Want to read more books without losing comprehension Learn to resist regression

Want to read mora books without losing comprehension Learn to resist regressionWant to read more books without losing comprehension Learn to resist regressionReading is not a human ability hardwired into our brains.Its a skill that takes practice. But rapid reading is not a difficult skill to learn, says Peter Kump, author ofBreakthrough Rapid Reading.Reading can transform your health, wealth, and productivity.Comprehension has always been more important than just reading.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreWithout comprehension, reading is a wasted effort.You read because you want to learn something new, improve a specific skill or enjoy a great narrative or novel.Comprehension is the core of reading any material. Its also the reason many people spend a lot of time on a single book.The one habit that may be hindering your progress when you choose to read is regression. But you can eliminate your reading inefficiencies and increase your reading speed while improving retention.Regression (backtracking)One of the biggest obstacles to speed reading is regression.Its the habit of re-reading something you have already read in order to be sure you really understood the message you read.When regression is compulsive, the habit can be harder to break.When you regress like this, you lose the flow and structure of the text, and your overall understanding of the subject can decrease. Be very conscious of regression, and dont allow yourself to re-read material unless you absolutely have to,saysApril Troester, PhD.Lack of confidence in your reading skills can cause regression.If you dont trust yourself to have fully understood what youve just read, you will regress all the time.For many readers, this can happen over and over and over again.Instead of improving their reading habits, many people use this habit to refocus when they feel they are being distracted.In as much as you think regression is helping you, it actually slows you down more than you think.Regression probably wastes about a third of every hour you spend reading.Its like taking two steps forward with your eyes and one step back, and for many people, a lot more than one step back.Sometimes - but not very often - regression necessary, especially if you are reading about a technical subject and want to understand better.Or when the author is not engaging better and you have to figure out the message yourself.But more often than not, people regress because its a habit theyve developed over time.If you are aiming to read faster and get the most important ideas in any book you pick up, you have to quit the habit of going back to chapters youve already read.Instead of revisiting pages, what you could do is to focus better, remove distractions and aim to read a particular number of pages every time you start reading again.Improve your concentration habit, and you wont have to regress so many times before you actually schliff that book.When your brain develops the habit of re-reading at any time, it relaxes and does not concentrate properly because it knows it will go back at some point.It stops you from immersing yourself deeply in any book.When that happens, you wont fully grasp all the ideas in the book.How to quit regressingThe simplest approach to stop re-reading over and over again is to choose books or topics you deeply care about.Reading a book should be an experience that provides you joy and value, not something to labor through,saysPatrick Allen of Lifehacker.If reading takes more effort and its a struggle, youre going to want to do less of it.Before you even start reading any book, ask yourself if you are curious enough about the topic to give it your full attention or concentration.Passive readers hardly finish any book because they are not curious enough.They read because they have time to spend instead of investing in a topic.Get curious before you even s tart reading.What do you look for in any book you choose? Let that be your guide and you will focus better when you read.Schedule you reading and stick to your allocated time.Get curious before you even start reading.What do you look for in any book you choose? Let that be your guide and you will focus better when you read.Schedule you reading and stick to your allocated time.Example, you can set aside half an hour of your time to read your favorite book without distraction.Start by eliminating all the distractions that may prevent you from reading (social media, email notifications, news notifications, background music, etc.).You could disable all notifications on your phone.You will be more focused when its only you and book you are reading.Aim to concentrate the whole half an hour.Dont hurry the process.Just enjoy the book and the ideas the author is conveying during that time.To retain the information better, you can take notes after every reading sprint.Use the 50/50 principlet o retain better and remember the core ideas of any book. You wont have to regress if you are not distracted.To reduce the number of times you backtrack, Troesterrecommendsyou run a pointer (a finger, a pen, or the cursor) along the line as you read.Your eyes will follow the tip of your pointer, helping you avoid skipping back. The speed at which you read using this method will largely depend on the speed at which you move the pointer, she says.Its important to note that you dont have to finish every book to fully embrace better reading habits.I tend to have at least 5 books in my active pile of books Im currently reading, but I try not to regress to make real progress as I focus on comprehending the ideas in each book.Closing thoughtsRegression seriously slows your reading speed.The good news is, you can easily replace it with a better habit, but it takes concentration and practice.Start slow and aim to make progress instead of trying to change the habit as soon as possible, especia lly if your brain is already used to re-reading all the time.Quitting regression can increase your reading speed and help you read more books every months or year.As you invest more time reading, it will get easier and you know what habits are helping you read more books.This article first appeared on Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

