Mind gone astray..?

Question

I can read words fine but my main problem is understanding what I am reading because every time I sit down to read somthing my mind wanders off and I cannot stay focused until I get to the end of the page and realize I don't know anything I just read!!! So I start all over again and it keeps happening it is so frustrating it can somtimes take me 1/2 hr to an hour to read a single page. I do not seem to have attention problems any other times except when I need to concentrate (reading, and math etc.) Has anyone on here had these problems?

Answer 1

I've run into many people that have this problem. One recently was a college proffessor of mine who said colored overlays helped him overcome this. It's so simple, yet seems to work wonders with people who have trouble with focus. You simply put colored transluscent plastic over what you are reading. You have to try out each color to find the one that's right for you. I put a link to an article about it.

Answer 2

Start your focusing exercises with something you truly want to read about.  Use a highlighter to highlight particular phrases or words that catch your eye - don't worry about why you chose those words, just keep going.

After you are done, re-read the highlighted items and see where you are.   The highlighter draws your mind and eyes to these words/phrases and emphasizes them in your mind.

Read out loud - sometimes this helps your brain hear as well as see what you are reading.   If you are an auditory learner - the hearing of the words will help you.  

This is learning to focus and you just need some practice.   Start with easy material - if you read a Reader's Digest article (8th grade reading level) - then move on to other materials - you should eventually learn to focus.   Do these practice readings for short periods of time and gradually increase the time - your mind will accept it.   Don't give up.  You are on the right track.

Good luck.

Answer 3

me too

Answer 4

highlighters are a good start - they won't break the flow of your reading especially if it is the first reading.

however, personally, i hate marking my books, etc.

so what works for me is jotting down those key words simultaneously in the form of listings, circles, acronyms, or flow charts [just arrows depicting the direction / sequence / cause..] depending on the material i am studying.

this gives you a bird's eye view of the entire concept, breaking down the complex into very simple visuals. it helps understand the linkages between main ideas, and also aids later memorization since you are even using more sense organs.  and if you are satisfied, you can even "finalise"  them on post-its as suggested elsewhere.

Answer 5

are you reading something that actually interests you?

Adhd and focus problems are one way of explaining it

uninteresting poorly put accross information would make my mind wander.

Answer 6

Try and shut out all noises music,,and make sure you are not tired,,thats        a mind strayer,,,then  like what you are doing,,,Good Luck,,

Answer 7

Hi, one of the indicators of ADHD is the lack of ability to sustain focus throughout a task which can lead to difficulty to in retaining information. I am not diagnosing you!

It is hard for anyone to do something that he/she may not want to do.

You can try and so some active reading techniques. Here are some quick tips for retaining information and helping your focus.

You need:

1"x1" post-its

a blue highlighter (any color is fine)

another highlighter of a different color

pen/pencil

So, the idea is to read by the paragraph, not the page.

While you read, ask yourself, what is the main point of the paragraph? If you find it, highlight it.

The other highlighter is used to highlight anything that you don't understand - a concept, a word, etc. That way, when you go back through the chapter, you can see the main ideas and the things you need to look up for more information.

You can use the small post-its to tab off pages or ideas, so that if you remember reading something that was interesting to you, you can look at the tabs instead of going through the whole book.

Make sure you stick the post-it next to the papragraph that contains what you want to revisit. You can write on the post it, something like, "This is a good example of ___ which I can use in my research paper."  Or, "ask about __ in class."

It can be anything really. Anything that will help trigger your memory and prevent you from re-reading!

One pitfall that people struggle with is over-highlighting. Don't so that. Too much highlighting just makes text inaccessible, only in a different color. Try to limit highlights to the main ideas of the paragraph and/or the page.

By asking yourself, "what is the point" it engages you in the reading process because you are looking for information instead of just trying to receive information.

At the end of each chapter, try and write a chapter summary of the main idea(s). If you are reading an article, use the same techniques, and try and write a summary of the article that contain the main points. It will most likely be very short, maybe just a paragraph.

This sounds like a lot of work, but it saves you overall time as well as frustration. This is also a helpful study guide for tests and essays because you have already picked out the main ideas and will now what to study or write about.