Six Bad Reading Habits and How to Overcome them

Reading the right way is what makes up good reading habits. Just as there are good reading habits also are bad reading habits. Good reading habits must be consciously cultivated.

Reading could mean many things to many people, but for relevance sake to this post suffice is the definition according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary which says reading is an act of acquainting with or looking over the contents of something such as a book.

Another definition still from that same dictionary says, it is the act of receiving or taking in the sense of letters and symbols, especially by sight and touch. This is a quite more holistic definition informing us that reading could be either be by sight and when vision is impaired, it could as well done by touch.

Whatever dimension reading takes, if reading must be a worthwhile venture because it indeed is, it must become a habit in a good way. A habit is what you consistently do even without realizing it. You must read the right way always even without consciously prepping yourself to do it.

Just as we share previously on 10 Tips to Study Late at Night without Sleeping, If you are torn between which is a good and a bad reading habit, this post was specially created for you. With this, we can know what these bad reading habits are and how they can make the whole motion of reading unprofitable, and ultimately how to overcome them.

Six Bad Reading Habits and How to Overcome them

1. Reading with a Bad Light System

When there is no good and adequate light supply, there is a greater tendency for misunderstanding the information because punctuations that are placed to guide interpretation by the author are not readily seen.

You don’t always want to squint your eyes and come down with poor eyesight trying to get into the mind of the writer. When reading, it is very important that there is enough light in and around the text you are reading. Experts even say halogen bulbs are best compared to the many regular bulbs we see around.

2. Bad Reading Posture

Many students don’t take into account the fact that the position they take during reading could actually prove fatal to their reading. Reading is serious business even when it is done for pleasure so it means a good reading posture is a good reading habit.

You shouldn’t be laying down prostrate on the bed reading or even placing the text on your lap. This disrupts absolute concentration which is very necessary for grasping the mind of the author.

It is always good to sit on a chair with your back firmly rested on it. Also advisable is that the text being read should be about 14-16 inches away from the eye.

3. Reading Many Books at The Same Time

In a bid to cover so much out of immense pressure, many people end up covering almost nothing at all thanks to this bad reading habit. This is very common with students especially when they are hard-pressed for time to prepare for their examinations.

It must be said that this certainly can be forestalled by reading right from the daily lessons began and not allowing what is to be read build up to form a mountain that would be difficult to surmount. With this good reading habit, you surely get to avoid reading more than one book at a time and end up jumbling up the information when it is being called upon.

4. Vocalization

I am very sure you are surprised by this one. It is very hard to draw up lines of connection between vocalization and a bad reading habit. In fairness, we all were in that same boat till many researchers have proven vocalization can actually derail full understanding and maximum concentration necessary for reading.

By the way, movement of the vocal cords isn’t only what constitutes vocalization, even any movement of the throat or tongue. So, the next time you set out to read, quit trying to follow with your mouth the text, but, rather let your eyes be fixed firmly on what is read.

5. Unpreparedness

Lack of preparation truly is a bad reading habit that many are very guilty of. If you must read, you must be very intentional about it and that includes what you do before reading. The before-reading stage is equally as important as the during the reading stage.

You simply can’t afford to not know what you intend to achieve in your time allotted for reading. There has been a set target you intend to hit each time you read. What is done unplanned is hardly achieved and for this reason, you must make adequate preparations en route to the start of your reading.

6. Restlessness

And for our final point, restlessness. This is highly underrated as a bad reading habit. It is absolutely true that one reads to assimilate and understand all that has been written yet it is important to know that you don’t have all day to read.

There are many other equally important things to be done that can’t be put aside. Speed is evidently necessary for reading. Having an embattled mind stemming from anger, pain or any other bad emotion can prove detrimental to your reading speed.

Whatever can cause you to lose interest in reading should be avoided by every means possible. A restful mind is the key to unearthing every treasure hidden away in any book.

Conclusion

To conclude, the saddening reality of all these is the fact that many students will spend very many hours giving themselves to reading and will have very little or no yield all because the good reading habits weren’t imbibed and the bad reading habits were the ones cultivated.

In as much as there are good reading habits specially fitted for every individual, there are generally bad reading habits that affect everyone and must be overcome if students would get the results they desire. Most definitely, if you can discard these bad reading habits, you are sure on the way to reaching the top.