The 5-Minute SRS Reading Diagnostic is a short, free reading-habits assessment that produces a personalised reading profile in about five minutes. It asks twelve questions across the dimensions that determine reading performance — focus, retention, reading speed perception, comprehension, fatigue, and reading load — and identifies which of four reader profiles best describes your current reading life. At the end, you receive a clear recommendation for the right next step based on your specific profile, ranging from free reading resources to structured coaching programmes.

Five minutes is the typical completion time. Twelve questions in total: eight short multiple-choice questions about your reading habits, two about your situation (your current life stage and age range), one open question where you describe your biggest reading challenge in your own words, and an optional email field if you would like a more detailed written follow-up sent to you. Most respondents finish in three to five minutes.

The diagnostic measures eight specific dimensions of reading performance: how often you regress (eyes going back over sentences you have already read), how your focus behaves during sustained reading, how the volume of reading you face feels to you, how much of what you read stays with you a week later, whether your reading load has cost you something concrete recently, how fatigued you feel after extended reading, how clearly you can articulate what you have read to others, and how much unread material has accumulated that you genuinely intend to get to. Each answer contributes to your cumulative reading profile.

The diagnostic is built for anyone whose reading is part of how they work, study, or pursue their interests. That includes students at any level, working professionals, executives and business owners, lifelong learners, and readers reading for personal development. The four reader profiles produced by the diagnostic — The Steady Reader, The Pressured Reader, The Strained Reader, and The Overloaded Reader — describe distinct relationships with reading load and reading capability, and the recommended next step adapts to which profile you receive.

The Steady Reader has mild reading friction and reads in good working order. The Pressured Reader has moderate friction, where reading is functional but the system is starting to show strain. The Strained Reader carries substantial friction across multiple dimensions, where reading is under real strain and structured intervention produces the most visible change. The Overloaded Reader has high friction across most dimensions, where reading has become significantly overloaded and the reading system has not been designed for the load it is now carrying. Each profile receives a specific recommendation for the appropriate next step.

Yes. The diagnostic itself is completely free and takes about five minutes to complete. You receive your reading profile and your personalised next-step recommendation immediately on completion. If you choose to leave your email address at the end, you also receive a more detailed written follow-up explaining your profile in more depth and pointing you toward specific resources. Email is optional — you can complete the diagnostic and receive your profile without leaving any contact information.

Speed Reading Simplified is a reading-improvement resource and coaching practice run by Jon Bjarnason, with twenty-one years of experience teaching speed reading, study technique, and time management. Speed Reading Simplified offers free reading resources, a structured ten-day Starter Kit course, and one-on-one coaching programmes ranging from foundational reading habits through to executive-level reading performance. The diagnostic helps visitors understand their reading profile and find the right starting point in the Speed Reading Simplified ecosystem.

Once you finish the twelve questions, the diagnostic shows you your reading profile and recommends the most appropriate next step from the Speed Reading Simplified ecosystem — ranging from free reading resources to coaching programmes, depending on your profile. If you provided an email address, you also receive a more detailed written follow-up over the next day or two, with specific suggestions tailored to your answers. You can reply directly to that email if anything resonates or misses, and Jon reads and responds personally.