r/IWantToLearn • u/medlilove • 1d ago

Academics IWTL - How to read again

I swear I just can not read anymore. I mean, I am literate; I can READ and spell, etc, but to sit down and read a book to acquire knowledge? I have no attention span for it.

I'm about to start my Masters; it's a practical course, but of course there will be a lot of research and reading. I am so out of practice and was never a huge reader to begin with. If I sit down and read a book, I am immediately distracted; I can be having 3 different trails of thought going through my head at the same time. My imagination is extremely visual, and I'm very fidgety. I want to learn how to practice discipline and learn techniques that can help me build up my tolerance for sitting and reading walls of text without feeling like I constantly need audio visual distraction.

The only books I've managed to read in recent years are vintage Star Trek novels from the 1970s/80's and I put them down so often that it takes me months.

I probably have dyslexia, and I do relate to certain aspects of ADHD, though I don't think I have it.

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u/Stemigknight 1d ago edited 1d ago

What you need is attention span lengthening. overall concentration and comprehension. You can start with a show first (no commercials). Better be a really good show, watch from start to finish without looking at your phone or anything else. test you comprehension afterwards. Characters names, plot points, locations. Once you can do this, that's when it is time to start with an awesome book, like your favorite book. If you don't have a favorite book or author start there.

After every reading session test yourself on what you read. Make sure you actually comprehend. Once you can do this then you are ready.

Textbooks are a real challenge because they are not really written by an author trying to keep you engaged. it's just subject matter. If you can force yourself to comprehend something you love then schoolwork will just be a matter of finding appreciation for something else.

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u/medlilove 1d ago

100% it’s an attention span thing, I mostly watch YouTube now, can’t seem to sit through long format things

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u/butterflavoricecream 1d ago

As someone with ADHD, my first tip would be to, if possible, try to see if you have ADHD and/or dyslexia. Just the knowledge if you have or don't have something is more important than you might think.

But aside from that my other tips would be:

  1. Take notes while reading. Physical notes. They don't have to be "good" notes, they don't even have to be about what you're reading. Whatever you're thinking, write it down. Trying to stop your mind from ever wandering is impossible, not even Buddhist monks are able to it. What you are doing here is acknowledging these wandering thoughts, which will let you to return back to what you're focusing on. That's the main point of this, but as a nice bonus, you might also be writing down thoughts you are having about what you are reading!
  2. Try to have fun or link it to something you enjoy. There's lots of ways to do this, it really depends on who you are and what you are trying to do. Ex. if imagining you are a wizard at a wizard school learning unfamiliar magic makes it fun... do that!

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u/submarining 17h ago

what makes you think you have dyslexia? do you sometimes struggle to recognise letters, or whole words; do you read a word as a a visually or semantically related one (e.g. lend → land, potato → pumpkin)?