ONE of the greatest pressures that managers face is the                                                                                               
management of time.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
How he manages his professional life, for example, running a                                                                                          
proper office, knowing the latest development in management;                                                                                          
acquiring new skills and sharpening the old, empowering the                                                                                           
workforce, etc. becomes an important part of a manager's life.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
While attending to the needs of his organisation, a manager                                                                                           
must spend quality time with his family. He cannot, for                                                                                               
instance, work late every day, seven days a week. Of course,                                                                                          
he can sometimes work late hours, but not I seeing one's                                                                                              
children for days on end should not be the norm.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
One important thing that is neglected in today's "mad rush" is                                                                              
one's reading. Managers should read journals, management                                                                                              
books, books on religion, philosophy, history, the arts, etc                                                                                          
to widen his general knowledge.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
The pressure of time would tend to make one read less, with                                                                                           
the argument that one hardly has time for other important                                                                                             
matters.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
One way to tackle this problem is through speed-reading-the                                                                                           
ability to read rapidly while maintaining good understanding.                                                                                         
A number of managers I know read pretty fast thus enabling                                                                                            
them to check and verify documents, letters and papers very                                                                                           
efficiently. On top of that they also have time to read                                                                                               
magazines, newspapers and books.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Those interested in speed-reading would first have to learn to                                                                                        
get rid of some bad habits like vocalising (pronouncing every                                                                                         
word silently or even reading loudly), regressing (the habit                                                                                          
of going back to re-read a sentence, fixating (pausing at long                                                                                        
words which the reader already knows), etc.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Good habits that can help would be, firstly, to set an                                                                                                
objective like reading to look for facts, ideas or just for                                                                                           
pleasure. Secondly, readers would benefit if they push their                                                                                          
reading speed to a level of discomfort but are still able to                                                                                          
understand what they are reading.  Thirdly, the reader must                                                                                           
give full concentration and attention to the text at hand                                                                                             
without any interruption.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Eye movement is also important. Today, electronic machines are                                                                                        
used to display words on a screen at increasing speeds.                                                                                               
Readers can try reading some of the "credit lines" at the end                                                                               
of a movie with great speed.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
However, different people use different methods. Some use                                                                                             
their forefinger or any sharp object to follow or direct the                                                                                          
eye along the sentence.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Some people read from left to right others do just the                                                                                                
opposite-reading from right to left, the aim being to catch                                                                                           
the key words fast. yet others read diagonally, ie. going from                                                                                        
top left to bottom right and vice-versa.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
These are some of the methods taught in speed-reading classes.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Whatever method or style one chooses should be to make one's                                                                                          
reading easy and rapid. Practice makes perfect. Train your                                                                                            
eyes to scan, move fast, see a whole sentence instead of just                                                                                         
one word at a time.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
With time, one not only can read fast but can also zero in on                                                                                         
errors with ease.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
It is obvious that those who have read much during their early                                                                                        
school going days are bound to end up as fast and possibly                                                                                            
voracious readers during adulthood.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Managers who are interested in speed-reading can enrol in a                                                                                           
programme run by any one of the professional organisations.                                                                                           
Many successful managers have attended such courses.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Others have acquired the ability to read rapidly through trial                                                                                        
and error. There are many self-help books available on this                                                                                           
subject-too.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Professional organisations like Evelyn-Wood have conduct                                                                                              
programmes on speed-reading. One such course I attended a                                                                                             
number of years ago covered the techniques of reading rapidly                                                                                         
and tests to ascertain one's speed and comprehension.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
On completing the course, participants' achievement would vary                                                                                        
from individual to individual. Some can read faster than the                                                                                          
others.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
The most important thing is to practice the methods taught                                                                                            
regularly until one internalises them. Even a 50 per cent                                                                                             
increase in speed itself will do much good.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
A prospective participant when urged to attend a speed-reading                                                                                        
course said that he had plenty of free time, thus there was no                                                                                        
need to read fast.                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
That could be true during the 1970s (the time when the above                                                                                          
statement was made). Very few managers can say such thing                                                                                             
today. There is simply "so much to do with so little time to                                                                                     
do it."                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Reading magazines and periodicals like the World Executive's                                                                                          
Digest which carry summaries of articles is one way of getting                                                                                        
new information. Surfing the Internet is another. It does not                                                                                         
mean one has to read everything at superspeed.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Works of literature, poems and serious writings can be read                                                                                           
deliberately, perhaps even slowly, to savour every page as it                                                                                         
were.  Light reading material like fashion magazines can be                                                                                           
browsed through.  Some books need not necessarily be read from                                                                                        
cover to cover but just the relevant parts. Even with                                                                                                 
speed-reading, one has to always maintain focus and                                                                                                   
concentration.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Good readers can read between 600 and 750 words per minute or                                                                                         
finish a novel in three hours. However, a longer time is                                                                                              
needed to read "heavy" material like management books. There                                                                                
are even some who can read a number of books at one time.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Learning to read fast would not only allow us to read more but                                                                                        
made us realised that there is no such thing as "no time to                                                                                      
read."