Hello, comrades. I’m here for your suggestions.
As the title says, I have been having a really hard time trying to read texts. I just find it very hard to concentrate on large text. I used to love reading, but all the years spent in the education system and having to read/study for lessons that I don’t really care for made me (or, most probably, my brain) dislike reading, and I still haven’t fully overcome that state of mind. I start to read a book, but I can’t keep reading for long. Also I’m easily getting distracted (surely a trait that I picked up while being on social media), so practically reading any book or long text, even if I find it really interesting or useful, gets even harder and progress may slow down to < 10 pages a day at times.
So, has anything like that ever occured to you? How did you overcome it? Thank you for reading this, comments will be appreciated.
Edit: Thank you for all the replies! It seems like many comrades went through something similar and I appreciate your replies.
The key trick is to create a habit. What I recommend doing is picking a specific time and place for reading every day. It doesn’t have to be much. Even if you just read a few pages, that helps start forming the habit. As long as you’re setting a realistic goal and you actually accomplish it each day, then you’ll feel good about it. This will make you want to keep doing it. Eventually it just becomes second nature where you end up going to your reading spot and doing some reading.
I also recommend starting with books where you find the style of writing engaging. For me it makes a huge difference. Some books I can read really fast, and others I struggle to finish. If you start a book that you’re not enjoying, don’t feel bad about abandoning it. Having positive reinforcement is important into creating a habit successfully. If you start feeling like it’s a chore, then you’re more likely to abandon it.
Its a long process that requires effort. You first have to regain your attention span, so you have to detox from social media. Start limiting screen time, and eventually work towards removing social media from your phone at least.
For book reading start reading 5 minutes a day before sleeping or after waking up, an e-reader helps a lot.
Building on this, something that helps a lot is taking walks without your phone. Reflecting on the stuff that happened to you that day, or the book you are reading helps a lot mentally.
I second this either reading physical books or using an ereader is really important. When you read on a phone or a computer you’re constantly exposed to distractions making it hard to focus.
Physical books and e-readers (with e-ink and non-backlit screens) are also much easier on the eyes than phone or computer screens which means you can read for longer periods of time which helps with immersion.
I feel like an angsty boomer when I get mad at tech companies siphoning off our attention with no regulation or pushback. No one generally seems to give a shit. I have started to really hate my phone over the past few years. One day I am gonna switch over to one of those dumbphones. While a cool piece of technology, smartphones have had a net negative effect on my life I feel.
Have a specific place to read, a comfy, quiet place but not too comfy as you might fall asleep. You are not allowed to quickly check your phone while reading! Read something you want to read rather than something you feel you ought to read. You could try to set a target, say 10 pages per reading session and increase this by a page or two each day. You could try a pomodoro timer… 25 minutes reading, 5 minute break. Reading is great for traveling, say when you are sat on a train.
Leave a book next to your remote to remind yourself that you could read instead of watching something on TV.
You could try audiobooks to get you back into reading, they are absorbing and could help to improve concentration.
But I think the main thing is to read stuff you will enjoy. If you are not enjoying a book, read something else. I used to always finish books and now I am much more ruthless about dumping books if they are no good.
Tracking your reading progress with something like https://bookwyrm.social/ and perhaps chat with other readers on the platform.
I hope you get back into reading, I love reading so much!
Start with young adult fiction! You wouldn’t go to the gym and immediately rack up to your old max, lift lighter first. I went thru a reading desert for like 5 years after leaving school, I tried banging my head against political theory and falling off over and over and over until I decided to read The Hate U Give. I blew through it, it got me into the habit of sitting down and reading words on a page, and I’ve been reading at least a book a month since.
I usually put on some soft music in the background. It helps me concentrate on the text and sets my mind to a reading mode
