What is the best way to get going again?

I write GA. I have gone through the functional method manuals several times, usually after long breaks.  My recall is OK, all things considered,  but i am very slow.  My reading is not that good. I am wondering the best way to get going again using about thirty minutes a day.  Does that make sense?  Should i focus on reading?  Should i start over in the manuals? Should i continue working in the functional method dictation volume one lesson at a time? Carlos? Anyone?  Thank you for any help you are able to offer!


Previous post:
Next post:
5 comments Add yours
  1. First, put the FM dictation text aside.

    If you only have 30 minutes a day, reading shorthand is what you will need to do. If you have gone through the FM basic manuals several times and you are still slow, those "long breaks" are not helping. Starting with the first assignment of Volume 1 of the FM manual, read the word/outline lists and reading practice. Just do 30 minutes of that. Bookmark where you stopped, and take it again later. Write down the outlines that you are stumbling with (in that lesson) and review the theory that's missing. Don't proceed to the next assignment until you are sure you can read the current assignment at a normal pace. You do not need to complete an assignment in the 30 minutes (if you do, and if you're reading it at a normal reading level, then great!). For this to work, you have to do 30 minutes every day (no skipping days). Stick to that plan and you will see improvement.

    Do not restart the dictation book until you can read shorthand easily from the first two books and can write at least 60 wpm. That would be your next challenge.

  2. I like the 30m/day plan.

    I'm clocking at 25wpm, writing GA, on new texts, but realized it was way more fatiguing to look back and read what I just wrote than it was to write write write. And my penmanship seems okay, I just feel like my reading needs work.

    So I've put my pen away and am just reading a printout of Alice In Wonderland whenever I have a moment. Weird stories, help keep my interest. I hope that once I've gotten through Alice once I'll be fast enough that more prosaic work transcribed in Gregg will better keep my attention.

    BTW, they have a $10 print of Alice in GA on Amazon! I got one and I found it good quality.

    https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Wonderland-Gregg-Shorthand-Georgie/dp/146996886X

  3. Just before I go to sleep, I like to review brief forms and blending principles for a few minutes. Then my brain can kind of review them while I sleep. This facilitates faster learning. This works for anything new you want to learn.

    I'd recommend keeping a journal in shorthand; also, use any excuse you can find to use your shorthand (by taking notes, writing letters, jotting down shopping lists, etc.) I find all this really helps. If you don't use it, you could lose it.

    Good luck with it!

Leave a Reply