After 30 minutes of activation a 5 minute break is enough. Take a longer break after an hours work. This is for studying and working on anything in general.
15 minutes of activation at a time on one chapter is fine but you need to repeat those 15 minute blocks until you feel you understand the information in that chapter.
One way to know if you understand that chapter:
- Read the chapter heading [for an example I'll use one from the Australians Corporations Act]
Directors Responsibility
- Turn that chapter heading into a question,
In this case one question would be
[i]What are the Directors Responsibilites?
Now to check if I have an understanding of that chapter I tell someone about it... (tape recorder will do as will imagining that you are explaining it to someone)
So I start explaining that there are slightly different requirements for directors of a company, Association or club, or social clubs... (this is what you start drawing on a mind map too.) I won'd go further I think you get the idea. The more I can tell someone else the better I feel that I know it.
I am not a lawyer so the only aspect of this that I needed to know was the responsibility of directors in a registered sporting club. So when I read the laws I focused on that because that was my purpose.
When I can do that with anything I am activating. Know what I want and need know and be able to tell someone else about it. Then the chapter or book has gelled. The feeling of gelling is really only a feeling of satisfaction... that I have enough for now.
- If you find that you cannot explain it or the information is unclear for your purpose. You do another activation pass.
You can do that for whole chapters or even parts of chapters using the subheads instead. The neat thing about doing it this way... you know the answer should be under that heading.
I recommend more superreading and dipping when you can form questions. Rapid reading only when you cannot form a question but feel that there is something more you need to know.
Alex
.