Reading out loud to combat distraction
Reading out loud is my favorite anti-distraction tool.
I love to read. My favorites are long novels and the classics. A lot of these are dense or difficult reads. They require some serious focus and effort. Even I, an enthusiastic fan of books, get swept away by doomscrolling and other easier forms of entertainment at times when faced with a challenge.
Reading out loud is my remedy. It may sound silly, but I assure you, it's not just advice for young children learning to read for the first time! Reading out loud engages multi-channel processing (audio and visual) and keeps you actively engaged at the pace of your own speaking voice.
It's the perfect tool for getting into a reading session. At times, I know I want to read, but I feel too scattered to sit down and start. The act of engaging the book in multiple ways really helps me settle in and adjust to the act of reading. I'll just trail off after a couple pages and read silently from there.
A side benefit: I've found, especially with the classics and great works of literature, the words really come to life when they are read aloud. Many of these works were meant to be read to others.. I just finished The Odyssey (Fagles translation) and read a large portion of that epic poem out loud. It was a terrific experience that I'd recommend to anyone.
Last updated: 13 hours, 31 minutes ago