When you need a quick explanation about something from the Wikipedia but don’t want all the formatting, images, and steps it takes to search the site, head over to Lexisum, a Wikipedia lookup webapp. Enter your term into Lexisum, which searches the Wikipedia as you type and fetches the relevant parts of article results immediately, without refreshing the page. Lexisum seems to grab the first few paragraphs or so of an article and displays it in straight text that you can preview at various sizes, colours, and fonts and print. Overall, a handy tool for fast Wikipedia lookups without the bells and whistles.
Consume and absorb more information by learning nifty speed-reading tricks. The key is organisation. Prioritise the information by deciding what to read first. A news story might beg for your attention, whereas another story might be worthwhile for bookmarking to read later. Once you decide what to read, focus on crucial information communicated by the author, which is often contained in the title, subtitle, and first sentence of the article. Also, consider reading supporting information that reinforces the title of the article. Look at eye-catching images and extracted quotes (often in bold). Finally, take a look at the conclusion. This section usually reiterates the title and expresses the author’s viewpoint. By turning speed-reading into an everyday practice, you’ll be able to easily identify what is important and what is irrelevant information. How to Speed Read on the Web [Evernerve]
We all get them—emails that are supposed to answer a question, or advance an idea, but instead cover your screen with imposing paragraphs of filler and beg to be shoved in the “Later” bin. The Anywired work blog recommends forcing yourself to tackle those messages immediately, but by using a simple mental filter: Scan the email until you can sum up its purpose in a sentence—for example, “They’re telling me they like my portfolio and found it inspiring,” or “They hate my guts because of that post I wrote.” Then respond to the sentence you’ve defined, rather than the email as a whole.
You should, of course, also look to see who the email is from, but the “single sentence” rule is something I’ve been doing mentally ever since I received my first corporate email account. How do you distill long emails down to quick-response messages? Share your tips in the comments.
How to Meet and Defeat Long Emails [Anywired]
