Reading distractions

We often set out with good intentions but make up fantastically creative ‘work avoidance strategies’ under the pretence of preparation.

Have you ever sat down to read and then thought that you should really tidy your desk, as it is better to have a good reading environment? You notice that your chair is squeaking so you spend half an hour searching in the garage for some oil. Then you realise that you’re hungry and you certainly couldn’t concentrate on your reading with a rumbling stomach. You go to the kitchen for a snack that turns into a main meal, after which you feel sleepy so watch a bit of television while you digest your food. You notice your favourite show is about to come on so decide to watch that before getting down to work. Before you know it, it’s too late to start so you have an early night so that you will be fresh to begin the next day.

It is only natural that we procrastinate, put off and avoid doing something that we dislike. Reading and learning should be something that you look forward to. If you really can’t accept that a textbook could ever be fun to read you can at least make the process painless by spending less time doing it.

The old adage, ‘How do you eat an elephant?’ – ‘One bite at a time’ definitely applies.

Why are you reading?

One of the biggest challenges to motivation is not considering why you are reading. You will nearly always have a medium- or long-term goal that your reading will help you to achieve. Are you studying for a qualification that will help you towards a specific career or promotion? Whatever your ultimate goal is, keep it in mind. Visualise what it will feel, look and sound like to achieve it. If you are passionate about achieving something you will do whatever is needed and reading will be a small part of that.

Remember to break your big goal into manageable, achievable steps in the same way that you break reading a big book down into smaller sections. If each stepping stone gets you nearer to your goal they take on extra significance and seem more worthwhile pursuing.

Give yourself rewards for achieving minor reading goals. This can be a simple thing like a special coffee, a few minutes playing ‘Angry Birds’ or logging on to Facebook or Twitter. Always stay alert to how long your rewards last. It is all too easy to spend an hour enjoying a reward for 45 minutes’ focused work.

Managing your state of mind

You can regulate your energy levels by listening to music prior to reading. You may have noticed that Olympic athletes often enter the stadium wearing ear buds from their MP3 players. They have specific tunes that help them to get into the ‘zone’ for peak performance. Music causes a frequency-following response to induce various brainwave states. Our brains are essentially a combination of electricity and chemistry and brainwaves are voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within the neurons (brain cells). These are recorded from multiple electrodes placed on the scalp in a technique called electroencephalography (EEG). Brainwaves are broadly grouped into four categories according to frequency:

1. Beta: 13–25 Hz (cycles per second) – when you are wide awake, talking, delivering a presentation or working on a logical problem.
2. Alpha: 8–12 Hz – a state of relaxed alertness that links best to the subconscious mind. Alpha state is best for storing long-term memories.
3. Theta: 4–7 Hz – the early stages of sleep. Theta is often associated with creativity.
4. Delta: 0.5–3 Hz – deep sleep.

Eight times World Memory Champion, Dominic O’Brien, explains how he uses technology to help balance his own brain and those of his clients.

‘I regularly measure the performance of my brain using EEG whether I am relaxed, reading, memorising or recalling information.

Neuro feedback involves being wired up to a computer via EEG and playing games using the power of the brain. For example, if you are a stressed-out trader in the city producing far too much Beta in the higher frequency range and are becoming absent-minded then you would play a game that encourages you to produce slower speeds such as Alpha and Theta waves. This might involve watching a ball move through a maze. The ball will only start to move if you can reduce the Beta and promote Alpha activity. So the incentive is to mentally relax. After several sessions of this type of entrainment your brain learns to shift gear on its own and begins to relax. With Alpha frequencies securely reinstalled your memory starts to work efficiently once more. Conversely, if you were suffering from attention problems then you would benefit from a little higher frequency Beta training. This time the ball would only move through the maze if you reduced your Theta activity and increased low Beta. This carrot and stick feedback allows your brain to tune into frequencies that are conducive to relaxing, focusing, reflecting and making decisions.’

‘I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. I read and think. So I do more reading and thinking, and make less impulse decisions than most people in business. I do it because I like this kind of life.’

