The important thing to figure out here is your purpose for reading. Be it an article in a magazine or a book, you should always ask yourself the question “Why am I reading this?”

If you’re reading just to pass time, or if you’re reading something before you go to sleep, you probably don’t need to read quickly, as your main aim for reading is to feel relaxed. In a situation like this, you should take your time while reading. Why hurry? For many books, you’ll want to extend the experience for as long as you can!

On the other hand reading up on various topics for your school assignment, or a set of reports for work, you’re probably going to have to absorb what you read and keep in mind facts, figures and all the important points. This is where speed reading comes in handy. You need to maximize your reading speed and comprehension if you want to understand the material as best as possible.

Speed reading will especially be useful if you are in the middle of an exam where a lot of reading is involved. In situations like that, then speed reading is key! Whenever time is limited, that’s your hint to “turn on your speed reading.”

Therefore, identifying the purpose for reading is what is important. You should only speed read when the situation calls for it. More often than not, for most of us, speed reading will be called on more often than regular reading. But it’s important to pay attention to the situation. If you try to speed read just before going to bed, you either won’t be able to (because you won’t be alert enough), or it’ll completely wake you up, and make it difficult to fall asleep.

But the main point is this: don’t speed read everything. When you’re reading a really good novel, just take it slow. Enjoy every last second you spend reading it. Speed reading is for consuming information – so use the skill accordingly.