There is a step-by-step process you can follow in order to get into the speed-reading zone. Make the effort to follow them each time you practice your speed-reading, even if they don't feel natural in the beginning, and they will eventually become automatic.

Step 1: Get in the zone

To read quickly and efficiently, it is absolutely necessary that you are relaxed and focused. The state of mind that we will attempt to introduce you to is the same one that athletes strive for in order to perform their best. This is a zone that will facilitate fast reading, deep learning, and ultimately, a sense of accomplishment.

Getting into a hyper focused and relaxed state isn't as hard as you might think, and simply requires following some very basic steps. As you progress with your speed-reading skills, you will be able to pare down the steps and get yourself into this state in a matter of 30 seconds.

In order to succeed at anything it is necessary to remove all self-doubt and to cast aside any inhibitive preconceived notions you might have about the task and your ability. Think of all those negative feelings you have about reading. For example, you might feel that reading is boring, that you have trouble retaining the information you read about, that you take so long to get through a single chapter, and so on. Anyway, mentally rake up all these assumptions you have (as if they were autumn leaves) and picture putting them in a plastic bag. Tie a knot in the bag and fling it off a cliff---watch this bag of junk sail away into nothingness.

Sit up straight. Posture is very important to speed reading, if you're slouched, your mind will be "lazy" and inattentive.

Think positively about what you are about to do. Think, "this is great…I am going to learn to focus and to zip through reams of reading material. This is a skill that I can learn and I will learn." Tell yourself that you have a very large capacity to learn and that you can definitely read quickly and effectively. Imagine how much you are going to learn and how much time you will save with this new skill. Remember that limitations are self-imposed and as soon as you say "I can", well, you probably can! Believe in your brain.

Then it is important to become physically relaxed. Top athletes often describe feeling loose and relaxed before the best performances of their lives. The same holds for brain activity. To learn and to absorb information properly, being calm, loose, and relaxed is imperative. To get into this super zone, close your eyes and transport yourself to a serene place (it can be a real place or an imagined place). Perhaps you are lying in the grass on your parent's back lawn, face turned to the sun. Perhaps you are sitting at the edge of a calm lake, toes dipped into the warm water. Perhaps you are walking through deep woods. Just pick your personal paradise and go there mentally. Breathe deeply through your nose, from your lower abdomen (this is real deep breathing, using your entire diaphragm, and not just the top part). Breathe in and count 3 long seconds, breathe out and count 3 long seconds. Do this ten times. Soon you will be able to condense this process and get into the mode by taking a few deep breaths.

Step 2: Be an active reader and ask questions

Before you even look at the text, and as you scan it and read it, ask yourself, "What am I going to learn here? What is the author's conclusion? How does the author present the topic? What are the key points to the argument?" Such questions (they would be tailor-made to the type of reading you are doing, and the reason for which you are doing it) function to engage you in the activity. If you ask a question in a lecture, you always remember the answer to your question. Similarly, if you become an 'active reader' you are much more likely to retain the information that you amass. You are also more likely to read with interest, since you are now sleuthing out the answers to your pre-established questions.

Step 3: Roll your eyes

Next, roll your eyes far back in your head and then look down at your book. This is supposed to get you in visual mode.

Step 4: Scan the material

This is a super quick scan over the material that imprints the very basic structure of the body of text on your brain. Think of this scan as being extremely superficial. You are not to concern yourself with details at this stage, but are meant to simply register the basic layout of the chapter or article that you plan to read. You will be surprised how even a quick flip through a body of text will orient your mind and help you recognize where to look for the info you need in order to speed up the actual reading process. The quick scan gives a fast overview in just a few minutes so when you return to speed read it you already are familiar with the layout and contents.

Scanning involves flipping through very quickly, but still using your pointer finger (in skier fashion). When scanning, ask yourself questions about the material. "What is this, what does this mean, why is s/he talking about this?" Later you will find the answers to these on-the-fly questions. At this point you are simply priming your brain, focusing your attention and mapping the concepts that the author talks about.

Most of the time, you should scan the material several times before you actually embark on reading the material. First scan the text in a general sense. In the next scan look for important pictures and graphs. On the third scan, check out titles, headings, and chapter summaries.

Step 5: Read

After scanning, take a moment to digest what you've just skimmed and to formulate your mental questions about the text. Take a couple of slow, controlled deep breaths, then proceed to read line by line, using your finger (or pointer). Make sure that you are using soft focus and absorbing more than one word at once. Do not mouth the words or say them in your head (this will slow you down dramatically). Your finger should move quickly, which will force your eyes to follow at the same speed. Each subsequent time that you speed-read a document, move your finger or pointer at a faster pace. With practice your eyes and brain will speed up. As you get better in terms of speed and with your peripheral vision, you will be able to zoom down the page, following your pointer and taking in whole lines or paragraphs at once.

Step 6: Review

When finished speed-reading the document, complete a mind map outlining the basic concepts and important details of what you have just read. Keep this mind map with the book or text that you have just read. You can refer to it whenever you need a quick review.