Brain/memory/reading issues...please help.?

Question

Hi, im 24 female, working for a great fortune 500 co. I used to get As & Bs (no less) my entire life up until my sophmore/junior year of high school when I got very serious about sports & spent 4-5 hours training every day. I went from reading like every single chapter for every single class to doing the BARE minimum, signing up for easier classes, etc. to focus on my training. Well, 9 years later I feel like my brain is untrained, my memory is faltering, & when I'm busy at work with anxiety-causing urgencies- I skim emails or articles absorbing very little content & I feel like my quantitative skills are gone. I know I'm smart & capable, I just need a good strategy to love reading, to make it easier on me...right now I read word for word, chapter for chapter, & thus resist it b/c I know strategies exist where I dont have to do that, can study less, absorb more, & get better grades. How can I improve my reading/memory & train my brain for great intellectual capacities? Thanks much!

Answer 1

Suggestions:

1.  Subscribe to Games magazine.  The variety of puzzles and challenges in this magazine will help resharpen your mind.

2.  Read a book about speed-reading, or google speed-reading online.

3.  Highlight when you read on paper or use highlighter tape.  Only highlight the 3 most important things in a chapter, for example, to narrow your focus.

4.  Take notes on what you read and need to remember.  Take notes only on the most important steps or vital concepts.

5.  Use pictoral notes and acronyms to help you remember.  For example, the acronym ACT might stand for Accountabilty, Credibility, and Tact, and you might draw a picture of someone counting for accountant, a picture of a bill for crediBILity, and a picture of a tack for tact.

6.  You can't read every email you get thoroughly or you will drive yourself crazy and burn yourself out.  Read and focus on only the most important emails; skim the rest.

7.  Keep a daytimer with important dates you need to remember.

8.  Keep a journal with important details you need to remember from your readings.

9.  When reading a chapter book, think about the title of the book and read the table of contents.  Skim the book for a minute.  Then, read the first and last paragraph of the first chapter.  Skim the rest of the chapter, paying attention to pull-out boxes, bold words, and captions.  If the book is really important, read the chapter word for word and highlight the important points.  Possibly take notes.