/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.22117603]

How do you get the attention span needed to sit down and read for 30+ minutes?

[Anonymous No.22117608]

>>22117603
put your phone away and force yourself to read

[Anonymous No.22117611]

>>22117603
>Doesn't read three books at once.
>Reads the book in order.
>Doesn't skip multiple pages at a time.
>Doesn't start in the middle of the book go to the end then the beginning and read what pages you want and in what order you want.
Fuckin loser.

[Anonymous No.22117616]

>>22117603
I recently realized that my inability to focus was not due to a weak or atrophied prefrontal cortex, but merely due my mental state at the time. I mean, it's clearly not that your brain can't produce the chemicals if adderall can make it make them. now all I have to do to focus is to expel false knowledge and reach inner peace. I don't know if you have the same problem. but "forcing yourself" like >>22117608 recommends will not help you if you are like me because it will just cause your brain to panic. you need to be empty-headed, not filled with ambition or ideas about how you need to concentrate your will. like I said, I don't know if you have the same problem as me but most of these other guys's advice probably won't be useful either.

[Anonymous No.22117710]

>>22117603
Read better books.

[Anonymous No.22117713]

It takes mental effort

[Anonymous No.22117869]

>>22117616
>it's clearly not that your brain can't produce the chemicals if adderall can make it make them
wow what a stupid comment

[Anonymous No.22117878]

>>22117869
why is it a stupid comment? anyway the real reason I think the problem isn't some kind of weakness in the brain is my own experiences with suddenly being able to focus, and hyperfocus is a well documented phenomena in people with ADHD. all i'm saying is that the conventional "the brain is a muscle" wisdom is clearly wrong. I don't subscribe to this "mental effort" shit.

[Anonymous No.22117879]

>>22117603
step 1 is reading something you actually want to read. if it's something you like you'll find it hard to put it down.

[Anonymous No.22117886]

>>22117878
The brain isn't a muscle in the first place you biologically illiterate zoomer and it's not because of your oriental mysticism wanking.

[Anonymous No.22117894]

>>22117886
I never said the brain was a muscle you sperg, I said that the conventional wisdom that treats it like one is flawed.

[Anonymous No.22117895]

>>22117603
Don't listen to zen fags or itt, the put away your phone (or airplane + DnD mode) just werks to an extent but you can do other stuff if that fails. I used this for both reading and meditation.
I set a timer and wear earmuffs. I first figure out how long I want to go as end goal, set the timer for that amount. If you pass congrats you're good. If you struggle and fail, check the time. Set it to around that amount next time, if you fail earlier than that next time, it's the headspace, wear earmuffs or play classical music in the bg. If you fail just before or just make that time, great! Now set it to slightly earlier for the next time. Don't finish on exhausted concentration, we want to promote it.
Earmuffs/music put me in a different headspace and the timer is so you don't have to think about how long you've been reading, just read and when the timer's done you've done your daily quota.
I started at 20mins and after slowly increasing in increments of 5-10mins I'm doing an hour and beyond when I want to.

[Anonymous No.22117897]

>>22117603
Try audiobooks.

[Anonymous No.22117905]

>>22117895
Couple typos, I should've written better
TL;DR
>Put your phone away (physically hard to reach space in a different room if needed)
>if you're such an addict you can't even hold out that, set a timer for how long you want to read
>when you finish a session without feeling like you've drained your concentration, increase the duration. If you fail, set it to slightly beyond the amount you did concentrate next time.
Physical restriction of distraction will always work best, that's why there's meditation retreats and such. I got a shit ton of reading in a week at a log cabin.

[Anonymous No.22117928]

>>22117616
>I mean, it's clearly not that your brain can't produce the chemicals if adderall can make it make them.
Your dedication is retarded by the conclusion ultimately true, to the extent that you don't become sone perfectionist only willing to read in perfect inner peace.
Turn off your phone, go for a walk, see if it isn't suddenly easier to read

[Anonymous No.22118030]

>>22117603
I've noticed when I'm reading I begin thinking about other things so I have two streams of thought going. One that is reading the page and the other that is following whatever thought I had. It's a curse because it forces me to realize what's going on and reread a paragraph so I can actually absorb it.

[Anonymous No.22118156]

>>22118030
The trick to getting rid of that is not going back to reread, you keep going and/or go at a faster pace to stress your concentration

[Anonymous No.22118180]

>sit down and read however long you can, measure time
>next time you read repeat, set timer for that amount of time+ 1 minute longer
>repeat until you can read for 30min or whatever your goal is
how are you retarded not to have figured this out yet?

[Anonymous No.22118191]

>>22117878
The idea of mental effort is real, unfortunately it's largely deterministic and some people expend much less effort than others when trying to concentrate

For impaired brains such as yours, it's likely "I have to refocus my attention every 5 seconds". For neurotypical healthy brains, it's more "l have to remember to refocus my attention and stay on task every 15-30 minutes". But yeah, everyone commits this sort of consciousness fallacy believing anyone can accomplish anything simply because they have apparent free will to do so

[Anonymous No.22118195]

>>22117603
just have a boring life and no friends

[Anonymous No.22118290]

Zenfag is partially correct actually.
Intrusive thoughts can be reduced and this will increase attention span as well as alter chemical production in the brain. I know this because I have done this. Anon's naysayers are also partially correct because total inner peace in order to read a book is a little ridiculous, which I think was possibly an exaggeration for humor's sake.

[Anonymous No.22118299]

>>22117603
For me, it's methamphetamine.

[Anonymous No.22118334]

>>22117603
Reading should not be a chore, if it is to you try reading more enjoyable books even manga and comic books at least until you form it into a daily habit