I read a lot but forget so much. If you've got tips for improving comprehension/remembrance, I would love to hear them. For what it's worth, I also have ADHD.
Write in your books
I have a friend who has ADHD. Her doctor prescribed an amphetamine for her. It worked well because it gave her focus and she was able to work and remember substantially better than she was able to before (half an hour of anything and she was bored) she started the medication. Now she can do a full day's work and it is easy for her. Before it was quite hard.
If you want to remember something you have to be able to concentrate on it long enough for it to sink in. If your attention wanders all the time, comprehension/remembrance will suffer. Talk about the medicinal use of amphetamines with your doctor.
You remember something easier when you actually understand it. Read slowly, word by word if you need to, dont try to analyze it and just flow it out. .
>>7673024
Impression
Association
Repetition
I dont read very much but I remember more
>>7673024
Why do you want to remember more? If you enjoyed a book you can always reread it a while later and relive that enjoyment ;)
>>7673024
Non-fiction: take notes, duh
Fiction: re-read anything you feel deserves it a couple months later
>read a book a few weeks ago
>already forgotten what half of the book was about
I'm in the same boat, OP. I fucking hate this.
When someone asks me about a book I've read I can hardly tell them anything because I just can't remember. I think it's the antidepressants I'm on
"I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
>>7673024
amphetamines
ritalin is too weak and makes you jittery
dex is an OK compromise
I can read three books a day on meth
>every time I see my psychiatrist I mention how I find it difficult to concentrate
>"oh ok anon"
Wait, is that a problem? I forget most books I read within a few weeks. I mean, I do remember what the book made me feel (if I liked it or not) and some parts of it, but most of the time I won't remember character names other than the main one. I thought it was pretty normal, at least for most books.
I remember much more if the book was long as fuck and it took me a while to finish or if it was something that I really enjoyed.
>>7673024
aDHDnon here. Currently off medication because ritalin and adderall fuck with my head.
Here are some things that help me read effectively. Basically, you need to remember that as an ADHD person, you are very distractible and you work in short bursts of concentration unless you are enjoying something immensely or you're engaged in a task like video games that give you constant sensory excitement.
1. earplugs/white noise also not listening to music at all. Even in quiet places, if you have ADHD, the sound of a pin dropping can throw off your concentration.
2. Taking notes in margins. If you have an observation about the text, recognize an allusion, whatever, just write it down. 'Interacting' with the book in this way aids comprehension and the half a minute or so you take taking the note helps you regather your focus for the next block of words.
3. Sometimes I'll have google doc's open. One of them is for recording every new word I encounter in a book with its definition and the sentence in a book where I found it. This is helpful because ADHD people tend not to have a memory system that transfers little bits of information from short term to long term memory readily.
I'll also have a google docs open to type in any passages that I think illuminate the theme of the book or where I find the prose style particularly great. This is useful for ADHD people for two purposes: you get to do something that helps you comprehend the book and you also shift attention to a different task while getting ready for the next short burst of sustained concentration in reading.
However, if you have a computer open while reading, you need to be very careful not to get too distracted, which brings me to my next point.
4. Use the pomodoro method, which boils down to dividing your time into 25 minute blocks of mental work followed by 5 minute breaks. Consult the internet for more information and apps. As an ADHD person, you will be constantly inundated with the urge to move onto a different task while reading even if the material is interesting. The pomodoro method will teach you stave off those distracting urges until the break period. My reading comprehension and effectiveness has improved massively since I've started using this method.
As a last caveat, if you're reading for school/work, you need to set yourself more time than you think you need. ADHD people simply don't read as fast as people without ADHD at the same rate of comprehension.
Good luck anon.
