Speed Reading Experiment — How I Increased My Reading Speed by 200 WPM in 7 Days
Welcome to the first week of my “Acquiring New Skills” series!
Since I read a lot, I wanted to find a way to read more books in less time. Improving my reading speed felt like the perfect place to start. So I set myself a simple challenge:
7 days — just a few minutes per day — to see how much I could improve my reading speed.
For transparency:
During this week I read War and Peace (Volume 3, Part 3) on the first three days and Thinking, Fast and Slow for the remainder of the experiment.
Day 1 — Establishing a Baseline
My experiment started with a 1-minute reading test.
Result: 227 words per minute (wpm).
Then I reread the same passage, this time trying not to subvocalize (not reading along in my head).
Time needed: 32 seconds.
Total time spent: 2 minutes.
Day 2 — Using Finger Tracking
On Day 2, I practiced reading with my finger sliding under the lines, focusing on capturing 2–3 words at a time. I did this for 3 minutes, although I honestly couldn’t recall much of what I read.
Afterward, I read normally for 1 minute and felt noticeably more focused.
Total time spent: 4 minutes.
Day 3 — Counting While Reading (Hard!)
This was the toughest day for me:
I had to keep counting from 1 to 10 on repeat while reading for 3 minutes. My head hurt afterward.
But the follow-up 1-minute test in my normal pace showed I was already reading faster.
Total time spent: 4 minutes.
Day 4 — Reading and Recall
This time I read one full page using finger tracking, then tried to write down three things I remembered.
The page described a study where students drank lemonade or another beverage before solving tasks. Those who drank lemonade performed slightly better due to a quick sugar boost. My notes were correct—but there was still a lot I hadn’t consciously registered.
Total time spent: 5 minutes.
Day 5 — First Progress Test
Time to measure improvement.
I read for 1 minute at my fastest pace:
319 wpm → That’s +92 wpm compared to Day 1.
Reading the same text again at my normal pace wasn’t much slower either.
Total time spent: 2 minutes.
Day 6 — Longer Practice Session
On Day 6 I read for 15 minutes straight with my finger tracking along the text.
I also kept track of how often I lost focus — around 2–3 times per page.
In total I managed to read 13 pages in 15 minutes.
Total time spent: 15 minutes.
Day 7 — Final Reading Test
The last day was all about capturing the results.
Final 1-minute test: 430 words per minute.
I was genuinely surprised — especially since the text I read was more complex than on Day 1.
Total time spent: 1 minute.
Conclusion — 33 Minutes, 7 Days, +200 WPM
The experiment worked better than I expected.
In just 33 minutes of training, spread over a week, I increased my reading speed by roughly 200 words per minute.
If you’re looking for a simple way to boost your reading efficiency or productivity, give this experiment a try. And if you have your own tips for improving reading speed, feel free to share them — I’d love to learn from your experience too.