3 ms·

I think it really boils down to what works best for you. If you have really bad dyslexia, picking a different font might help when it comes to line tracking. ht

by gen3 5y ago

I think it really boils down to what works best for you. If you have really bad dyslexia, picking a different font might help when it comes to line tracking. http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/sites/default/files/good_fonts_for_dyslexia_study.pdf http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/sites/default/files/good_fonts... One of the hardest things about getting back into reading for me was maintaining my attention. Instant gratification and small dopamine hits from years of youtube and Reddit had burnt my attention span. My solution was to minimize distractions, build a habit, and read something I found interesting. For me, I was recommended the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. I had a slow start. I found book 1 interesting, but felt like I had to force myself to continue for the first ~100 or so pages. It eventually got easier, and I built a ritual. Listening to music works for me. I now have time set aside before I go to bed, where I use an old iPod and have a cup of tea while reading (with my phone out of reach). This summer I was able to get through “Words of Radiance”, a book from another one of his series, in a week (1000pgs). This took me about 3 years, but I would say it is worth it. The level of satisfaction from finishing a longer story is so much more then the little dopamine hits of a 10 minute YouTube video. I know the recommendation of “you just have to do it” isn’t that helpful, but it’s the only thing that has really worked for me. The best advice I can give you, is to find the right book for you. I find nonfiction boring, so I avoid it. Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson is a collection of short stories that might be a good intro if you like fiction.

L0in 5y ago
I would characterize my dyslexia as mild, if we see it through a spectrum, from mild to severe. I understand exactly what you are describing on the attention issues. I'm from the generation that grew up with Social media, primarily Facebook and reddit. For instance, i use facebook on and off since the end of primary school. That's a long time and a lot of brain damage. Over the last two years i got very tired of the modern internet and i decided to use it as a some kind of library with social functions. I struggle to dump facebook over the last two years and i tried various ways. Currently i installed a extension (stayfocusd with the nuclear option enabled) which blocks the access to websites from a defined list. It's the only extension that i haven't find a way to bypass it (yet). The only useful feature of facebook for me is the event tab, and that because everyone uses it. If it haven't been for it i would deleted the account years ago. I'm slowing starting to realize how much time i wasted not reading and learning and instead using addicted some SM website. I've been left feeling horrified and wondering how different would my life had been if i was occupied with different stuff during my teenager years. Studying programming or reading literature and let it influence me. But that's a totally different discussion.
- gen3 5y ago
  You are not alone with then attention issues, all my friends and myself have been or are currently in the same situation. It's easy to get lost and scroll for hours. Longer form content feels like too much of a commitment, but you waste the same amount of time anyways. I would tell myself I cannot waste time on a (probably good) movie, but then watch YouTube for three hours. The time commitment is low, and I was still able to receive enough satisfaction to keep me there, but would leave feeling like my time was wasted. Waning off was hard. For Reddit/FB/Insta I found the best method was to uninstalling the app and logout online. On iphone you can set time limits of usage, which really helped me. I think I set each to 10 minutes per day. When I decide to watch a movie, I make that the only thing I am doing. No phone. If it becomes boring, I'm willing to watch something else. Its been easy for me to regress and watch way too much Youtube. I'll occasionally be struck with the thought of "I don't care about this, why am I watching this?". Removing recommendations and comments has helped me (there are extensions, or the select tool in ublock). Building the skill and self control to walk away has been hard, but is what I would consider the goal. I've spent months not going on youtube, but will come back and spend hours > I've been left feeling horrified and wondering how different would my life had been if i was occupied with different stuff during my teenager years I think it is great to be self aware of things like this, but try not too get too caught up in the "what if" type train of thought. Its good and healthy to reflect and see how you can do better, but can also be a dangerous way to fall into a rut of self pity. If you want to chat more over email/signal/matrix, I would be more than happy too. It looks like you are slightly younger then me. I just graduated college.
  - L0in 5y ago
    > If you want to chat more over email/signal/matrix, I would be more than happy too. It looks like you are slightly younger then me. I just graduated college. Sure! I would liked to.
    - gen3 5y ago
      Shoot me an email hello {at) wesring d0t com

by gen3 5y ago

L0in 5y ago

I would characterize my dyslexia as mild, if we see it through a spectrum, from mild to severe. I understand exactly what you are describing on the attention issues. I'm from the generation that grew up with Social media, primarily Facebook and reddit. For instance, i use facebook on and off since the end of primary school. That's a long time and a lot of brain damage. Over the last two years i got very tired of the modern internet and i decided to use it as a some kind of library with social functions. I struggle to dump facebook over the last two years and i tried various ways. Currently i installed a extension (stayfocusd with the nuclear option enabled) which blocks the access to websites from a defined list. It's the only extension that i haven't find a way to bypass it (yet). The only useful feature of facebook for me is the event tab, and that because everyone uses it. If it haven't been for it i would deleted the account years ago. I'm slowing starting to realize how much time i wasted not reading and learning and instead using addicted some SM website. I've been left feeling horrified and wondering how different would my life had been if i was occupied with different stuff during my teenager years. Studying programming or reading literature and let it influence me. But that's a totally different discussion.

gen3 5y ago
You are not alone with then attention issues, all my friends and myself have been or are currently in the same situation. It's easy to get lost and scroll for hours. Longer form content feels like too much of a commitment, but you waste the same amount of time anyways. I would tell myself I cannot waste time on a (probably good) movie, but then watch YouTube for three hours. The time commitment is low, and I was still able to receive enough satisfaction to keep me there, but would leave feeling like my time was wasted. Waning off was hard. For Reddit/FB/Insta I found the best method was to uninstalling the app and logout online. On iphone you can set time limits of usage, which really helped me. I think I set each to 10 minutes per day. When I decide to watch a movie, I make that the only thing I am doing. No phone. If it becomes boring, I'm willing to watch something else. Its been easy for me to regress and watch way too much Youtube. I'll occasionally be struck with the thought of "I don't care about this, why am I watching this?". Removing recommendations and comments has helped me (there are extensions, or the select tool in ublock). Building the skill and self control to walk away has been hard, but is what I would consider the goal. I've spent months not going on youtube, but will come back and spend hours > I've been left feeling horrified and wondering how different would my life had been if i was occupied with different stuff during my teenager years I think it is great to be self aware of things like this, but try not too get too caught up in the "what if" type train of thought. Its good and healthy to reflect and see how you can do better, but can also be a dangerous way to fall into a rut of self pity. If you want to chat more over email/signal/matrix, I would be more than happy too. It looks like you are slightly younger then me. I just graduated college.
- L0in 5y ago
  > If you want to chat more over email/signal/matrix, I would be more than happy too. It looks like you are slightly younger then me. I just graduated college. Sure! I would liked to.
  - gen3 5y ago
    Shoot me an email hello {at) wesring d0t com