matter how hard you try. Don’t spend time memorizing and trying to remember everything. Let go of the unimportant things. Instead, concentrate on the key points and messages of the book. Try to get deeply engaged with what is important, because, at the end of the day, that is what you will take from the book.

Conclusion

Now that you know the mistakes that can be obstacles on your way to becoming an effective reader, you are one step ahead. It is time to get rid of them. Avoid these mistakes, and you’ll see how fascinating your reading journey becomes.