5 ms·
So I come from where you come from. However, I have mostly (60-80%?) retained my ability to focus on reading without distraction. But there has been something
by Fannon 5y ago
So I come from where you come from.
However, I have mostly (60-80%?) retained my ability to focus on reading without distraction. But there has been something lost and sometimes it feels like an uphill battle to retain your ability to concentrate on one thing at a time. Would be curious what makes a difference here?
I did some conscious choices, not sure how they contribute but I have the impression that each of them helps a bit:
* Not using social media and treating messengers more like email. A real-time conversation may happen, but does not need to.
* I (mostly) avoid browsing news sites where there is endless scrolling / content. I try to mostly read and almost never comment (as this makes me curious on what the reactions on it are)
* I bought a Kindle to read without distractions. It's in airplane mode most of the time, too.
* I separate my work and private equipment
* Only play games casually and sometimes not at all for longer periods of time. I mention this, as games usually have "optimized" on (rather quick) reward feedback and I can imagine that this is very similar as social media in some sense.
- camillomiller 5y agoVery relatable list. Kindle also really ignited my love for reading again this year. I think it tricks my brain a bit into thinking “oh, it’s an electronic device anyway” :D Another thing that helped, was a bit of a challenge with my partner, reading books in bed together, and having reading dates, when we would just snug on the sofa reading each other their own book.
- brewdad 5y agoI really like the idea of a reading date but I also know that neither of us want to read or hear every detail of what the other is reading. Our book interests are quite divergent, although we do enjoy sharing an interesting passage or description of what we are reading every now and again.
- camillomiller 5y agoLet me clarify: we just snug together reading our respective books in silence with a cup of coffee :)
- jwdunne 5y agoMe and my partner have fallen into this pattern too, down to sharing interesting passages from whatever ebook we’re reading. I’ve read more books in the past month than I have the entire year!
- roeles 5y agoLove the reading dates, thanks for mentioning that!
- toper-centage 5y agoIt's funny you place games in the "bad" side of things, this hich need to be reduced. I group gaming with reading because the kind of games I play require a level of focus and engagement, and my brain rather spend hours scroll HN and Reddit. It really is an uphill battle.
- aw9f70gae 5y agoWhat kind of games? I’d like to stop playing addictive games and start playing games that are better for my mind.
- anthk 5y agoText adventures are perfect for that. Get Winfrotz for Windows or Lectrote under Linux/OSX and download Anchorhead, Spider and Web, Make It Good, Vicious Cycles, All Things Devour, Enemies and Slouch Over Bedlam from IFDB, they should be in Z5 or Z8 format. "Heroines" and "Enemies" are good, too.
- osense 5y agoI would recommend The Long Dark and Sable. Heavily focused on exploration and immersion. But really any game with an open world that doesn't hold your hand too much and lets you make your own choices.
- quake 5y agoI picked up Sable on a lark (also because I saw the Moebius-inspired art style and immediately fell in love). It's a fine game that you can tell was a labour of love by only a handful of people, for better and for worse. It hit that same vein of open-ended exploration that Breath of The Wild has and the same feeling of constant discovery the latter game has in its early hours. I do wish that Sable was less utopic, with dangers in the wild dunes from creatures or weather hazards, but that wouldn't work with the art style and doesn't make sense with the narrative. It's a great game, even if you can get around the often-janky flight model of the hoverbikes and bugs like occasional clipping into the environment.
- 5y ago