This post is the first in a series that I will keep coming back to on the subject of learning to read well. In the first installment, I’m going to address the problem the Internet poses to efficacious reading. So here we go…
Be intentional about your environment. Don’t have any distractions in the room such as mobiles, computers or any other devices that will scream for your attention.
One of the biggest problems for people who grew up with the Internet is it encourages flitting about looking up bits of data, not reading. Reading requires your focused attention whereas the Internet is a glorified reference machine. The Internet also provides incessant distractions to reading by way of all of the “notices” that pop-up and our brains have been trained to respond to them immediately or we are distracted until we do.
What happens is you get several paragraphs into your book and then something you read (or otherwise) flits through your mind and off you go to Google or social media. Instead of reading and truly exercising your mind with the learning process, you go to chasing digital butterflies.
Many people will find their reading stamina to instantly double when they read while “logged out” from the Internet.
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