4 Common Resume Red Flags and How to Fix Them

4 Common Resume Red Flags and How to Fix Them 4 Common Resume Red Flags and How to Fix Them If your job search hasnt been going too well, it may be because your resume contains some of ansicht red flags. This is why its vital that you look over your resume thoroughly to identify and address any possible red flags. Doing so could turn your arduous job search into an absolute breeze or at least make things easier on you.Here are fourclassic red flags to look for on your resume, along with some tips on how to address them1. Being UnemployedThere is considerable bias against unemployed applicants, according to research from The Pew Charitable Trusts.This bias grows worse the longer one is unemployed Those who have been unemployed for six months or longer haveto send out, on average, 3.5 times as many resumes as the short-term unemployed before they receivean interview invite.Employers dont really have any just cause for this bias, but the fact remains that being unemployed is seen as a red flag for many companies.What canyou do about it?First, never apologize forbeing unemployed. Unemployment is simply a fact of life especially in todays economy. Dont feed the interviewers bias by painting your unemployment in a negative light. Just focus on the positives. Where possible, show that you have successfully gotten interviews and received good feedback. This will put many employers at ease, as it will show them that other organizations thing well enough of you to give you a shot. Third-party validation will enhance your credibility in the eyes of most any interviewer.Second, be sure tooutline any new skills you have learned while unemployed especially skills that areimmediatelyrelevant to the job at hand. Doing so will show employers that, contrary to their biases, being unemployed has actually helped youimprove.2. Unexplained Gaps in ResumesUnexplained gaps in a resume make employers feel like youre hiding something.Combat this by actually explaining the gaps. Don t justpresent the gaps on your resume outline exactly what you were doing while you were out of work.Were you studying, volunteering, taking a sabbatical, looking for work, looking after a sick loved one, or raising children? These pursuits canall addgreater value to a resume than an unexplained gap. For example, if you were raising children, you probably picked up a variety of transferable management and coordination skills. Emphasize these on your resume3. Multiple Short Tenures (A.K.A., a History of Job Hopping)Employers are slowly beginning to understand thatjob hopping is the new normal. These days, the lifelong job has been largely replaced by shorter tenures, and employers simply have to accept this fact.Nevertheless,some employers are stuck in their old ways, and they continue to view short tenures with suspicion. To combat this suspicion, show employers that you are a responsiblejob hopper. Prove to employers that you have always honored and completed all contracts and pro jects before leaving a company. Show employers, too, that you always provide the proper notice you dont just up and leaveIts also worth showing employers that you have a history of performing well in each job, no matter how short your time there was. You can do this by listing your achievements in each role on your resume. You should also try to get as many LinkedIn recommendations as possible, which will demonstrate to employers that you left your previous roles on good terms.Employers should know that, for you, job hopping is a deliberate part of your career strategy, and that you deliver great value to every employer you work with, regardless of your length of time with each company.4.A Template ResumeIts fairly easy to spot a generic resume that has not been tailored to a specific job opening. If youre simply firing off template resumes to every opening you come across, employers will pick up on that fact and many of them will instantly dismiss you because of it.Make sure you write a tailored cover letter and resume for each and every application. Emphasizeyourskills and qualities that are most relevant to this standort and company.-There are plenty of reasons that a resume might be rejected and, often, resumes are rejected for very good reasons. Sometimes, you just arent the right person for the job.That being said, its never a bad idea to tighten up your resume by addressing these red flags. Doing so will greatly improve your chances of landing an interview and maybe even the role itself.Master the art of closing deals and making placements. Take our Recruiter Certification Program today. Were SHRM certified. Learn at your own pace during this 12-week program. Access over 20 courses. Great for those who want to break into recruiting, or recruiters who want to further their career.

The amount of vacation time people dont take will sadden you

The amount of vacation time people dont take will sadden youThe amount of vacation time people dont take will sadden youNothing is mora fraught in the American workplace than vacations how much time you get (or dont), whether youre actually allowed to take it, whether you actually do take it even though youre allowed to, how totally stressful it is to prepare to go away and leave your work in the hands of co-workers, and whether or not youll choose to work during your holiday, then resent yourself and your employer after you do it.With that in mind, Celebrity Cruises conducted a survey of 1200 employees, 750 of who had paid time off. They got down to the underbelly of the world of American vacations and paid time off.Across industries, the median number of paid days off annually is 14. A decent percentage would like more days and would sacrifice money to get them 18% of employees would prefer five extra paid vacation days to a 10% raise.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magaz ines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreBecause we feel guilty about taking the time off that is rightfully ours, 47% of employees surveyed left paid vacation days unused.Perhaps some of that 47% had vacation requests denied. Everybody knows the disappointment of being left out of a fun weekend in Bridgehampton because were understaffed, and 21% of employees had a vacation request denied in the last year.Rich use it, poor lose itEverybodys heard the phrase use it or lose it when it comes to your days but sometimes you cant afford to use it. According to the survey, those who earned more tended to take more of their time off and the opposite was true as well. The highest earners at incomes of $100,000 or more were the most likely (98%) to use their time off. The lowest earners with incomes of $24,999 or less were less likely (83%) to use their time off.Pre-vacay stressThe pre-vacation scramble is the worst, as you rush to get everything done. (Because if you dont do it correctly, who will?) A full62% of employees put in extra hours the week before a vacation usually between one and five. And 50% of women said they felt extra stressed the week before a vacation. Men were more relaxed, with only 36% feeling more stress.The stress boils down toThe amount of work Ill have when I return 65%Worry that my work will not be handled correctly while Im away 61%Trying to finish all my work before leaving 56%I dont want a co-worker handling my work 39%Worry my employer will think Im not dedicated to my job because Im taking time off 26%Geez, no wonder people dont take all their vacation time.Will you or wont you?Now youre at your final destination. The palm trees are swaying gently in the breeze. The phone rings. Who do you think it is?Dont answer 63% have been contacted by work while on vacation. And 72% said it could have waited until they got back.But what if what if something needs to be done? Oh, forget about it. Nearly half (46%) of those surveyed didnt work while on their vacation. When they did, it was usually between 10-30 minutes.For those who did work from the beach, they usually suffered the consequences. Working while vacationing caused fights between nearly 40% of couples. Other people who worked on vacation felt stressed (77%), missed plans (21%), stressed out their travel companions (23%), and one step further and annoyed their travel companions (36%).Just remember youre probably not being paid enough to work off the clock. Happy trails