Last month, I wrote a post on how to avoid burning out from information overload. However, there appears to be a lingering side effect of information overload that persists even when the information source is cut off. This side effect is the habit of skimming through information and it seems to develop in response to having high volumes of information to go through.

I recognized this habit in myself when I took one week off from blogs, videos, magazines, etc. and chose to focus on one book that I considered to be a very valuable resource that I wished to integrate into my lifestyle. Even while reading this book, I noticed that I read as if I were skimming and I had a hard time recalling the information after I read the chapter. It was almost as if my brain was trained to allow facts and information to enter and then leave shortly after, as if to make room for the next round of materials to read. Obviously, I was not happy that skimming was so ingrained into how I read.

Here are some strategies I put together that have been working very well to keep the skimming habit at bay:

1) Read it twice. No explanation needed here. Reading something multiple times is a sure-fire way to increase your retention and comprehension.

2) Write comments down. By writing down your thoughts in the margins of books and printed out material (or even in a separate notebook), your mind stays more engaged with the information at hand, hence increasing your retention afterward.

3) Talk about it. Having a discussion on a topic with friends or colleagues has been shown in studies to increase your own comprehension of the topic. Teaching a topic also has the same effect.