How To Read With Focus

I received a question in response to this post:

I often find my mind will wander as I’m reading, especially if it’s a particularly hard subject and then I’m having to re-read whole sections. Any advice on how to focus?

Thank you for the feedback.

There are two ways to answer questions. One is with general principles. And the other is with specific methods.

The main principle is to read actively.

There was a study on the difference between good firefighters and great firefighters. Unfortunately, I can’t find where I learned it, so let me know if you know where the study came from.

Great firefighters would envision the inside of the burning house. Even before they arrived on the scene. They would imagine stepping through the front door. They would imagine where the fire was. They would imagine where the people were, whether there were stairs or not, how many rooms, etc.

Good firefighters wouldn't envision anything. They would just enter the house and take things as they came.

Neither firefighter had any clue what the house actually looked like beforehand. And it turns out it didn’t matter.

The firefighter who didn't envision would respond passively to his surroundings. And it made him slower.

The great firefighter was more effective and performed faster. Because even if he had envisioned everything wrong, he would actively engaged with his surroundings. And it enabled him to sharpen his focus.

Reading is the same way.

Try imagining what the book is about before you open it. The title gives you a clue. Plus there is stuff written on the back and front that gives you a pretty good idea of what the author wants you to know.

Can you summarize the book in a sentence or two without opening it?

Imagine what the author is going to argue. It doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong. By anticipating the author’s thesis, you will put yourself in a state of active reading.

Reading should feel like a treasure hunt. You study a map. Then you plan where you want to dig…always anticipating the possibility of treasure. It’s active discovery.

Reading shouldn’t feel like trying to listening to a lecturer with a deep, soothing voice at 2 o’clock in the afternoon after a big lunch. That’s passively nodding off while hoping some of the words stick to your brain.

Active reading is the main principle. And here are some of my methods. I never read as if I’m reading for a test. Because that’s boring to me. I read for fun and with interest.

I always try to summarize the book before I open it.

Then I see when the book was written. For example, if it’s a book on real estate, it might matter if it was written before or after the Great Recession.

I look at the Table of Contents and sometimes the Index to get an even better idea of what the book is about. Sometimes I see if there is a Conclusion and I read that first.

As I read, I guess what each chapter is about by reading the chapter title and any subheadings. Sometimes I even read the last paragraph of a chapter to see if that summarizes the chapter.

I read the topic sentence of each paragraph slowly and the rest of the paragraph with more speed.

I ask myself questions:
1) What is the author saying?
2) Is it true?
3) What should I do about it?

I make marks in the margins to engage with the text. I write numbers if the author says, “First,” and then later, “Second,” and so on. That way I can see each one of his points as he unfolds his argument. I bracket off sections. I underline things. I write a question mark if I disagree with something. I write an exclamation point if something is striking. I dog ear pages if I want to be able to reference that page in the future.

Before all this, I also would lose focus and I needed to re-read sections of a book, but I don’t anymore. The two things that helped me the most were 1) active reading as described above. And 2) never re-reading sections. If I know I’m not allowed to re-read a section, it helps me stay focused. If the book is good enough, I know I might re-read the whole thing later anyway. And I'll catch whatever I missed the second time through.

One last thing, I always read multiple books at one time. I do this because it enables me to use my short attention span to my advantage.

I’ll read a chapter or smaller section of one book. Then instead of pushing on and losing interest, I read a chapter or smaller section of a different book. Maybe one of my books is a particularly fun book, so I go back to that one often as a break from the more difficult reads.

But you can take or leave my methods. The most important thing is the principle—actively engage with the book. Always anticipate what might be coming next. That is how you increase your focus.

What do you think?
Joseph