Warren Buffett

The best state for learning is in the Alpha to Theta range. To reach this, try listening to baroque music such as Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons or works by Bach, Corelli, Handel or Telemann. If you are not into classical music, artists such as Enya, Loreena McKennitt or Jacques Loussier offer good alternatives. The brain synchronises to the music and takes you into the desired state of mind. There are also devices on the market that play tones through headphones and flash lights mounted on glasses that are designed to achieve the same thing. Dominic O’Brien again explains:

‘Audio Visual Entrainment or AVE involves wearing glasses containing a set of Light Emitting Diodes, LEDs, which flash at varying speeds. Headphones are worn with accompanying sound pulses. The frequency of the light and sound can be set to match any desired brainwave pattern. For example, if you want to train to access the Alpha state you would the set the programme to a 10 hertz frequency and with eyes closed you would sit back in a comfy chair and let your brainwaves tune into a relaxing Alpha pattern of flashing lights for about 20 minutes.

It is now accepted as a non-invasive therapy that can help reduce and in some cases eliminate a wide range of neurological disorders such as ADD, ADHD, migraine, insomnia and depression.

This form of brainwave tuning is well-documented and is known as the Frequency Following Response. AVE is an extremely powerful tool for resetting and conditioning the brain back into good working order and I would recommend that every home has one. One of my clients who has her own light and sound machine describes it as a ‘defrag’ for her brain. She feels as though the light and sound patterns return her brain to its natural default settings.’

If you need to boost your energy levels, you can listen to upbeat music of your choice. Original research in 1993 by Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine Ky from the University of California, Irvine, indicated that listening to compositions by Mozart increased performance in spatial reasoning tests. However, later studies seem to indicate that, from a brain training point of view, there is nothing special about Mozart and any music that is pleasant or interesting and puts you in a good mood is likely to have the same effect. In fact, when working with teenagers, Oasis actually out-performed Mozart.

Another way to reach a desired state of mind is a technique known as anchoring. The theory behind this is that a physical or mental state can be linked to a particular stimulus. If a particular song was playing when you broke up with someone and you hear that song on the radio years later, it brings back all the feelings. I have several pieces of music that act as very strong anchors for me, from deep sadness to energising feelings and hilarity. Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov first showed the link between stimulus and state of mind in 1901 in a classic experiment. The experiment was conducted by ringing a bell whenever Pavlov fed his dogs. Eventually, they were conditioned to salivate whenever a bell was rung, even in the absence of food. The stimulus does not have to be a sound or physical action and even smells can act as anchors. You can create a conditioned response by making a specific action, such as squeezing your earlobe or touching your shoulder, whenever you find yourself in a good frame of mind for effective reading. Eventually the action and brain state will become linked, so to trigger an effective state you simply perform the physical action.

You can alleviate stress and improve your state of mind by simple visualisation. Find somewhere quiet and comfortable to sit, away from distractions. Close your eyes and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. With each out breath give a little sigh and count slowly backwards from ten to one. With each number feel the stress drain out of you. Imagine being somewhere tranquil where you can feel relaxed and safe. Perhaps on a warm tropical beach, in a forest or in the mountains. Imagine the sights, smells, sounds, tastes and physical sensations as if you were really there. Spend as long as you like. When you’re ready to return, count slowly back from one to ten, the scene fading with each number. When you reach ten, open your eyes and feel refreshed and relaxed.

Motivation by imagination

Another way to motivate yourself is to imagine that something valuable or important is at stake. This will increase your level of arousal, which refers to the overall readiness to engage in an activity. For example, you could imagine that you are taking part in the World Speed Reading Championship and there is a million pound prize to the winner. A hush descends across the expectant crowd of spectators as each competitor, seated at their individual desks, are handed a previously unpublished book. In time-honoured fashion the adjudicator announces, ‘Neurons at the ready . . . Go!’ There is a flurry of activity as each competitor flips back the cover and begins to move their pointers across the pages. After 22 minutes the first competitors are putting their books down and the times are recorded by official observers armed with stopwatches. Next come the comprehension questions. Have the competitors overstretched themselves? Can they remember the plot and the small details they are tested on? Their responses are marked to declare a winner.

There really is a World Speed Reading Championship, although not yet with a million pound prize, won six times by former English teacher Anne Jones from England.

Even though the above example is just imagined, with motivation you will still put extra energy and focus into your reading and as a result read much faster.

STOP YOUR TIMER NOW (word count 2,447)

Comprehension questions

1. What did Leonardo da Vinci say that is relevant to interest when reading or studying? [1]
2. List the four brainwave states in order from lowest to highest frequency. [4]
3. What brainwave state is best for learning? [1]
4. Listening to music with lyrics whilst reading aids concentration. True or False? [1]
5. Name two ways to induce a state of relaxation. [2]
6. List one way to improve motivation. [1]

Check your answers in Appendix 1.