Fact checkedExpert's opinion

Expert's opinion

The article is a subjective view on this topic written by writers specializing in medical writing.
It may reflect on a personal journey surrounding struggles with an illness or medical condition, involve product comparisons, diet considerations, or other health-related opinions.

Although the view is entirely that of the writer, it is based on academic experiences and scientific research they have conducted; it is fact-checked by a team of degreed medical experts, and validated by sources attached to the article.

The numbers in parenthesis (1,2,3) will take you to clickable links to related scientific papers.

Reading With ADHD: 10 Tips to Focus on Reading When Have ADHD 2024

Emma

Updated on - Written by
Medically reviewed by Melissa Mitri, MS, RD

reading with adhd

ADHD, short for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a condition that affects 10 million Americans[1] nationwide.

The challenges of living with ADHD include symptoms such as issues with reading comprehension, difficulty sustaining interest in mundane tasks, and the tendency to succumb to all sorts of distractions throughout the day.

If any of this sounds familiar, you’re far from alone. Even if you’ve never received an official diagnosis, the following ten tips for sustained attention will all help you rally your interest and focus when reading, both at work and at play.

10 Helpful Tips to Stay Focus on Reading While Have ADHD

  1. Get Your Mind In Order: Meditate, Stretch, And Breathe Fresh Air
  2. Just Get Started 
  3. When In Doubt – Lock Yourself In
  4. Create Lists To Organize Your Thoughts
  5. Find An Accountability Partner
  6. Try To Stay Off Of Your Phone
  7. Live On A Schedule
  8. Use Productivity Tools To Keep You Moving
  9. Reward Yourself When You Succeed
  10. Forgive Yourself

How to Focus on Reading With ADHD?

When you struggle with ADHD, even extremely interesting books on your favorite topics feel distant and banal. Where has our passion gone? How will we survive at work, where reading is usually paramount?

Keeping your eyes on the page or on the computer screen can be extraordinarily difficult for those with ADHD, but these ten tips and tricks will help you immensely whenever you need to stay focused and on task.

Get Your Mind in Order: Meditate, Stretch, and Breathe Fresh Air

These three steps, according to the research[2], should always come first to set the tone for proper focus, whether your inability to stay focused is ADHD-related or not. There are few other cure-alls for the easily distracted that confer benefits of this magnitude holistically, for free, and right from your desk or office.

If you have a child with ADHD, engaging them with yoga[3] or tai chi[4] practice early on may equip them with effective coping strategies. These self-soothing practices will help them better adapt to and manage the condition later in life. They’ll be calmer, happier, and likely much more interested in reading books at home and at school.

Other studies suggest that even something as simple as spending more time outside with your child[5] might help them improve their reading and listening skills at home and in the classroom. A healthy relationship with nature may improve emotional well-being, self-esteem, and social development in children as well.

 The CDC also recommends that people with ADHD maintain a healthy diet and engage in regular exercise. While this may be common knowledge, not everyone is doing this. 

Supplements like nootropics may also help – they’re calming and keep your mind razor-sharp as the week drags on.

Just Get Started 

This is one tip that everybody can probably get behind, but it can be especially useful for those with ADHD. The hardest part with any difficult task is initially getting started.

Most of us struggle most when contending with the beginning of a difficult or unpleasant reading assignment. The anticipation is enough to have us procrastinating all afternoon long.

However, if you can just tell yourself to get through the first ten minutes of that reading task, it will get easier. Then, maintaining that momentum of productive energy will feel more like a breeze. All that you need to do is get the initial ball rolling.

When in Doubt – Lock Yourself In

Sometimes, you’ll have to quarantine yourself from a whole world of distractions just outside of your door to make it through every page. There’s no shame in it. 

If you’ve got stuff to do, this reprieve might be just the thing to get you back on track. Focus hard, get it done, and emerge from your cocoon victorious and even a bit wiser for your time.

