Any suggestions for better processing speed?
Finding it very difficult to sit down and read. I find I get hung up on small stuff real quick like I gotta learn to learn. Automatically pulling out the dictionary, but is it just me, or do other adhders feel they are more thorough than others, and when not needing to be, more realistic.
Curious to hear others thoughts.
Oh absolutely same here. I've always been terrible at reading and processing quickly. I always find myself looking up words that I'm sure others would be able to use context clues to figure out the meaning to (always something I've been fairly bad at). Or words that they would simply skip over because they would get the gist of the sentence without knowing the meaning of the single word (my desire to know the word's meaning will not allow me to simply infer the meaning). I just experienced this with the word "arbiter" just the other day, I needed to know its exact meaning!
I suppose our curiosity and impatience is to blame. I know that if I were to read a book (which I haven't done in...a long time), I would become impatient with my curiosity and slow processing and then ultimately decide the book isn't worth my time. I find reading to just be painfully unsatisfying because of that. I can take in so much more information at such a faster pace when listening to or watching things. Very interesting!
If it’s possible, can you try an audiobook version? If not, a highlighter on hand to mark all the words you want to come back to? Or even just make a list. Then maybe you can pick a designated time to look up the words later once you’ve gone through the material you wanted to cover. When I get caught up I find this helpful!
I definitely go through periods where it is very difficult to sit down and read. I find that for me, it has to do with interest and how much the reading either draws me in (if it’s fiction) or is relevant to a real life want/need for information. Even when the info is highly relevant it can still be difficult at times to maintain attention. I definitely find that audiobooks help. I like getting books on kindle and also buying the audiobook so that I can hop back and forth. If there is no audiobook option, I can use kindle on my phone and turn voice-over on. The reading with voice over is a bit more robotic but it still helps if it’s something I really want to learn but can’t get through.
This is weirdly relatable. I noticed that this sort of thing happens when even just speaking conversationally. Ill use a word, be surprised I used that word and then think, "oh I dont really know the exact definition of that word I just used" then I look it up.
As for sitting down and focusing on reading. I found setting a timer helps me. If I say "I will put aside one hour for reading" and I time it. I find that framing reading time in this tangible way makes it more likely for me to want to get as far as I can get. I know that after the hour is up I can go do whatever else. Also it helps to brew a tea or something. Reading in public helped me too, but thats not so easy these days.
Can't concentrate on reading.
Diagnosed at 60 and learning new vocabulary
Application of tools and skills is hard
Struggling to Find Supportive Family and Friends After an ADHD Diagnosis
