How do I read regularly again? -

[5ever a crab]

I need advice; lately I've been getting too ADD and preferring to play video games while I have a youtube video as background noise.

I used to enjoy reading, especially in grade school where I read a bunch of books for fun. But now I can't read a few pages without wanting to kill myself out of boredom. I started playing more video games after getting diagnosed for depression (because shit happens). Luckily I'm recovering and volunteering regularly at some animal shelter, going outside more and stuff.

But I don't know how to get rid of this habit. I've tried "just doing it" but after a day I'm back playing vidya.
I want to read again mainly because its fun, and educational books can help me on bettering my job or being a smurt boi

kiwi farms pls help

 

[Justtocheck]

Holy fuck, what's up with all these people suddenly wanting to read. They go on and on about wanting to stop procrastinating and wasting time in games and youtube, but deep down they want to do all of it. They are worse than the fucking AA people who drone for hours about how nice it is to be sober when you just can tell they all just wanna get shitfaced.

To answer you question, if you feel like reading, read. Find something you like. If you don't feel like reading, don't torture yourself. It's not a big fucking deal.

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

Depends actually what want you read.
You wanna read stories? Start re-imaging. Read a paragraph of some fantasy book and use your knowledge or memories to interpret what you read.
More than that, it's up to you, like @Justtocheck wrote, it's not a big deal.

 

[The Fool]

You're basically just asking us to give you willpower. You need to do that, nobody but you can do that. Just cut out half an hour a day to read or something, you can probably use the distance from technology anyway.

 

[Baby Sister]

Real answer: read right before bed. Find a book that sounds interesting and literally hold on to it while you are lying in bed. Usually, the temptation is enough to get you to read.
It really helped me get into reading for pleasure without having to put aside my “precious ADD time” during the day.

 

[Justtocheck]

You're basically just asking us to give you willpower. You need to do that, nobody but you can do that. Just cut out half an hour a day to read or something, you can probably use the distance from technology anyway.

The fool, I must slightly disagree on the wording, sorry for being a little pedant. It's just that this particularly annoying for me.

It's not that OP doesn't have "willpower". Because he has the willpower to play games. You don't need it for that. To do what you enjoy you don't need to force yourself. The problem with him is that he doesn't WANT to read. He wants to do something else. But he FEELS HE SHOULD be reading. Probably one of those youtube pricks that talks about reading as books as if it was that big of a deal. Fucking self important assholes. So the real question that I would like OP to ask himself is why force himself to do something he doesn't want to do?

I'd wager that it is because of ego mostly and not because of a genuine desire. (because otherwise, just like vidya, you'd just be doing it). So find things you desire in books, or don't be harsh on yourself. It's not worth it to feel bad because one is not an active reader.

 

[The Fool]

Real answer: read right before bed. Find a book that sounds interesting and literally hold on to it while you are lying in bed. Usually, the temptation is enough to get you to read.
It really helped me get into reading for pleasure without having to put aside my “precious ADD time” during the day.

I never thought about this but it's a great idea. To expand on this, you should stop looking at a screen for an hour before bed anyway. I'm sure you've heard of it by now, but looking at a screen before bed kind of fucks with your circadian rhythm, I'm sure it's not healthy for your psyche.

The fool, I must slightly disagree on the wording, sorry for being a little pedant. It's just that this particularly annoying for me.

It's not that OP doesn't have "willpower". Because he has the willpower to play games. You don't need it for that. To do what you enjoy you don't need to force yourself. The problem with him is that he doesn't WANT to read. He wants to do something else. But he FEELS HE SHOULD be reading. Probably one of those youtube pricks that talks about reading as books as if it was that big of a deal. Fucking self important assholes. So the real question that I would like OP to ask himself is why force himself to do something he doesn't want to do?

I'd wager that it is because of ego mostly and not because of a genuine desire. (because otherwise, just like vidya, you'd just be doing it). So find things you desire in books, or don't be harsh on yourself. It's not worth it to feel bad because one is not an active reader.

To be fair, they did say they used to read a lot. I took that as trying to get back into a nostalgic habit, not trying to be a pseudo-intellectual.
There's willpower, and then there's just succumbing to our base desires to shut our brains off in front of some blinking lights, which is pretty depressing. We all need to feel like we've accomplished something, no matter how meager.

 

[Pickle Inspector]

Maybe try starting off with some short stories?

 

[5ever a crab]

It's not that OP doesn't have "willpower". Because he has the willpower to play games. You don't need it for that. To do what you enjoy you don't need to force yourself. The problem with him is that he doesn't WANT to read. He wants to do something else. But he FEELS HE SHOULD be reading. Probably one of those youtube pricks that talks about reading as books as if it was that big of a deal. Fucking self important assholes. So the real question that I would like OP to ask himself is why force himself to do something he doesn't want to do?

