how can I convince myself to sit down and read for extended periods of time (1+hr)? my internet brain rot makes me able to sit and watch youtube shorts or play tf2 for 3 hours but the moment I start reading I am basically zoned out 10 mins in. anyone have any tips?
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Go to the park
Chose books that are written better than Tolkien's.
hopefully they have better spelling than you too, english major! don't you have some "dostoyevsky" to read?
I feel attacked, frick you
this.
> able to sit and watch youtube shorts
in that case there's no hope for you.
Thanks for your opinion, ESL
That's very true, which is why you only read Robert E. Howard if you're going to ESPECIALLY be reading genre fiction fantasy. Gene Wolfe is also okay to read.
Everything else, fantasy or genre fiction in that specific area wise, can be safely discarded into the garbage waste. No exceptions.
not a lot get better than him, anon
You need to hold yourself accountable
The first step is to make sure you comprehend what is going on in each page
Depending on how bad you are, this could mean re-reading a page twice or thrice until you feel confident that you get what has happened over the course of the page
I think re-reading pages is highly underrated
Secondly you must try to visualise what is going on
Tolkien has a lot of geographic descriptions in his writings so you must know what each term he uses means and try to visualise the landscape that he is describing, this helps with immersion
Thirdly you need to set goals for each reading session
I think it's better to have easy goals which you can repeat multiple times, say 2 30 minute sessions each day at a minimum which on a weekend could become 2 30 minute sessions and maybe an hour long one as a bonus
Alternatively you can read a chapter a day or something like that
Good luck
I've tried isolating myself from distractions before and I find that it doesn't work, I need to do a 30 minute reading session followed by 10 minutes of time wasted on youtube or IQfy otherwise I will find myself getting sleepy
1) seperate yourself from electronics, turn off computer, leave phone in another room or turned off, best thing is to just sit at an empty desk with no distraction
2) have some coffee, helps me focus
3) pick books that you're actually into, that have stories you're interested in or prose that you like or authors share perspective you find interested in. books are just ways to kill time at the end of the day, if you're not enjoying it in some way, then there's no reason to brute force reading it, it's not a job you're payed for, no one will be upset if you just don't finish it.
read what you like until you like to read
ANON. there are no quick fixes--no magical rite you can perform to ''read good''--is question of HABITuation--behaviour. you have ADDLED mind aDICKted to fast stimuli--you must DETRANSITION from this state--takes time and commitment--NO QUICK FIX--you must starve your mind from stimuli to bring you back to baseline--i would recommend TOTAL AND COMPLETE abstinence from dopegenic activities for at least 2 weeks--this means no phone no ''internet'' no MUSAK no ''fast foods'' no ''drugs'' no NOTHING stimulation. perhaps just coffee and books, yes yes. NO TV OR PASSIVE MEDIA. you will find this process shocking and painful. you will be in withdrawal--but you will come out the other side with NEW ZEST for life and ability to focus again. yes yes trust me anon, i know this.
this is ONLY WAY anon--hear me! you must take monastic retreat from all dopegnic activities to recalibrate mind--become focus again--you have acquired bad BEHAVE and HABIT--must overwrite these before anything else
Isolate the feelings. "Zoned out" is not actually an emotion but the characterization of an experience. Why is it hard to sit and try to focus when you're zoned out? Because it's frustrating. Acknowledge the frustration of being unable to focus and just accept it and keep going. For some reason (whose mechanism is unknown, but for which there is a truckload of experimental evidence) acknowledging the feelings you're going through makes it easier to endure them and get to the business of doing the thing you want to be doing. So just recognize that it might be uncomfortable as your brain forges new neural pathways and stick with it.
Take a book with you to the bathroom. Read while taking a shit.
