Lesson: Hello and welcome to ‘The Focused Reader,’ the 30-day challenge to improving your attention while in a book. I’m here to guide you towards a goal: reading for 60 minutes straight each day. Let’s start by setting aside the Pomodoro Technique. This method involves reading for 20 minutes, and then taking a 5-minute break.Continue reading Day 1 – Forget the Pomodoro
Day 1 – Forget the Pomodoro
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My mind often wanders, and I also have a bad habit of binge-watching TV shows. I want to spend more time reading than watching TV.
I already read for more than an hour a day but I take frequent breaks. I read a few pages and take a break and then go back. I try to reflect and recall what I read during the break but I lack the stamina to read without interruption. For this challenge I will read The third Chimpanzee by Jarod Diamond and some short stories and poems from the 1914 edition of the collier Junior Classics.
My distractions mostly come for “thinks that I need to do.”
My three books: Stone by Fire, JP Penn for the adventure; The Rewire Retirement Method, Cyn Meyer for my the next chapter in my life; and A Quiet Will – The Life of Clara Barton by William E. Barton because I like historical biographies.
My mind tends to wander, especially after I’ve read a book for, say, 20 minutes and beyond. I’m also prone to check the internet and my phone, although I have apps on my computer that restrict my web searching for specific amounts of time. And, last but not least, my mind sometimes drifts to “other things I should be doing instead.”
My three books are “On the Nature of Things” by Lucretius, “The World’s Religions” by Huston Smith, and “Collected Poems” by T.S. Eliot.
Noise and distracting thoughts
The Covenant of Water, Rilke’s Book of Hours and The Everything War
I do pretty well paying attention when reading novels and lighter things. I have problems when reading history or philosophy. I think I get sort of fatigued and overwhelmed and my brain wanders. I am going to be reading history for my three books: Middlekauff “The Glorious Cause”, Sallust “The Jugurthine War” and Ambrose “Nothing Like it in the World.”
Wasting time on TV and nonsense. Need to physically remove myself from these distractions. I am happy when I am done reading and discontent and disappointed when I waste an evening watching TV.
The Demon of Unrest.
Great Expectations.
The Most Important Thing
I got out of the habit of reading for long periods of time when I was raising my high energy child. I want to get back to concentrating and interacting more deeply with what I read. My three books are:
Brooklyn by Colm Toíbín
Poet Warrior by Joy Hart
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
I tend to interrupt my reading time with thinking I need to do something RIGHT NOW and leaping up to take care of it. My thoughts wander to planning or worrying.
I am an avid reader but looking to learn some new. I usually read history but will like to challenge my mind
3 books I will read are:
Chaos: science of unpredictable by James Gleick
How the Irish saved civilization by Thomas Cahill
Niccolo’s smile: a bio of Macchiavelli by Maurizio Viroli
I can read for long periods of time but need to concentrate more deeply and retain what I read better. My books are A History of Crete, the Iliad, and The Song of Achilles.
Once I sit down to read, I am fine. My problem is coming back to the book. I really like the book but coming back to it and just being able to sit down and read it is my problem. My day is busy and stressed and I just dont go back. Two or three days will pass before I sit down with the book and these are books I am engaged with. I think about the storyline and where the book could possibly go. I just dont return the next day. Do I go on the internet, yes. Do I spend my time looking at stupid stuff, yes. This is my issue.
I have the usual distractions- tv, iPad, Facebook, wife, grandkids. In addition I have some medical issues which have affected my vision and has made reading more difficult.
The first two books are ones I have been working on for a while. “What’s gotten into you” by Dan Levitt on a Kindle. “Be useful seven rules for life” by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The last is “ The laws of human nature” by Robert Greene which has been lounging in my book shelf for several years.
1. I read slowly. I am easily distracted by activity around me. Mind tends to wander. Desultory reader … frequently jump from one book to another chasing a rabbit trail I happened to think of! TV … a great love and stumbling block! It is too easy to access and too easy to thoughtlessly watch!
2. ONE: A Philosopher Looks at Science by Nancy Cartwright. Part of a longtime interest of mind; the history and philosophy of science. TWO: Why Darwin Matters by Michael Shermer. Another title in my ongoing interest in history of science. THREE: Yours, Isaac Asimov: A Lifetime of Letters. A hero and brilliant communicator of science and science fiction.
3. I am quite adept at timing various functions with the timers on my Apple Watch. I’ll use those for the time being.
4. I have read for more than 10 minutes today.
My biggest struggle is internal noise & wondering thoughts. When I read I get tired, even if it’s a topic I am interested in. First book is Nonfiction Warrior Goddess, Measures of Success and Fiction Stone Maidens.
