[motoboi]

I have this technique for reading books when I'm not fully concentrated:

For every paragraph you read, take note of any idea, comparison or memory you had while reading it.

If nothing came, actively ask yourself: what is the author saying here? Explain this paragraph, in written form, to yourself as if you're explaining it to someone else.

In my experience, in the end of the first page I'm already fully concentrated and my brain feels warmed-up.

The written notes are important. I feel like writing forces the brain to enter a "rational, active mode", instead of the "low energy, low attention, low reasoning" day to day mode.

This, obviously, is not a data-driven, scientifically informed method. Is just my personal experience.

[rmnclmnt]

Your method resonates as a self-nano-implementation of "Learning By Teaching" methodology[1] and "Rubber Duck Debugging"[2].

I regularly work with students using "active learning" methods and having people express what they just learned/experienced/used is a powerful way to build up understanding! So not surprised to see this technique applied to self-reading.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_by_teaching

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging

[th0rgall]

Interesting! Do you then move on to reading "normally" after applying this method to the first few pages? Seems tough to stick with for a whole reading session.

Reading physical books also may to be correlated to higher, active comprehension: "human beings need a knowledge of where they are in time and space that allows them to return to things and learn from re-examination" (article with related discussion https://readup.com/comments/the-guardian/skim-reading-is-the...)

[motoboi]

Yes.

This is a warm-up routine when I can't focus on my reading. After one or two pages, I feel focused and engaged.

One or two times I had to stick with it for longer. Or even in the middle of a reading session, in a very obtuse book.

This, obviously is for technical (or non fiction) books.