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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/1450
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/1450
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

You have to define the problem before attempting a solution.

- Are you distracted? (ambient noise, music, silence, TV, someone talking)

- Are you uncomfortable? (crappy chair, bad posture, headache, eyestrain, bad light, hungry, thirsty, tired)

- Are you a restless person by nature? Do you have trouble sitting down for X length of time even when doing some other sedentary activity, like watching TV or sitting at the computer?

- A bit of a stretch, but do you have any reading issues like dyslexia?

See if you can narrow down what's actually causing your mind to wander, particularly when you're reading something you enjoy. If you can resolve it (a white-noise machine, a better chair, more light, new glasses), or even just alleviate it, that might help with the technical papers.

If you're the type of person who just can't sit, try this: get a timer (a kitchen timer will do fine). Press start when you start to read. The moment you realize you're drifting, press stop. Make a note of how long it was. Reset and do it again. See if a pattern emerges, or take an average. If you can only sit for, let's say, seven minutes before getting distracted, then set the timer for six. When the timer goes off, get up and do something physical — 20 jumping-jacks, or run up and down the stairs twice. Then sit down again and restart the timer. You will lose time in the breaks, but you will only lose one minute of six, and you know you can focus for six, so you aren't losing even more time by not knowing when the next break is.

Original score: 3