Create Lists to Organize Your Thoughts

Your to-do list is one obvious example; keeping everything that you need to do all in one convenient place ensures that you’ll never drop the ball. What are some other lists that you can keep?

Throughout your day, document each racing thought as it comes and goes, instead of dwelling on it or letting it distract you from your current task or the book in front of you. 

Doing this ensures that nothing important is forgotten, even if your hands are full when the thought occurs to you. It will also give you some valuable insight into what exactly distracts you the most daily – after a week or so, you’ll notice a pattern showing which intrusive thoughts tend to throw you off-track most frequently. 

For example are you worried about something in particular? Are you fixating on something unimportant? This habit might evolve into a full-blown journaling practice[6], another excellent mindfulness activity to partake in whenever you’re finding yourself losing focus.

Find an Accountability Partner

There’s power in numbers. When in doubt, you can always phone a friend or a colleague. This is especially helpful if you know that they, too, struggle to focus on reading at work or at home.

Whenever either of you is fading, establish a system where you can touch base and re-center yourselves, even if it’s something as simple as a daily walk around the block during lunch to blow off some steam together.

Enlist your family too!  A family member can be your partner or your kids. A quick break with a loved one is sometimes all it takes to find your second wind and get back to powering through.

Try to Stay Off of Your Phone

Social media is a huge part of modern life. But if you’re constantly reaching for your smartphone, you might be distracting yourself unnecessarily, and draining your focus in the process. 

We reinforce this tendency[7] every time we stop what we’re doing to write a Tweet or a Facebook post. Instead, you can try chewing gum at work instead of scrolling endlessly through your social feeds. 

It’s important to stay off social media or your phone when you have more important things to take care of. Save the memes for after-hours or as a reward after your hard work is done. Then there will be more to indulge in later! 

Live On a Schedule

While a set routine can feel boring, it can be hugely beneficial in boosting your productivity and focus. If you’re serious about improving your focus, blocking your time wisely, and setting goals for yourself each day, week, and month are all surefire ways to motivate yourself.

When we live constantly in the moment, we forget about the future. Remind yourself daily: who are you? What do you want to accomplish? What do you stand for? Where are you now? How far do you have to go?

Use Productivity Tools to Keep You Moving

Sometimes, we all need to call in for backup from the pros. Apps like Beeminder, Toggl, Todoist, and more can all help you visualize your goals and keep track of what takes the most time away from your daily reading -professional or otherwise. 

Knowing is half of the battle, so any type of time-tracking app will help you paint a much more comprehensive picture of how you allocate every moment. Then you will be able to identify and fix any productivity issues and nip them in the bud.

Reward Yourself When You Succeed

When we’re rewarded for our work, we’re usually much more motivated[8] for the next leg of the race. We’re also more interested and excited about our work, professional or domestic. We’re also usually much happier to do it in the future when we know that a reward is coming our way.

This can be anything from a simple treat-yourself lunch out on the town to a well-deserved evening off of your feet with Netflix, wine, and chocolate in hand. You’ve earned it, and you might find yourself re-energized when it’s time again to buckle down.

Forgive Yourself

Our bottom line and closing sentiment: nobody is perfect, ADHD or otherwise. Your reading comprehension and ability to stay in your seat do not define you, nor does it have any effect on your self-worth.

If you’re having a bad day, just keep plugging away until you have a moment to regroup. Once you’ve had a chance to collect yourself, you’ll be more than ready to dive back in anew.


