News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by nicbou on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @07:30AM (#26805583)
I really dislike this sort of blog. Every article feels like it was written for their affiliates and for search engines, and rarely for the readers. It's certainly not written for people with ADHD.

Here's the only useful paragraph in the article:

> This idea came from Megan, a guest on Hal Elrod’s podcast. Megan explained she keeps track of all the books she reads in a spreadsheet. Each time she finishes a book she adds it to her spreadsheet, along with the ONE thing she is going to implement. With each new entry she reviews the list. If she isn’t implementing her ONE thing, she goes back and rereads the book.

Perhaps we read different kinds of books, but I don't see the benefit of this. I read for pleasure, without taking notes or setting objectives. I feel like those would interrupt rather than encourage reading. Good books tend to stay with you either way.

I found that a good book in a good environment is all I really need to read more. It takes 5-10 minutes before my thoughts stop buzzing around and I can focus, but once I'm in that zone, I'm good for a while.

Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by negrecio on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @07:50AM (#26805773)
> Here's the only useful paragraph in the article

Looks like you found the ONE thing in this article.

(jk)

I do agree with you. I read for pleasure and to satisfy curiosity. it's hard (or pointless) to try to find one thing to implement from curiousity driven exploring.

Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by toper-centage on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @03:57PM (#26812240)
That's not even a joke. I couldn't stand reading the article, specially this late in the day. This article is terrible for reduced attention states.
Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by aidenn0 on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @11:54AM (#26808811)
> I found that a good book in a good environment is all I really need to read more. It takes 5-10 minutes before my thoughts stop buzzing around and I can focus, but once I'm in that zone, I'm good for a while.

I think there is a huge variance in how ADHD people process information. I am 100% this way as well, but know just as many ADHD people who literally cannot finish reading even a short book. They often report audiobooks and podcasts as being much better, but I can take about 5-10 minutes of auditory input max before I am completely done. If I'm not moving I'll fall asleep[1], if I am moving my mind will wander and I'll just have 20 minute intervals that I have zero recall of ever hearing.

1: This made college lectures quite challenging. For one particularly bad class where the professor dimmed the lights to use an overhead projector, I sat in front of someone who had ample reason to want to kick me and told them to kick me any time I fell asleep. In another one that was fairly small (maybe 50 students?) the professor seemed to get sympathetic noticing I was struggling to stay awake and would wake me up as needed.

Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by toxik on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @08:32AM (#26806160)
It reads like it was generated by GPT3 or something. Words without meaning, entire paragraphs that don't really convey information.
Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by kjleitz on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @08:49AM (#26806322)
I agree. It reads like those GPT-3-generated articles from a while back that were spread on HN as an experiment[1]. They also tended to be (IIRC) self-help style blog posts, and we're about as substantive as this one.

[1]: https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/8/16/21371049/gpt...

Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by ryanwhitney on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @11:07AM (#26808152)
Ditto on environment. I had found that getting out of my normal setting helped with this immensely for me. Going to a coffee shop had been working pretty well (not every time but most times), but covid killed that routine.

No thanks to a spreadsheet though. Lots of adhd advice around bullet journals too, but that worked as well as every other past attempt to keep a journal in my life.

Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by nicbou on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @11:53AM (#26808795)
I set up my balcony with nice plants, relaxing lighting, and a comfortable chair. It's a nice place to spend quality time with a book.

If I'm stuck insight, I'll light some candles and read on the couch, or run myself a bath. It's a great way to end the day.

Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by planet-and-halo on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @12:06PM (#26809015)
I'm going to suggest "How to Live," a biography of Montaigne with several rules encapsulating his philosophy of life. One of them is "read voraciously, and forget most of what you read."
Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by spiralx on Friday April 16, 2021 @09:44AM (#26833768)
I read over a book a day last year and they certainly weren't "useful" or "worthy" in the sense of what your quote is talking about. But for my ADHD the problem I have is not reading, because for me the linear train of thought in the written word is soothing and settles my brain down in a way nothing else does. And for that purpose I don't want difficult to read, and I especially don't want clever literary tricks.
Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by mayormcmatt on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @12:44PM (#26809602)
As a fellow ADHD-er, completely agree about reading conditions, like the environment and how well the book is suited to your tastes/mood, rather than an organizational system. The one place I've been able to read a book cover-to-cover in a single sitting was while backpacking. Found a comfy rock in shade, got into the Reading Zone, got through all of Andy Weir's "Artemis" that day.
Re:How to Read Books When You Have ADHD by m463 on Wednesday April 14, 2021 @05:41PM (#26813474)
> Every article feels like it was written for their affiliates and for search engines.

I've noticed this with youtube videos. Sometimes I will search for something, and I get a video equivalent to this webpage, very generic/general with a synthesized voice. It's getting harder and harder to wade through the crap.

> but once I'm in that zone, I'm good for a while.

Yes, I thought people with ADHD had superfocus as well.