Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer Struggling with 24hr Incubation

Hi,

Just started using photoreading because I got a job promotion which means I have to read up on reams of information, reports and presentations. What I am battling with is the notion of photoreading, then waiting 24hours. Whats coming up for me is that I can spend about 3hours for a decent report, reading and mind-mapping, requiring only a 30min update the day after to refresh the mind-map; this refresh isnt always needed.

Is it correct to assume that in reality, if I wait 24hours before continuing with the book/article/report/whatever, then this DOES constitute how long it has taken to read the item? Given that I can do other things in this 24 hour incubation period, I am better off, I see that. But yesterday I had a spare 8 hours for once, so photoread about 4 large reports - none of which I have had time to activate so far. Activating is taking me sometime at the moment being new, so it *feels* like I am losing time rather than gaining.

Another question relates to how much should I reasonable photoread in a single day? Are their limitations?

Many thanks.

k.

If possible allow the text to incubate 20 minutes or over night. There is no need to let it incubate 24 hourse. You'll wind up incubating 24 hours or more for textbook material since it doesn't have to be prepared over night.

It should only take a few minutes to PhotoRead. A report of 400 pages would take about 4 to 5 minutes if you PhotoRead slowly so I don't understand what you mean by "But yesterday I had a spare 8 hours for once, so photoread about 4 large report". 4 400 page reports would be about 20 minutes of PhotoReading. If you had 8 hours for it. You could have taken a 20 minute break and activated those reports.

PhotoRead everything that you would normally read in a day.

Alex

Alex

Alex thank you for your reply. I urge you to remember not only that I have literally just started doing photoreading, but also that I mentioned I am a very slow reader. Preparation is taking me a minute or so. Previewing takes me about 15 minutes on a large report. Getting into the accelerative learning state takes me around 10 minutes at leaste. PhotoReading for a beginner, who is struggling with PhotoFocus, DOES NOT take the optimum time you cite. I sometimes spend upto at least 10 seconds on a page, just trying to photo focus. On a large report, these figures take much longer than you state. I am suspecting this all gets much quicker as I gain more experience.

K.

You're making a mistake to allow previewing to take longer than 8 minutes. You're not reading at this point and if you only manage 18 trigger words that's your start.

Previewing is not reading, don't waster your time on it. I spend about 90 seconds on a preview 8 minutes is the most. You you find yourself spending more. Don't preview more than 90 seconds and do a 12 minute postview instead.

Getting into the accerated learning state only take 5 minutes even for beginners.

PhotoReading - if you have trouble with the blip page use soft focus. You don't need the blip page to PhotoRead and don't waste time trying to Photofocus every page... use the Imaginary X-Technique. Turn the page in rhythm and say the chant. You should be turning one page every two seconds. Sorry no if or butts here

As a PhotoReading instructor I know the times I cite are more than enough. If you're giving it too much time in the beginning you can bet you're falling into every passive reading trap there is.

Check your purpose and work within the times cited for training yourself to get it done within the time there is. We have a common misconception that we have all the time in the world to read a book. This is not the case. There are other things to do that are more important. Tell your mind to stop being a wussie and set the timer. When it goes of you're done check what you've achieved. You'll probably surprise yourself.

Alex

[This message has been edited by Alex K. Viefhaus (edited March 09, 2005).]

Alex,

Thank you for your response. I just read the book again on this aspect of 15 minutes, and I see you are right, I shouldnt be taking more than 8 minutes at the most. What I am now struggling with is the fact that when looking at a report that is very [very] technical, to feel comfortable with it, I at least need to cover each section. I am finding I dont get that opportunity if I drop my amount of time, which then creates anxiety. The anxiety comes from the fact that I dont seem to be able to come up with good enough questions in the activation section if I have only a small handle of trigger words; and I feel like I HAVE missed lots out of the report with such a small number. What seems to be clear is I am having trouble bridging the purpose of previewing with the link with activation and formulating questions on the text to actually find what I want....

grrr

K.

Reconsider your purpose. If you are not able to form questions it's usually the lack of a purpose. 90% of the trigger words become redundant with the first activation anyway. Each activation pass leads to more information that helps you determine if you've met your purpose yet.

