I’m an avid reader. I devour books, most books. Except when the books are ones I’m forced to read – that’s why I don’t do book clubs – too much pressure reading. When I feel as if I’m being forced to read something, I become slothful, a procrastinator, petulant, you name it. And as reading is a virtually non-negotiable feature of managerial life, no way around it, over the years, I’ve developed my own methods for reading efficiently – call them reading smart cuts.

When I came across this Idea by Ted Talk article on speed reading, I was intrigued. It features a list of reading smart cuts that are artful and to the point. If practiced, they could shave hours off “have to” reading, leaving so much time for “want to” activities . Try them out and let me know how they work.