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 already know that the human body works via a series of diurnal cycles—cycles that move through peaks and valleys over each twenty-four-hour period. During these cycles, levels of circulating hormones and chemicals rise and fall, creating circadian rhythms. Typically, this starts with a big chemical “push awake” in the morning, a peak of energy in the afternoon, and then a gradual lowering through the evening.
However, these are not consistent for every person. We all know “morning people” or “night owls” who seem to function when the rest of us can’t. We also know that these cycles differ with characteristics like gender and age. How easy was it for you to get out of bed at 6:30 a.m. when you were five years old? How easy is it now?
Understanding your own diurnal cycles and circadian rhythms can help find effective times to read and study. This is important because, as a college student, if you can find the best times for these activities for you, you can cut your reading and studying time down significantly while also finding it more enjoyable.
I know full well you don’t control most of your time. However, you can create pockets of space for intellectual reading. That may mean readjusting the daily patterns you can control to accommodate.
Divide up a reading assignment for one of your classes into three or four different blocks of about the same length. Read each of those blocks at a different time of the day and night but in the same location (without disrupting your sleep!). Choose times that reasonably might work for you. If you are not a morning person, for example, don’t choose 6:00 a.m. unless you really want to see the difference.
Make notes on the following:
- How well did you understand the material?
- How long did it take you to gain that level of understanding?
- How did you feel about doing the reading? In particular, were you relieved to stop, or did you want to keep reading?
Look over your notes. Which times seem to work best for you?
Choosing Where to Read
Location matters. Consider your ideal spot for reading. Is it your chair in the day room? Your bed? The library? Sitting outside on the yard? Different kinds of reading might call for different locations. Your favorite place to read a novel or the sports scores may not be the best place for focusing on material in a textbook.
Part of location is sound. Some people work best in an absolutely silent setting, while others prefer the background noise of people. Others prefer music.
We all know prison is loud, and it can be one of the most challenging aspects to deal with as a college student in prison. I’ve learned from other co-learners some techniques that help them.
- Wear earplugs.
- Read early in the morning before everyone is up.
- If you have a single-cell, read in privacy there.
Students tell me all the time that they prefer to work with music, and I allow them to bring earbuds for the times when everyone is working individually. But is this really good for them?
Research published in 2018 by Vasilev et al. shows that noise of all kinds can have a detrimental effect on reading comprehension. Background noise, such as indistinct speech or traffic, can have some negative effects, mostly on the speed of reading. Background speech is more disruptive, affecting reading comprehension and proofreading because the brain appears to be trying to make sense of the language, even as the reader is trying to ignore it.
Vasilev et al. found that the effects of music are inconsistent. Music that is very familiar to the reader and that doesn’t have words may not distract readers much at all. However, the combination of music and lyrics—which invites the brain to process the words just like with background speech—seems particularly disruptive to reading comprehension.
Activity: Experiment with Music
Step 1: Find three articles or short stories to read, all of about the same length.
Step 2: Find a familiar song with lyrics and an unfamiliar song without lyrics.
Step 3: Get a timer.
Step 4: TIME YOURSELF as you read each article or short story, as follows:
- One with the familiar song with lyrics
- One with the unfamiliar song without lyrics
- One with no music at all
Step 5: Check your results and decide what works best for you!
Reading in relative silence or with only the background noise of people or music without lyrics may be uncomfortable at first, but if you are reading more efficiently, you’ll be able to get back to the music or the conversation more quickly.
Again, divide up a reading assignment into three or four different blocks of about the same length. Read each of those blocks in a different location (but keep the time of day about the same). Use what you learned from the last activity about music to choose what you should be listening to.
Make notes on the following:
- How well do you feel you understood the material?
- How long did it take you to gain that level of understanding?
- How did you feel about doing the reading? In particular, were you relieved to stop, or did you want to keep reading?
Look over your notes. What locations and noise types seem to work best for you?
Using Your Optimal Setting
In this section, you should be hearing a theme: efficiency and effectiveness. While many of us have reading that we want to savor, most academic reading does not fall into that category. Students are busy, and classes can be demanding. The more efficient you can make your reading process, the more time you’ll have for the non-reading tasks on your list.
But speed is not the only standard you’re aiming for. You want your reading to be effective. That is, you want to comprehend what you are reading and have the kinds of notes that will make the text useful. If you aren’t reading effectively, there’s nothing efficient about it.
Once you’ve found the best setting for your reading, use it. Develop a routine of reading and studying at about the same time and in the same place as much as you can. Doing this will help the activity become a habit, and once that happens, reading will be even easier and more effective.
- Find a time, place, and format for reading that helps you focus on the text.
- To read effectively, limit your distractions, including your phone.
Text Attributions
This chapter contains material taken from the chapter “Creating an Optimal Setting for Reading” from The Word on College Reading and Writing by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear and is used under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
Material in this section was revised with the help of Wilmani Castillo, Paul Goggin, Max Jeremic, Tia Lidonde and Eddileidy Tejeda, students in my class during Fall 2022.
Media Attributions
“La Trobe Reading Room at State Library, Melbourne, Australia – 02/05/2017” is used under a CC0 1.0 Public Domain license.