Any question is good enough if it find you looking for an answer during activation and the first one isn't the only one you're allowed to ask. The book isn't a guru that only lets you ask three questions. It's a person you can have a conversation with about a topic s/he knows well (because they wrote the book).

Remember you don't ask the author "what's written on page 74 of the book." you ask, tell me about..., why is that so, when does that apply how do you prove that, what make that true, where does that happen. These are example questions. Hang around a 3, 4 or 5 year old and you'll learn there is no limit to the questions you can ask about anything. Follow their lead.

Alex

Kognition,

I'm just trying out photoreading right now, primarily because I'm trying to learn another language and I need a boost. When reading your posts, I think you are a bit off on some of your interpretations.

1) Previewing. Before photoreading, I previewed. Everybody does. If you read the back cover of the book before you buy it, you are previewing. When it came to fiction, I did very little previewing. When it was a history book or how-to manual, I flipped through the book to get a feel. That's previewing, at least to me. All I've done with photoreading is to formalize that a tiny bit more, by pulling out a few key words (which I was doing anyways, just not bothering to note them).

2) The selling point here is photoreading. The idea is that here is something you can do for a brief period of time that will maximize your reading. So I'm taking them up on that "challenge". I am studying (ie activating) my books at a pace that is comfortable to me, but I'm photoreading those books and a few related ones (dictionary) every night. Basically, I've added 20 minutes a day to my study time; in theory, the payoff will be over the long term as I find it easier to plow through the stuff.

3) Every person here has described photoreading as a skill; to me that makes it like shooting foul shots, and I'm a weak child. I may not even hit the rim on my first attempts, so I'm not going to worry about it for now. I'll just keep going through the motions, trying to keep my breathing and rythm right, keep the soft focus (getting the focus is easy for me; keeping it over time is tough), and we'll see where I'm at in a week. I'm certainly not going to struggle to see the blip page on every page.

4) Just because you read fast doesn't mean you learn fast. You could read 1,000,000 words a second, but you don't necessarily learn at that pace. There's a difference between remembering words and learning concepts. In my way of thinking, photoreading should make it easier for that information to get into my thick skull: what my thick skull does with it after that is a different story.

Personally, the jury is still out for me, but I'm giving photoreading a bit of time (weeks) before I render judgement. It's a very cheap investment in time anyways; if it doesn't work, I haven't lost much, if it does work, then hopefully learning this language won't be so freakin' hard and I'll be happy (and apply my new talent to other areas).

-jeff

[This message has been edited by Jaif (edited March 09, 2005).]

Jeff,

Thank you for your reply and advice. I dont deny, I probably am "a bit off on some of your [my] interpretations." I hear what you are saying, and forgive me if I have give the impression that I am not working at photoreading to allow it to have a fair trial. I am currently trying to get hold of my boss so I can go on a 2-day photo reading seminar, hence my dedication to giving this a fair go.

I am very analytical, which causes me problems because I sometimes read every syllable and interpret in all combinations - it works to be like this for my job. Not only that, I suffer from a fear of not being able to do it (my own inner talk) which just exasscerbates the problem. This is why I feel anxiety when I miss pages, or feel like I am not doing it right - that feeling comes from somewhere within, warranted or not. My way of dealing with it is in asking questions till I feel comfortable - it doesnt mean I am not giving something a go.

Don't worry if you miss pages you catch them later in activation.

Go easy on yourself.

Alex

kognition,

I hear ya. I work with computers, so I can shift into analysis mode and be very, very precise about my work. I feel it when I miss pages, just like you do I imagine. What I'm doing is photoreading my textbook every night - it can't hurt to do it more, and I feel more comfortable that I catch stuff on the other nights. The dictionary I purposely only flip through a portion of, just to teach myself that being complete isn't that important.

Btw, for the readers/moderators out there, I should mention that a lot of the language I read on these boards puts me off, and I suspect it does so to a lot of people out there. When I hear "empower", "playful", "open mind", I start to think people are trying to snow me. It sounds new-ageish, not practical. If it hadn't been for a time many years ago when I found myself glancing at and remember some things very quickly I would have never given photoreading a chance.

Anyways, we'll see. Got my reading to do now. :-)

-Jeff