Getting tired quickly from reading? Not anymore.

Last Updated on October 12, 2024

In this post, I write about how I upgraded my reading experience. These updates have made me a better and more active reader. I hope they are helpful to you too. Happy reading!

Read forever without tiring your eyes. Use your neck to move your eyes.

In the book “How to Read a Book” I read that you are blind while your eyes are moving. This makes sense since the focus doesn’t flow smoothly.

Understanding this is very crucial because If I move just my eyeballs for reading, I will be out of focus from the sentence I was reading every time I move my eyeballs. This interruption in reading and coming out of the interruption to refocus on the following words to make the complete meaning of the sentence is frustrating.

This frustration makes the reading experience stressful after a couple of pages if not paragraphs. So, use the neck, not just your eyes. Don’t hurt your eyes.

Many of the speed reading techniques are based on the same concept. They show only a few words on the screen for a fraction of a second before showing the next set of words. This way it lets you read the whole text without moving your eyes.

Don’t know if you need to rest more. Read something.

If you are stressed and you are unsure about it, you can make sure by reading any piece of text. You will have a hard time understanding what you are reading. The harder it is for you to understand, the more stressful you are. If you get to the point where you are not retaining anything and are unable to recall anything, then surely you need a break. This is how the reading activity gets more and more passive from being active.

Sometimes, it is not easy to get the rest that you need. It is not just the confusion between rest and break that’s preventing you from getting the right amount of rest.

It is also because you have already had some rest and you don’t know whether you need to have any more of it or not, so you are in this ambiguous situation. How do you deal with it? Ironically, the best way to test this is by reading something. Don’t believe me, read on before you are tired.

Best way to rest and recharge.

The best way to rest is to focus on your breath. By shifting your focus from the reading, you not only rest your mind but also reconnect with your energy supply chain. You get a better sense of how tired you are and How much rest you need to take.

You can shift your focus from reading to your breathing, but keep your eyes on the text and move your neck slowly. This way you read passively without putting so much effort into the process. Passive reading is better suited to a text that is light and easy.

Use this as a positive feedback loop. Keep reading until you are tired and keep rest reading(passive reading) until you can get back to active reading.

In short, Read to learn. Read to rest.