How much more could you get done if you completed all of your

required reading in 1/3 or 1/5 the time?

Increasing reading speed is a process of controlling fine motor
movementperiod.
This post is a condensed overview of principles I taught to
undergraduates at Princeton University in 1998 at a seminar
called the PX Project. The below was written several years ago,
so its worded like Ivy-Leaguer pompous-ass prose, but the
results are substantial. In fact, while on an airplane in China two
weeks ago, I helped Glenn aMcElhose increase his reading
speed 34% in less than 5 minutes.
I have never seen the method fail. Heres how it works
The PX Project
The PX Project, a single 3-hour cognitive experiment, produced
an average increase in reading speed of 386%.
It was tested with speakers of five languages, and even dyslexics
were conditioned to read technical material at more than 3,000
words-per-minute (wpm), or 10 pages per minute. One page
every 6 seconds. By comparison, the average reading speed in
the US is 200-300 wpm (1/2 to 1 page per minute), with the top
1% of the population reading over 400 wpm

If you understand several basic principles of the human visual

system, you can eliminate inefficiencies and increase speed while
improving retention.
To perform the exercises in this post and see the results, you will
need: a book of 200+ pages that can lay flat when open, a pen,
and a timer (a stop watch with alarm or kitchen timer is ideal). You
should complete the 20 minutes of exercises in one session.

First, several definitions and distinctions specific to the

reading process:

A) Synopsis: You must minimize the number and duration of

fixations per line to increase speed.
You do not read in a straight line, but rather in a sequence of
saccadic movements (jumps). Each of these saccades ends with
a fixation, or a temporary snapshot of the text within you focus
area (approx. the size of a quarter at 8 inches from reading
surface). Each fixation will last to seconds in the untrained
subject. To demonstrate this, close one eye, place a fingertip on
top of that eyelid, and then slowly scan a straight horizontal line
with your other eye-you will feel distinct and separate movements
and periods of fixation.

B) Synopsis: You must eliminate regression and backskipping

to
increase
speed.
The untrained subject engages in regression (conscious
rereading) and back-skipping (subconscious rereading via
misplacement of fixation) for up to 30% of total reading time.
C) Synopsis: You must use conditioning drills to increase
horizontal peripheral vision span and the number of words
registered per fixation.
Untrained subjects use central focus but not horizontal peripheral
vision span during reading, foregoing up to 50% of their words per
fixation (the number of words that can be perceived and read in
each fixation).
The Protocol
You will 1) learn technique, 2) learn to apply techniques with
speed through conditioning, then 3) learn to test yourself with
reading for comprehension.
These are separate, and your adaptation to the sequencing
depends on keeping them separate. Do not worry about
comprehension if you are learning to apply a motor skill with
speed, for example. The adaptive sequence is: technique
technique with speed comprehensive reading testing.
As a general rule, you will need to practice technique at 3x the
speed of your ultimate target reading speed. Thus, if you currently

read at 300 wpm and your target reading speed is 900 wpm, you
will need to practice technique at 1,800 words-per-minute, or 6
pages per minute (10 seconds per page).a
We will cover two main techniques in this introduction:
1) Trackers and Pacers (to address
2) Perceptual Expansion (to address C)

and

above)

First Determining Baseline

To determine your current reading speed, take your practice book
(which should lay flat when open on a table) and count the
number of words in 5 lines. Divide this number of words by 5, and
you have your average number of words-per-line.
Example: 62 words/5 lines = 12.4, which you round to 12 wordsper-line
Next, count the number of text lines on 5 pages and divide by 5 to
arrive at the average number of lines per page. Multiply this by
average number of words-per-line, and you have your average
number of words per page.
Example: 154 lines/5 pages = 30.8, rounded to 31 lines per page
x 12 words-per-line = 372 words per page
Mark your first line and read with a timer for 1 minute exactly-do
not read faster than normal, and read for comprehension. After
exactly one minute, multiply the number of lines by your average

words-per-line to determine your current words-per-minute (wpm)