+ 8 sources

Health Canal avoids using tertiary references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and rely on peer-reviewed studies, academic researches from medical associations and institutions. To ensure the accuracy of articles in Health Canal, you can read more about the editorial process here

  1. CHADD (2018). Overview – CHADD. [online] CHADD. Available at: https://chadd.org/for-adults/overview/
  2. ‌Modesto-Lowe, V. (2015). Does mindfulness meditation improve attention in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? World Journal of Psychiatry, [online] 5(4), p.397. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4694553/
  3. ‌Chou, C.-C. and Huang, C.-J. (2017). Effects of an 8-week yoga program on sustained attention and discrimination function in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. PeerJ, [online] 5, p.e2883. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5237364/
  4. ‌Herbert, A. and Esparham, A. (2017). Mind–Body Therapy for Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Children, [online] 4(5), p.31. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5447989/
  5. ‌Tillmann, S., Tobin, D., Avison, W. and Gilliland, J. (2018). Mental health benefits of interactions with nature in children and teenagers: a systematic review. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, [online] 72(10), pp.958–966. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6161651/
  6. Journal of Further and Higher Education. (2020). The power of writing about procrastination: journaling as a tool for change. [online] Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0309877X.2019.1702154
  7. Google.com. (2021). Redirecting. [online] Available at: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.researchgate.net/file.PostFileLoader.html?id%3D571e178b93553bf18335eb61%26assetKey%3DAS%253A354747904217088%25401461589899260&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1638694024999000&usg=AOvVaw3GqtFRZKro_IM5vSPgw8Qj
  8. ‌citeseerx.ist.psu.edu. (n.d.). Download Limit Exceeded. [online] Available at: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1070.749&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
Emma

Medically reviewed by:

Melissa Mitri

Emma Garofalo is a writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. A lover of science, art, and all things culinary, few things excite her more than the opportunity to learn about something new." It is now in the sheet in the onboarding paperwork, apologies!!

Medically reviewed by:

Melissa Mitri

Journal of Physical Education and Sport

Trusted Source

Go to source

SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online

Trusted Source

Go to source

African Journals Online

Non-profit Platform for African Journals

Trusted Source
Go to source

Journal of The American Board of Family Medicine

American Board of Family Medicine

Trusted Source
Go to source

Informit

RMIT University Library

Trusted Source
Go to source

European Food Safety Authority

Science, Safe food, Sustainability

Trusted Source
Go to source

OrthoInfo

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Trusted Source
Go to source

American Academy of Family Physicians

Strengthen family physicians and the communities they care for

Trusted Source
Go to source

Agricultural Research Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Trusted Source
Go to source

The American Journal of Medicine

Official Journal of The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Database From National Institute Of Health

Trusted Source
Go to source

Lippincott Journals

Subsidiaries of Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Institute on Aging

Database From National Institute Of Health

Trusted Source
Go to source

Translational Research

The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine

Trusted Source
Go to source

Cell

An All-science Publisher

Trusted Source
Go to source

Journal of Translational Medicine

BioMed Central

Part of Springer Nature
Go to source

Federal Trade Commission

Protecting America's Consumers

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Human Genome Research Institute

Database From National Institute Of Health

Trusted Source
Go to source

Food Production, Processing and Nutrition

BioMed Central

Part of Springer Nature
Go to source

BMC Gastroenterology

BioMed Central

Part of Springer Nature
Go to source

ACS Publications

A Division of The American Chemical Society

Trusted Source
Go to source

Annual Reviews

Independent, Non-profit Academic Publishing Company

Trusted Source
Go to source

PubChem

National Center for Biotechnology Information

National Library of Medicine
Go to source

PLOS Journals

Nonprofit Publisher of Open-access Journals

Trusted Source
Go to source

Thieme E-books & E-Journals

Peer-reviewed & Open Access Journal

Trusted Source
Go to source

European Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences

Peer-reviewed International Journal Publishes

Trusted Source
Go to source

Royal Society of Chemistry Publishing Home

Chemical Science Journals, Books and Database

Trusted Source
Go to source

Frontiers

Publisher of Peer-reviewed Articles in Open Acess Journals

Trusted Source
Go to source

De Gruyter

German Scholarly Publishing House

Trusted Source
Go to source

Hindawi

Open Access Research Journals & Papers

Trusted Source
Go to source

Oilseeds and Fats, Crops and Lipids

EDP Sciences

Trusted Source
Go to source

Cambridge Core

Cambridge University Press

Trusted Source
Go to source

FoodData Central

U.S. Department Of Agriculture

Trusted Source
Go to source

Journal of the American Heart Association

Peer-reviewed Open Access Scientific Journal

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

The Americans with Disabilities Act

U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

Trusted Source
Go to source

Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Organization of Food and Nutrition Professionals