I understand what you're saying; its like the "I wanna die" quote millennials say on a daily basis, but they actually don't want to die because they're still alive, eating their food and shitting it out the toliets.
I had this thought too, but there was a time where I read regularly, so I thought that there's a way I can do it somehow. Pacing my thoughts as I'm going along.

 

[Hamsteroid]

Years ago a teacher gave us the following advice: Put a book next to the toilet and every time you take a shit, read a little. Sometimes this is enough to get you going again.

 

[The Fool]

Years ago a teacher gave us the following advice: Put a book next to the toilet and every time you take a shit, read a little. Sometimes this is enough to get you going again.

This is actually how I get through some especially thick technical manuals. It's pretty great. Reminds me I gotta get a hard copy of the Intel manual.

 

[Justtocheck]

I understand what you're saying; its like the "I wanna die" quote millennials say on a daily basis, but they actually don't want to die because they're still alive, eating their food and shitting it out the toliets.
I had this thought too, but there was a time where I read regularly, so I thought that there's a way I can do it somehow. Pacing my thoughts as I'm going along.

Find honest desire. All the small little bullshit tricks won't help for shit if you don't desire to read. That energy inside when you are excited to do something. That's what you need to find. Perhaps you won't find it in reading though... look inside and see what is it that you desire to do.

 

[Fromtheblackdepths]

What are your interests? Genres,lengths,and the like? Do you like novels or novellas? Do you like light horror;deep and philosophical horror? Adventure,fantasy,sci-fi? I'm using web novels as my boredom destroyers.

 

[Skin and Bones]

Get comfy. Get under some blankets or in front of a heater and only have your book within reach. That way if you want to get up and go on the computer, you're tearing yourself away from that comfort.

 

[гape]

videos games have words in them, that counts as reading

 

[Rusty Crab]

I know this all sounds stupid, but lockdown has absolutely made me more ADD-prone. After several months, my concentration went to compete shit. I worked from home before and during, so it's not like I was just letting my brain rot. It was just the severe disruption in my lifestyle in every other aspect.

I'm not officially giving advice, but here's what worked for me:

• Stop going on Youtube. Period. ESPECIALLY stop using it as background noise.
• Go find some real shows you want to watch, with a consistent plot that you have to pay attention to. Either a streaming service, or do what I do and obtain "review copies".
• Dedicate time during the day to watching those shows as dedicated relaxation time. I watch them while exercising so I'm not just sitting there.
• Games are fine as relaxation time, as long as it's a single thing you're focused on.

The point is: get used to doing one thing at a time. Multitasking and randomly hopping from one topic to the next in a matter of seconds is bad for your brain. See if picking up reading is easier after that.

EDIT: I seem to have forgotten the most important bulletpoint: get out of your home. Try going to a coffee shop (if one is open near you) or a park and take a book with you. You might be amazed how fast your concentration suddenly comes back.

 

[Just A Butt]

I like to read while I poop.

 

[Woke Blue Muttlema]

Real answer: read right before bed. Find a book that sounds interesting and literally hold on to it while you are lying in bed. Usually, the temptation is enough to get you to read.
It really helped me get into reading for pleasure without having to put aside my “precious ADD time” during the day.

This is a great approach. More often than not you only realize you could have done so much more before bed so the key is to just do it.
This can apply to (almost) everything really and can help you build habits you can translate into your routine while helping you to release tension before bed. You can only really gain perspective on how you use your time when you have to work on a micro schedule. The pillow is just a microcosmos of your daily life, so spice it up even if is just a bit.

 

[Megaroad 2012]

Just read, god damnit.

 

[Jewthulhu]

A good stepping stone I found to reading more often is to just bring a book around with you and read wherever you can. It's obviously easier with a smaller book or if you carry a backpack, but I've been reading more than I have just by reading in between classes, on break, or in a waiting room. I also found taking notes is great for remaining concentrated when reading something a little more dry.

The fool, I must slightly disagree on the wording, sorry for being a little pedant. It's just that this particularly annoying for me.

It's not that OP doesn't have "willpower". Because he has the willpower to play games. You don't need it for that. To do what you enjoy you don't need to force yourself. The problem with him is that he doesn't WANT to read. He wants to do something else. But he FEELS HE SHOULD be reading. Probably one of those youtube pricks that talks about reading as books as if it was that big of a deal. Fucking self important assholes. So the real question that I would like OP to ask himself is why force himself to do something he doesn't want to do?

I'd wager that it is because of ego mostly and not because of a genuine desire. (because otherwise, just like vidya, you'd just be doing it). So find things you desire in books, or don't be harsh on yourself. It's not worth it to feel bad because one is not an active reader.

Giving the OP the benefit of the doubt here, though I'm probably reading too much of myself into his post. But from my experience, I find I default to gaming but I'm usually bored out of my skull while playing something and need some sort of podcast on in the background. The problem with reading is not that I don't like it, it's that it's hard to actually start. I'm not bored when I do read, though I do occasionally find it hard to focused, often re-reading the same sentence multiple times before I can concentrate again.