Creating an Optimal Setting for Reading
Different kinds of reading require different settings.
Some kinds of reading happen quickly—no matter the setting. You use your tablet to find more information on something you saw on TV. You skim the headlines in the newspaper while you’re eating breakfast. You read the menu or announcements posted on the bulletin board.
How do these acts of reading differ from moments when you have to read something that requires you to do something? Think about how you might read differently if you receive a letter from your lawyer about your case or if you read new legislation in the law library.
Other times, we read because we want to be immersed in the world of the author, so we curl up with a new novel and tell everyone to leave us alone.
We also read because we want to fully understand something, like how DNA and RNA work for how climate change is likely to affect our world. The concentration required for these reading tasks may, in turn, require a different setting.
Take a few minutes to reflect on your reading experiences and ideals.
- What do you read on the fly?
- Where and when do you do that reading?
- How much of that reading do you remember?
- Why do you think you remember so much or so little?
- What was the last thing you remember reading because you needed to use the information (e.g., a set of instructions or a guide, an official letter requiring your action)?
- Where and when did you read it?
- How much of that reading do you remember?
- Why do you think you remember so much or so little?
- Think about the last time you really needed to focus on a reading (e.g., for a test or presentation).
- Where and when did you read that text?
- How much of that reading do you remember?
- Why do you think you remember so much or so little?
I’m using these scenarios and questions to suggest that different types of reading demand different settings. Casual reading doesn’t demand much; we can read pretty much wherever and whenever we wish, even amid distractions. Reading for practical benefit, such as instructions, requires more concentration, but we’re usually trying to read that material where and when we need it.
Reading for intellectual work is more demanding, which means you want to actively control the time, place, and circumstances of your reading as much as you possibly can.
What does it look like when you can do your best reading when you can concentrate and engage with the texts you are reading?
Instead of writing this out, try drawing a picture of that setting.
Choosing When to Read
Think about time. What time of day are you best able to focus on what you are reading so that you get the most out of it?
Many college students study late into the night, whether out of necessity or habit, but here’s a simple truth: not everyone reads most effectively at 2:00 a.m.—or at 2:00 p.m., for that matter. Furthermore, you will have more restrictions on when and where you can read depending on the prison facility.
You may