tr
Go to source

Sage Journals

Database From Sage Publications

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Institute of Drug Abuse

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

The ClinMed International Library

A Repository and an Open Access Publisher for Medical Research

Trusted Source
Go to source

The Royal Society Publishing

United Kingdom's National Academy of Sciences

Trusted Source
Go to source

APA PsycNet

Database From American Psychological Association

Trusted Source
Go to source

The Pharma Innovation Journal

Peer-reviewed And Refereed Journal

Trusted Source
Go to source

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research and Development

Peer-reviewed Bimonthly Journal

Trusted Source
Go to source

British Pharmacological Society

Journals - Wiley Online Library

Trusted Source
Go to source

American Psychological Association

Scientific and Professional Organization of Psychologists

Trusted Source
Go to source

AAP Publications

Database From American Academy of Pediatrics

Trusted Source
Go to source

Karger Publishers

Academic Publisher of Scientific and Medical Journals and Books

Trusted Source
Go to source

Cambridge University Press & Assessment

Database From Cambridge University

Trusted Source
Go to source

National Institute of Mental Health

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

MDPI

Publisher of Open Access Journals

Trusted Source
Go to source

Bulletin of the National Research Centre

Part of Springer Nature

Trusted Source
Go to source

The New England Journal of Medicine

Massachusetts Medical Society

Trusted Source
Go to source

Economic Research Service

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Trusted Source
Go to source

MedlinePlus

Database From National Library of Medicine

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

National Institute of Health

An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Trusted Source
Go to source

Trusted Source

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

The BMJ

Weekly Peer-reviewed Medical Trade Journal

The British Medical Association
Go to source

The British Psychological Society

The British Psychological Society is a charity registered in England

Database From Wiley Online Library
Go to source

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

PubMed

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S National Library of Medicine
Go to source

DailyMed

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S National Library of Medicine
Go to source

Google Scholar

Go to source

Science.gov: USA.gov for Science

Government Science Portal

Go to source

ResearchGate

Social Network Service For Scientists

Find and share research
Go to source

American Heart Association

To be a rentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives

Go to source

BioMed Central

Research in progress

Go to source

JAMA Network

Home of JAMA and the Specialty Journals of the American Medical Association

Go to source

Springer Link

Database From Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Springer - International Publisher Science, Technology, Medicine
Go to source

ODS

Database from Office of Dietary Supplements

National Institutes of Health
Go to source

Federal Trade Commission

Bureaus of Consumer Protection, Competition and Economics
Go to source

Trusted Source

Database From U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Governmental Authority
Go to source

Oxford Academic Journals

Oxford University Press

Trusted Source
Go to source

Taylor & Francis Online

Peer-reviewed Journals

Academic Publishing Division of Informa PLC
Go to source

WHO

Database from World Health Organization

Go to source

Journal of Neurology

Peer-reviewed Medical Journal

American Academy of Neurology Journal
Go to source

ScienceDirect

Bibliographic Database of Scientific and Medical Publications

Dutch publisher Elsevier
Go to source

Wiley Online Library

American Multinational Publishing Company

Trusted Source
Go to source

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

U.S. National Public Health Agency

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

Trusted Source

Database from U.S. National Library of Medicine

U.S. Federal Government
Go to source

U.S. Food & Drug Administration

Federal Agency

U.S Department of Health and Human Services
Go to source

PubMed Central

Database From National Institute Of Health

U.S National Library of Medicine
Go to source
Feedback

Help us rate this article

Thank you for your feedback

Keep in touch to see our improvement