Hello,
My challenges I start books read about 50 pages or so and then I get tired of it.
I put obstacles in my way, the phone, my mind wondering
My best reading experience is when I have all the Time in the world, and I sit in a comfy place, and I focus on my reading, which is very difficult for me to do so I’m looking forward to this challenge to maybe reset myself
My biggest challenges are external noise (dog barking, family), being distracted by my phone, having enough time in the day with a busy job, or thinking about if the current book is the best use of my limited time.
1. My biggest challenges are that mind wanders and getting comfortable.
2. My 3 Books are Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday, Mediations by Marcus Aurelius (Gregory Hays Translation), and The History of Ancient World by Susan Wise Baue.
I do read extensively and enjoy a variety of genre. I have a long TO DO list (self imposed) that I let distract me! I read non-fiction with a pencil to underline and make comments in the margins. I read fiction at a fast clip. I belong to two book clubs, so often those reading choices are not something I would pick. I do enjoy most of them anyway!
1. Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose as I just got back from Wyoming.
2. By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult this month’s book club selection.
3. Bag Man by Rachel Maddow as I just watched the American Experience episode about Vice Presidents.
I never was a reader growing up and I’m trying to be a reader as an adult. I have no idea what I like to read. Right now, I’m reading the Chronicles of Narnia series because I never read it as a kid. I’ve recently gone back to college, so I’m hoping if I become a reader in my free time it will make learning as an adult easier. Social media scrolling is a huge time killer for me.
I’m a full-time caregiver, and the biggest disruption to my reading is the continual listening I’m still engaging in during downtime. I need to be in a position to respond immediately. Because of that, reading with a notebook and pen is almost essential, to make backtracking easier. My three books: 1) ANGLE OF REPOSE by Wallace Stegner (I’ve been trying for months to make significant headway); 2) CRANFORD by Elizabeth Gaskell (perhaps this time I will appreciate her perspective embedded in the language); 3) THE BLUEST EYE by Toni Morrison (because I always make it a point to read what enclaves try to wrest from me).
My biggest barriers are like most… distracted by the phone, social media, texts, etc. and of course work. I admire those that are well read, so here I am, ready to embark on a great journey. I mostly enjoy non-fiction and books about personal growth, but want to read more fiction (especially some of the classics)
My books are 1) Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson – need to learn more about the history of our country to understand why we are where we are 2) Atomic Habits by James Clear – most of my habits are bad, need some guidance and 3) One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey – good classic to start with I think.
I get sleepy. Or think of other things I need to be doing. Here’s my 3 books:
1. Scarcity Brain by Michael Easter – a topic I’m interested in.
2. HomePlaces, edited by Mary Ellis Gibson. A collection of short stories of the South By Women Writers. I read the first story a long time ago and enjoyed it.
3. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. My daughter told me this is a beautiful book.
I have always struggled with reading since the 2nd grade. I’m 61 and as I recall, I wasn’t read to as a child very much. I was diagnosed with difficulty in reading comprehension then and was placed 2-3 levels below my peers. I was placed in remedial reading class then but it was short lived as we moved every 2 years being in a military family and the reading support ceased after 2nd grade. I also have some attention deficit and my ability to concentrate and stay focused is very little. I also am not sedentary and am always tasking at home when I’m not working. My work is very physical. It seems my memory and recall ability is below average compared to others that are great storytellers. I cannot ever remember the details to tell a story or experience and whenever I explain something, it is always very simple without many details. I think this is partly because of my inability to focus, visualize, and retain information and I also had a few concussions as a child.
My 3-4 books are:
1. Tough Women-Adventure Stories-Edited by Jenny Tough
2. Horse- Geraldine Brooks
3. This House of Sky- Ivan Doig
4. The Women- Kristin Hannah
My biggest challenges are wandering thoughts and distractions. My 3 books are:
1. Rediscovering Holiness
– J.I. Packer
2. An Immense World
– Ed Yong
3. The Water Dancer
– Ta-nehisi Coates
My biggest challenge is my old wandering brain and lock of focus, jumping from one thing to another.
The books chosen are
“Hinds feet in high places”
“The hare with amber eyes”
“The garden within”
The biggest challenge I usually face is just starting to read. I fall into the trap of thinking “Oh I only have 20 minutes, what is the point”, and instead spend that time on social media. When I actually sit down and read It breezes through and I feel great! What I want most is to become a consistent reader. For this challenge I’ll read The Three Musketeers, Wuthering Heights, and The Penguin History of the World
My biggest challenge is not being able to focus, getting distracted.
My three books are:
1) Rewitched – a cozy, easy to read fantasy
2) Four Thousand Weeks – non-fiction
3) The Makioka Sisters – Upcoming February book club read