I think a lot of us want to be able to read longer material, but our attention spans are fried for various reasons. For me, it was the fatal combo of doing a reading-intensive degree that ate away at my time + social media brainrot + a high level of anxiety that makes me feel generally restless and unfocused. I used to be a huge reader, so I've tried jumping right back into reading long novels multiple times. This hasn't seemed to work in any lasting way. I've had more luck recently with starting small.
Even if you set your goal as: "I want to read something longer than tweets or social media posts," it's progress! Zines, articles, Substack posts, anything just a little bit longer that your brain can latch deeper into will help rebuild your attention. Short story collections and novellas have also been helpful for me, especially if you pick a topic or genre that you're really interested in.
I'm still on some forms of social media, so I haven't gone cold-turkey. But I do feel like incorporating longer-form material again, even mixed in with scrolling, has helped my brain so much already. It's refreshing to hand-select what I want to read and give my attention to, instead of letting an algorithm serve me topics. I didn't realize how much depth I was missing in exchange for the breadth of the internet!
Jan 19, 2025
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if you're like me and got away from reading for a few years but are trying to get back into it, here are some things that have helped me in the last 6 ish months:
1) deleting some social media accounts / spending less time on them
2) replace my doom scrolling with reading either on my phone or with an e-reader (the more basic the better imo) (my kobo is on its way to me as we speak)
3) starting with shorter things like novellas and working my way back up to longer things (also if I feel overwhelmed by my lack of progress on something longer I read a short story)
4) remembering that reading is a skill and it will take time to get really good at it again like when I was younger and that's okay !
happy reading everyone!
Jan 13, 2025
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As someone who just got back into reading in the last couple of years, I totally understand the frustration of having free time, a shelf full of good books and yet somehow youโre never finishing them or even picking those sweeties up! Here are some tips that helped me be a better reader:
1. Get a Goodreads account and add your friends! While the app itself is pretty clunky, i still love it for getting back into reading because it lets you set goals for yourself, find new reads and more importantly see what your friends are reading (This last one helps me stay accountable, I donโt want my book nerd friends to catch me slacking). I also love being able to write reviews of the books Iโve read.
2. Instead of watching tv or scrolling before bed, read for at least 15 minutes every night. Iโve found this goal to be helpful because itโs attainable, plus reading before bed helps me unplug and sleep better.
3. Start small with shorter or simpler books before building your way back up to longer ones. This was crucial for me coming off of a heavy scrolling/tik tok era when my attention span was especially shot.
5d ago
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when I was getting back into reading more regularly, I started with novellas and short stories because it felt less overwhelming. even now, if I get out of the groove of reading, I find something short that will motivate me and get me back into reading my main book
another thing Ive done is invested in an e-reader because an issue I had was keeping focus because of a screen time issue and I was able to satisfy that part of my brain itching for my phone but making it more productive lol. not sure if that's something you're experiencing but it was my biggest issue I had to work around at first
the last thing that helps me is setting up the right vibe to read. in the last few months, Ive been reading a lot of Russian literature so I put on my playlist of older russian and soviet music, maybe light a candle, whatever Im feeling, and just let myself get into it. obviously not a necessity but I always like some quiet music in the background while I read
also seeing this ask made me remember I need to read before bed tonight so thanks for that lmao
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This is the only thing that keeps me sane at work. It's so slow right now. If anyone is wondering why I've posted like 9 times today.
Mar 9, 2025
I love doing collages, cuz all you really need are magazine cutouts and glue. There's a very low barrier to entry, skill-wise AND supply-wise, unlike painting. Digital collages are fun too, but I try to have less screentime by doing the paper ones. If I want to re-use pieces instead of gluing them down permanently, sometimes I'll just take a picture of the current arrangement to immortalize it, and then start over on a new composition. That way, I don't have to constantly buy new magazines to get new cutouts. This is one of my favorite ones I've done so far:
Aug 22, 2024
if you have a job that lets u read in ur downtime, they're a great portable option that doesn't require you to invest full focus like you would if you cracked a novel open on the clock! plus they are cheap & open you up to all sorts of niche content you wouldn't encounter otherwise :)
Mar 12, 2024