Ask HN: Depressed need help

Go to the doctor and seek professional help

If the books you are trying to ready aren't technical books, programming etc. See if you can get the audiobook version. I can't tell you how many books I get through this way just listening to them back and fore to work. Also, if you have to read paper books. Relocate to somewhere without social media. Go sit in the Garden or Basement or Roof etc without your phone. Try for 30mins (on your watch not phone :) )

This is probably a very common problem these days. One thing you could try is to use a timer and start with smaller goals, like reading for 20 minutes straight. Gradually increase it to an hour or so, and decrease the breaks.

I find that when doing really boring work, just having a timer present makes me focus. Obviously I'm not using a timer now...

Read it out loud (even whispering).

For me it's a bit easier to prevent my mind wandering if I do that.

Obviously, try to read it away of your computer on either your ebook reader or a physical book. If you read on a tablet/phone, don't forget to stop ALL notifications.

Turn off your electronics for a bit. No displays for a few hours. Get used to focusing on things for a bit. Examine boring corners of the room. Then try reading while 'captive'. Train, bed, camping, or anywhere with minimal distraction. Books are amazing, but the initial wow factor is less than blinky things, so you have to spin down a bit.

How about trying an audio book. I was also struggling with reading books while I kept buying new ones. I then tried an audio book and to my surprise I really liked it. Now a days I finish an audio book in a week.

I would suggest to listen to the audio book at a fixed time everyday like early morning or before going to bed. In my case I found the routine to be quite helpful .