I don’t usually get romantic about reading. Books and other written sources are simply a means of transferring ideas and concepts across time, culture, and geography, and a vast majority of stuff that gets written down is trivial and hardly worthy of your time.

But I also don’t need to mention that in the midst of that bunch of written stuff are islands of wisdom, usefulness, and generally good stuff. And if you want to excel at whatever you do, you almost certainly need to be reading. And reading a lot.

I’m skeptical of people who claim, for example, to read a book a day. Unless it’s something skimmable and unworthy of serious attention, most of us are unlikely to get through a book a week, much less a day. But if you want to learn even half of what you need to learn, you do need to find a way to read faster, and still preserve your fact recall.

Reading speed is a habit. It’s essential to learn to adjust your speed and to know when to speed up. And when to slow down. All reading is not the same, and all reading is not worthy of careful attention.

I’ve begun using a speed reading app, and it’s helpful. Mine is spritz, but there are others. Try out a couple, find what works for you, and begin to experiment with getting your knowledge more quickly.