Is forcing yourself to read a viable option...

Is forcing yourself to read a viable option? How do you stop yourself from being overwhelmed with a big book or having a lazy mind?

Do I just jump right into a book and force myself into it?

the more time you spend reading and the less you spend playing vidyagames the more easily will you be able to pay attention to something for longer than two minutes

Basically this. I gave up vidya to focus on art and now I've been drawing less and reading more. Aside from that though, I find it helpful to have "cool down" books in between larger more difficult texts. For example I read No Longer Human to unwind and it helped me relax after reading a much longer book. Just pick up a short murakami book or something to ease yourself into it if you find it difficult to focus on longer/more difficult texts at the moment. Reading novels is a great way to get started.

Sometimes feels like I'm the only person on Veeky Forums without ADHD

I literally have ADHD, sadly. But I can control it most of the time.

I recently started reading about six months ago and was exactly the same. Simply put, the more you read, the easier it becomes. Your mind needs to adjust to it. I'm also really ignorant of things outside if common sense and pop culture knowledge. I recently started reading history books and figured if I even gain 20% of what's in that book, it's more than I had before. Point is, don't feel bad reading. Read for pleasure and your mind will fall into place.

>I literally have ADHD

An invention to keep the pharmaceutical companies billionaires my friend

Agreed. I've been reading seriously for about five years now and my reading comprehension and my ability to focus on reading have massively improved.

A lot of people on Veeky Forums seem to have this attitude that you can just drop into a book like Europe Central and enjoy it without having built up some kind of ability over time, or some magic series of sentences about reading will turn you into a great reader. That's just as patently false as somebody expecting to run a twenty five mile marathon from the couch. People will be more or less able, have more or less potential for rapid growth and growth period, but few will be able to do it.

The truth is, unless you were reading a lot during your youth, you're going to need to spend a few years following your interests, getting lost, getting frustrated, and identifying and pushing back on your limits.

This is all a way of saying there's really no answer to your question because it is so grounded in the particulars of you that the answer is to just keep reading.

Buy a book you want to fucking read.

Go to a bookshop and find a book you actually want to read.

How do i make it so i have the energy to read after work?

I read loads as a NEET, but my reading has plummeted since becoming a wageslave

Is forcing yourself to play a video game a viable option? How do you stop yourself from being overwhelmed with a game with complex mechanics or having a lazy mind?

Do I just jump right into a video game and force myself into it?

1. Get enough sleep.
2. When you get home, take a shower and have a cup of coffee.
3. Immediately after sit in a quiet place away from electronics and read until you are tired of reading, then permit yourself your normal leisure activities.

In this case, yes? You just watch a couple YouTube video and some guides and you're playing the game at ease.

But what say you when it comes to reading a book?

>Is forcing yourself to read a viable option?

Yes, this is how I got into reading. I forced myself to read at least 50 pages each day. It was painful at first but it must have altered my brain's chemistry because soon it became the highlight of my day. Now I don't give myself any arbitrary reading goals. Some days I might read 15 pages; other days I might read 100.

Others might tell you to start with 5 pages a day, but I tried that and found it too easy to procrastinate and ultimately quit. I'd tell myself '5 is nothing - I can do it later' and I'd keep putting it off. But with 50 pages I knew I had to start earlier.

"Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny." - proverb attributed to various writers

Time to start sowing.

>Is forcing yourself to read a viable option?
depends.

I couldn't. People I know can't. Forcing yourself to do something you hate will develop a relationship with that thing that is... unhealthy?

If you force a kid to read when he doesn't want to read, he'll hate reading, and avoid it.
If you let a kid gravitate towards reading on his own, he'll seek it out.

Some people can force themselves, but I don't see the point. You won't enjoy it, you won't be able to focus on it, you won't want to keep exploring the topic.

It's like this, take philosophy, for example.

a)read a book you like with themes of philosophy = find a shit philosophy book = want more = find a better philosophy book = want more = etc, etc
or
b)think you should read philosophy = jump into the deep end = get annoyed = drop it = END

That's how I see it. You can do either, but as far as I'm concerned, only one is viable.

>people still buy Electronic Ashkenazim games

Had a question somewhat related to this, don't know if anyone could answer.

I make music (so not exactly lit-related sorry) and I basically go about forcing myself to work (I do enjoy it but obviously some times you have to make an effort when you don't want to). I've been ramping up on it recently and I've realized that it seems like no matter what I do I go through phases of being more and less productive and I'm not sure if it's because things have to be that way naturally (cyclical) or if it's just because I don't know how to fix it/am being too lazy, so to speak. because the circumstances are almost the same its just somehow my motivation or confidence or something fluctuates.

e.g. two months will be really productive two months will still make a lot of effort but less productive then two months really productive again out of nowhere

Cheers

Thank you to everyone that helped, I will take all of your advice in consideration.

i like to read but after an hour or so my brain just starts shutting down

does it ever get better or am i forever a brainlet that can only read in sub one hour sessions

That's natural. It's important to take breaks. Reading while fatigued is pointless.

I became an avid reader like three months ago and I can't stop. I stopped watching tv and I don't spend much time on Veeky Forums anymore.

Here's how I did it.

-Remember the average person reads like zero books a year. If you read 5 pages a day, you are 5 pages above the average person

-Don't force yourself to read. Commit to read 5 pages a day. I swear after three days you'll feel like reading more and after a month or so you should be reading 50-100 pages a day for pleasure

-Read various books at the same time. When I grab a difficult book or one that makes me sleepy I grab another and switch. This should refresh your head. Keep them thematically different. I read economics and fiction.

-It isn't a race. Reading slowly won't make you sleepy that fast. Try to acknowledge what books are for you to read fast and which aren't.

-Buy the physical copies. When you get the books from your own money you'll feel the need to read them to avoid the feel of wasting your money.

-Start with books highly discussed here so you feel motivated to discuss.

It never gets old

there are many different kinds of games to know the instruction of

but for books

you can start where you please
and if you struggle
read a simpler book
you need no further instruction.

That doesn't exist, go excercise, quit caffeine and stimulants and start meditating and get back to me

Whenever I read I lose focus and end up fapping.

i don't browse Veeky Forums that often. i'm assuming that's a copy pasta but i don't understand the underlying ironic nature present in most copy pastas.

I guess I'm retarded because the pasta seems logical and not facetious.