How do you get yourself to do something you have to do when staring at a wall is a better experience than doing it?

[JoshRaed]

I’d ask reddit but I can’t because i’m banned.

I have to read a book for school and I at one point turned my phone off and decided “you can read this book or you can do nothing” hoping that would make me start, and I legitimately did nothing, and longed to return to nothing once I forced myself to start reading, like the experience was actively unpleasant to my body somehow. How do I get around that?

Thank you @2DLenzy and @skylisette this worked pretty well except instead of a candy it was finally taking a nap, also the nap made me able to function better.

Thank you @Stargazer31 this works pretty well.

Thank you @boomerZ you're totally right and its always easier to do than to start.

Thank you @NickRowler doing it in the dining room or just my desk instead of my bed made it work a lot better.

Thank you @breebaxter imagining I am being watched actually makes it a lot easier to force myself through it.

Thank you @lensing I use pomodoro and will start using small unit to work up to larger ones.

Thank you @kyupol I’ll take this into account in the future.

[2DLenzy]

Set tiny goals for yourself. I'm assuming your book has a table of contents, right? I'd go there and figure out how many pages per chapter you'd have to read. Then set a goal based on how many pages you can skim, like try 3 or 5 to start then take a short break. Build up larger goals once you feel you can handle the small ones.

To liven things up, maybe play music as you read (I recommend soundtracks) and maybe reward yourself with a snack or fun activity once you finish your first chapter/mini-goal.

[SpookySky]

Theres the "gummy bear method" when reading textbooks. Set your fav candy at the end of every paragraph, so when you finish that paragraph and write a quick note to remember it, you eat the candy. Thats what my prof taught me lol

@JoshRaed had to fix multiple spelling mistakes that made it sound strange lol

[Stargazer31]

Put your phone in another room and take breaks whilst reading

[BoomerZ]

You need to teach yourself you are going to do unpleasant things your entire life. Things you don't want to do but have to. This is called life. Just sit down and get it done. Afterward you will wonder what all the fuss was about.

[NickRowler]

A lot of people go to the library. You are away from your house/dorm, so it puts you in a different headspace away from distractions at home.

[SpookySky]

that answer perfectly matched your name...

[vfaqvrf]

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[SpookySky]

Ive seen that! The whole "I'm studying, not checking chat" and it seems to help some people like a group study session. I use the Love & Deepspace "study session" or "work session" to focus.

[Lensing]

Set a timer. Start with a time which doesn´t feel like you are torturing yourself.
Increase the time daily. You´ll get used to it.
This works with everything.

[ThunderChicken]

You may have ADHD. I do, and if I am not interested in something there is no force in the universe that will make me pay attention to it. If I try to force myself to I can almost feel my brain turning sideways in my head. You can imagine how well this played out in middle school and high school in the 1980's, when ADHD was just not a thing.

On the other hand, if I am interested in something, there is no force in the universe that will distract me from it. If I pick up a good book I will have it read in a day or two. I'll even forget to eat. I watched an episode of Game of Thrones, then blasted through the entire Songs of Ice And Fire book series before two more episodes were released (and you had better believe that it has been driving me nuts that the author hasn't finished the bloody books!).

[vfaqvrf]

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[kyupol]

I'd personally take a walk for 15 mins, shower, or meditate. And then start the task.

[GeekyShadowz]

I'd like to second the theory about ADHD. It's tough stuff. Regardless of whether you do or don't though, try some ADHD resources. There's some stuff online to help, and my favorite person is a YouTuber that goes by the username, "How to ADHD." She can teach you a whole lot about how to get through things when they're hard. I also find that it helps to put on "study with me" YouTube videos. Ones with calm piano music instead of lo-fi or background sounds are my favorite.