It isn't just young people who are finding it hard to concentrate on books. In July, the literacy charity The Reading Agency found that only half of UK adults now read regularly for pleasure. So how can we put our phones down and get back into the habit of reading?
1. Keep your phone as far away as possible
"If you're going to sit down with a book, leave your phone somewhere else,” says Tanya Goodin, a digital detox campaigner and author of My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open: How to Untangle Our Relationship With Tech. “This means it is not visible and not in the same room, because self-control doesn't work." Goodin points to research into what happens to our problem-solving ability and IQ when we have our phones in close proximity: “It has been shown that only when our device is in a different room do we really have the full ability to focus.”
The productivity expert Cal Newport agrees that out of sight means out of mind. "Keep your phone plugged in at a set location when you're at home, like in the kitchen,” he advises. “If you need to look things up or check your messages, go to where the phone is.”
2. Read actual, physical books-and make notes
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin October 12, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin October 12, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Putin, Trump, Brexit Key takeaways from highly anticipated Merkel memoir
Angela Merkel was notoriously discreet and privacy-conscious as Germany's chancellor, rarely veering off message during her 16 years in office. In her eagerly anticipated political autobiography, Freedom: Memoirs 1954-2021, she has hardly turned into a gossipmonger overnight. But across 721 pages - published yesterday - there are glimpses of a Merkel previously unseen. Here are eight things we have learned.
Final cut: London's Smithfield meat market to close for good after rejection of relocation plans
London's historic Smithfield meat market is to close for good, after the City of London Corporation voted to pull out of plans to relocate it and Billingsgate fish market to Dagenham, to the east of the city.
Phantom gnome snatcher of 1977 says sorry after he is found at last
The closest residents in the sleepy seaside town of Formby got to violent crime in 1977 was, the BBC solemnly reported, by watching Kojak.
Woman who kept her child in drawer for three years is jailed
The mother of a three-year-old girl who was kept in a drawer and had never seen daylight or another human face has been jailed for more than seven years.
Green targets blamed as Vauxhall plant closes
Vauxhall's owner said yesterday it would close its van factory at Luton, with 1,100 jobs at risk of being cut or moved despite the government preparing to relax rules on electric cars.
Biden hails 'historic' ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah
Netanyahu cabinet backs peace agreement despite opposition from far right
Irregular bedtime raises heart attack risk - study
Failing to stick to a regular time for going to bed and waking up increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and heart failure by 26%, even for those who get a full night's sleep, the most comprehensive study of its kind suggests.
Debt, IT woes and no chief executive What returning Asda boss has in store
Allan Leighton faces a back-to-thefuture challenge as he once again takes charge at struggling Asda.
Sweeney's RFU salary rises to £1.1m amid job cuts and losses
The Rugby Football Union chief executive, Bill Sweeney, was paid £1.1m for the 2023-24 financial year despite record losses and swingeing job cuts at the governing body.
'Probably more out than in' Salah leans towards exit with Liverpool yet to offer new deal
Mohamed Salah says he is disappointed Liverpool have not offered him a new contract and feels \"probably more out than in\" in terms of staying beyond the end of the season.