rate.
Second Trackers and Pacers
Regression, back-skipping, and the duration of fixations can be
minimized by using a tracker and pacer. To illustrate the
importance of a tracker-did you use a pen or finger when counting
the number of words or lines in above baseline calculations? If
you did, it was for the purpose of tracking-using a visual aid to
guide fixation efficiency and accuracy. Nowhere is this more
relevant than in conditioning reading speed by eliminating such
inefficiencies.
For the purposes of this article, we will use a pen. Holding the pen
in your dominant hand, you will underline each line (with the cap
on), keeping your eye fixation above the tip of the pen. This will
not only serve as a tracker, but it will also serve as a pacer for
maintaining consistent speed and decreasing fixation duration.
You may hold it as you would when writing, but it is recommended
that you hold it under your hand, flat against the page.
1) Technique (2 minutes):
Practice using the pen as a tracker and pacer. Underline each
line, focusing above the tip of the pen. DO NOT CONCERN
YOURSELF WITH COMPREHENSION. Keep each line to a
maximum of 1 second, and increase the speed with each

subsequent page. Read, but under no circumstances should you

take longer than 1 second per line.
2) Speed (3 minutes):
Repeat the technique, keeping each line to no more than
second (2 lines for a single one-one-thousand). Some will
comprehend nothing, which is to be expected. Maintain speed
and technique-you are conditioning your perceptual reflexes, and
this is a speed exercise designed to facilitate adaptations in your
system. Do not decrease speed. second per line for 3 minutes;
focus above the pen and concentrate on technique with speed.
Focus on the exercise, and do not daydream.
Third Perceptual Expansion
If you focus on the center of your computer screen (focus relating
to the focal area of the fovea in within the eye), you can still
perceive and register the sides of the screen. Training peripheral
vision to register more effectively can increase reading speed over
300%. Untrained readers use up to of their peripheral field on
margins by moving from 1st word to last, spending 25-50% of
their time reading margins with no content.
To illustrate, let us take the hypothetical one line: Once upon a
time, students enjoyed reading four hours a day. If you were able
to begin your reading at time and finish the line at four, you
would eliminate 6 of 11 words, more than doubling your reading

speed. This concept is easy to implement and combine with the

tracking and pacing youve already practiced.
1) Technique (1 minute):
Use the pen to track and pace at a consistent speed of one line
per second. Begin 1 word in from the first word of each line, and
end 1 word in from the last word.
DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH COMPREHENSION.
Keep each line to a maximum of 1 second, and increase the
speed with each subsequent page. Read, but under no
circumstances should you take longer than 1 second per line.
2) Technique (1 minute):
Use the pen to track and pace at a consistent speed of one line
per second. Begin 2 words in from the first word of each line, and
end 2 words in from the last word.
3) Speed (3 minutes):
Begin at least 3 words in from the first word of each line, and end
3 words in from the last word. Repeat the technique, keeping
each line to no more than second (2 lines for a single one-onethousand).
Some will comprehend nothing, which is to be expected. Maintain
speed and technique-you are conditioning your perceptual
reflexes, and this is a speed exercise designed to facilitate

adaptations in your system. Do not decrease speed. second

per line for 3 minutes; focus above the pen and concentrate on
technique with speed. Focus on the exercise, and do not
daydream.
Fourth Calculate New WPM Reading Speed
Mark your first line and read with a timer for 1 minute exactlyRead at your fastest comprehension rate. Multiply the number of
lines by your previously determined average words-per-line to get
determine your new words-per-minute (wpm) rate.
Congratulations on completing your cursory overview of some of
the techniques that can be used to accelerate human cognition
(defined as the processing and use of information).
Final recommendations: If used for study, it is recommended
that you not read 3 assignments in the time it would take you to
read one, but rather, read the same assignment 3 times for
exposure and recall improvement, depending on relevancy to
testing.
Happy trails, page blazers.
###
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How much more could you get done if you completed all of your
required reading in 1/3 or 1/5 the time?