Do you ever find yourself reading the same passage in a book over again because you realized you just read a page or more while your mind was somewhere else? I’ve got to admit, I’m looking for a little comfort here because it sure happens to me and I hope I’m not the only one and that it is not a sign of some type of advancing senility!
I find it happens most when I’m reading material that is intellectually “dense”. That doesn’t mean it is necessarily bad writing, but rather simply writing that is making a careful, extended argument. I read a certain amount of those kinds of books, mostly in theology or philosophy or sometimes academic books in other areas. I suppose a simple solution might be to not read those kinds of books! But I guess I still want to explore some new (and old) frontiers of ideas.
There are a few things that I do find important that help me in that kind of reading:
1. Do it when I am well-rested and awake. If I’m tired and want to read a bit, much better a light mystery.
2. Read this kind of material in a quiet setting. Sometimes I like to read with music in the background. I’m learning I can’t do that with this kind of material, particularly since I’ve begun singing with a choir–I can easily get distracted by a passage of music, and even more if it is choral. Maybe this just signifies that, like Winnie the Pooh, I am “a bear of little brain”!
3. Posture matters. Sitting at a table with a hardback chair works best. Or sometimes standing!
4. Sometimes taking notes helps, although I mostly do this for books I’m discussing with a reading group.
5. Books with long, involved sentences sometimes make more sense if I read them aloud. This can be especially helpful if the writing was originally oral material.
6. It helps, if I can, to “unplug”–the computer, the cell phone–all those electronic intrusions that may seem so urgent but rarely are.
7. It helps me to recognize the point of no return–that point where I’m mentally saturated and what I need is time to reflect on what I’ve read rather than to read more.
There is one element of distraction that none of these measures completely helps with. That is that inner voice. Sometimes it is taking me down a rabbit trail from what I’ve read. Sometimes it is thinking about a task that lies ahead in the day or a conversation I had with someone, particularly if it was difficult. Sometimes it is a totally random thought–where did that come from?
Sometimes those distractions need attention. It may be that there is something more important for me to think about or act upon at that moment than what I am reading. Sometimes, a “note to self” allows me to set it aside. Sometimes a prayer helps if it is a concern that has come to my attention. Sometimes, I need to set that book aside to make a call, send an email, or do something. Sometimes, if it is totally random and unimportant, simply realizing my wandering mind and laughing at my puny mental capacity, and picking up where I left off seems best.
I suspect (or at least hope) I’m not alone. So how do you, my reading friends, deal with distractions?