Has it ever happened with you, When you're working on something, especially when you are reading something that needs to be read for topic research, all these cool ideas and “you-can-do-this” ideas pop up!

It mingles with the mind to an extent I keep staring at the screen or the same word for a long time. Here are my few tips, which I eventually started to incorporate when I read an article for research.

Shake It Off

This is inspired from a TED talk and it seems to work. We make decisions and actions based on them. After a point, your brain just knows what you are doing. When you are reading passively, it is highly likely your mind can wander to anything in this world.

In such situations, as soon as you realize you are carried away with your imaginations or thoughts, just make a sudden movement. Like shake your head, or just jump up and down. Anything, any physical movement so as to get you back on the page you are reading.

Take Notes

The ideas that pop up time to time is not always distractions. They are actually great ideas came to mind at the wrong time to us. But the best you can do is to keep it in writing.

I started keeping a notepad on the side. Not necessarily a sticky paper note, google docs mostly. You can make use of your digital assets (just trying to make “phone” sound cool) for this. So that I will have that cool idea on record and out of my mind so that I can concentrate back to my reading. Get that idea written down and enjoy the happiness reward your body gives you after that little task.

Now get back to reading.

Fill Up The Action Plan

Everything organized keep away the clutter. The same goes for the mind. When you are constantly getting these thoughts and ideas, try to make an action plan based on it immediately.

I have found fighting those thoughts and trying to concentrate is very difficult. I started to make an action plan or allot tasks to execute the idea to the google calendar which gave a feeling of “Ok, I did that!”. Then I usually go backs to my reading and finish it peacefully. This way, a few moments taken to note down those mental monsters allows me to focus on what I am reading.

Walk that Read

Sometimes the subjects get too boring to read on. In most such situations, 5 minutes into the pages I want to quit and sleep. We all have such boring topics list I guess. Some things just don’t interest us!

Walking with the book has proven to be an effective way for me to concentrate. There are debates on this way of reading is good or bad for you. But, with the advancement of technology, with audiobooks that can be plugged in, you can just get immersed in your reading even when you are walking.

I normally choose to walk in a small area back and forth with my book or papers.

Read It Out Loud

In some ways, reading out loud has helped me to focus more on what I am reading. It is as if I am trying to take control of my mind when it starts to say “this topic is boringgg!”. Sometimes it is just a part of the book or the chapter that is boring.

Some experiments written in a very scientific way turns off my brain’s attention. Reading that part loud not somehow makes it more digestible. Don’t ask me the science behind it, it just works!

Yes, I said 5 Tips, but here is a bonus tip.

Take a Break

Reading effectively, especially when its something you need to do as a task can be challenging. Our mind has a smaller attention span than the huge amount of information we are trying to get in at once.

Take a short break after a time interval, go out, get some fresh air, or a beer and come back. This can help continue to read more effectively. But, make sure you get back to reading after that interval!

Conclusion…

Creating content, whether it is a blog post, video content, or a talk takes extensive research on a particular topic. Sometimes, reading a whole lot of papers and books on these topics can seem overwhelming. One of the main problems with reading for research is you have to deal with a lot of mental distractions. There are some effective tips that I have incorporated into my reading routing to help me focus more.

Taking note of these really cool mind monsters are one of my effective tips to tackle this problem. What is your biggest problem while reading and how do you deal with it?

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