Try light novels or simply things that interest you. I can read theology or [insert isekai] for hours easily
Need help here as well. I've never found that book that just grips me from the first page and doesn't let go. I've tried reading a lot but I usually give up every single book after 100 or so pages. What do except just "keep trying"?
you should only read for information, you've been trained to do so most likely anyway.
so basically school is to blame
find something moar interesting to read
or just deal with it that you are not the reading type
>or just deal with it that you are not the reading type
a real hard pill for me to swallow, I'll keep trying instead
Girl you need to fundamentally restructure your reward system. You’re fricked because you’ve spent too much time on the web mindlessly scrolling or perhaps playing “video games”. You’re in large part a product of your babits. That means behaviour. If you want to increase your ability to concentrate than cut out all the easy gratification behaviour and instead do things like reading. It’s that simple. But it takes time and commitment. No quick fix.
how do you get through that first phase of cutting off instant gratification, when you can barely pay attention to a book and your mind is repeatedly turning off and on?
I know you "just do it", but some pointers would help
When you find your mind wandering take a moment to refocus your attention. Keep doing that, you'll find you have to do it less and less over time. Also don't view reading as a chore or "eating your vegetables," do it because you want to, not because you believe it will make you "better." Some days I don't read at all, others I read 150 pages.
you need to detox like a drug addict--easier of you're a NEET--set aside 3 days or ideally a whole week--or even two depending on how bad your problem is--to sit around and do nothing. turn off the computer, get a dumb phone to use instead of a smart one, lock away any devices if you have to.
effectively you have to make it physically impossible for you to use any of the shit that's been instantly gratifying you. ask yourself this: what would you being doing with your time if you didn't a have smart phone, computer or games console?
>set aside the time to detox
>make preparations
>remove all tech
>set out boring/mundane activities to do instead
e.g. buy an origami book or something and spend the week fricking about with that and nothing else
>track your progress and how you feel throughout the detox--write this down
you need to be prepared to be utterly bored throughout the detox. that's okay. you can deal with it, it's not that hard. coming out the other side will be extraordinary. but you need to have a clear idea of what you want your life to look like afterwards, or else you'll slip right back into the bad habits
trust me OP it's only after a radical intervention like this that you can start to implement the ad hoc advice otherwise mentioned in this thread. i've given myself a couple such detoxes and i've been good for months after
I gotta agree with anon, I did this years ago for a project, I wasn't really a good reader and only read occasionally, probably 2 times a week at most, but I needed to finish a 600 pages book, I thought I was done for, but I did what this anon wrote. I turned off electronics, I stopped consuming junk food and basically did nothing but read the book and cleaned, and cleaning was god awful and boring so books became the primary dopamine source, I also started listening to ambient music while reading, good shit. After that I started reading voraciously, upwards of 100-300 pages a day, so yeah, you know what to do OP
Well one small step at a time. Set up a plan. Begin with slowly increasing your reading time and reducing your distractions. Walks are good for forcing you into your own head and keeping you away from distractions. Also, going for walks and talking with people is ammo for your imagination. When recent real life experiences correlated or overlap with what you're reading, it boosts immersion like you wouldn't believe.
I usually end up reading a lot when reading in bed with a phone. Specifically with epub reader that has per chapter scrolling, like Lithium for android. Also don't be afraid to read 'easy' books if you enjoy it.
My advice is this: start off small. Don’t be afraid to read classic books you missed out on just because they’re labeled as being for kids. In addition, set a time limit, like thirty minutes, and read with no interruptions. As you read more, increase the timelinit
1. Habit. Start with modest goals like forcing yourself to read for 30min even if you only finish 3 pages. It gets easier over time.
2. Change your environment. If you can find a different place for reading that you don't mentally associate with distractions.
3. Drugs. "ADHD" may be fake but stimulants do help with executive function, and a lot of people function much better with them. You can order modafinil over the internet pretty easily.
Find something that holds your attention even if it some genre book. Reading is like working out as in that it is important to build a habit and start small. Read everyday even if it is only a few pages. The biggest mistake you can make is starting with le Greeks or following a chart. If you want to read that stuff you will eventually find it. I have the feeling that most newbies who devise a course like plan fail early on. You have to get used to physically reading and forcing yourself to read something that isn’t going any thing for you will kill that motivation.
Read easy books