How do you focus while reading? Silence your phone with a Focus mode, start with 10 minutes and pick a book you actually want to read. Three small moves, all doable tonight. Below are the exact settings for iPhone and Android, a way to stretch your sessions and a plan for the first week.

Why focusing is hard

If two pages in your hand is already drifting towards your phone, you are not alone. A phone hands out quick, small rewards: a message, a like, a new video. A book asks you to wait a little before it pulls you in. At the start of a session, whatever is closer and louder tends to win.

That does not mean you have “forgotten how to read”. Focus on a book comes back like any skill you have used less for a while. What helps fastest is changing your surroundings, not willpower: if the phone never buzzes, there is nothing to resist.

Set up your phone in 2 minutes

All you need is one mode that silences notifications or pauses chosen apps while you read. We checked the menus against Apple’s and Google’s official help pages on 12 October 2026.

iPhone: Focus

  1. Open Settings and tap Focus.
  2. Pick a Focus, for example Do Not Disturb or Personal.
  3. Tap People and keep only the ones you really need to hear from.
  4. Tap Apps and keep only the essentials. If you read on your phone, allow your reading app.
  5. Optionally tap Add Schedule so the Focus turns on by itself, say at 9 pm.

You can also turn it on by hand: open Control Center and tap Focus. That is how the iPhone User Guide describes it.

Android: Focus mode

  1. Open Settings and tap Digital Wellbeing.
  2. Tap Focus mode.
  3. Select the apps to pause: social media, video, games. While Focus mode is on, you cannot open them and you will not get their notifications.
  4. Tap Turn on now or Set a schedule.

If you really need to check something, Take a break unpauses the apps for a time limit you choose. Android Help notes that menu names can vary by device.

Start with 10 minutes

An hour of focus is a good goal and a bad starting point. Start with 10 minutes, a handful of pages. Use a kitchen timer or a plain alarm clock so you do not glance at your phone “just to check the time”.

Stretch slowly. If 10 minutes passes without a fight three days in a row, add five. If a day goes badly, drop back to the previous length. A short session that worked does more than a long one where you drift off every minute. How to turn sessions like these into a steady routine is covered in how to build a reading habit.

Place, time, book

Place. Pick one regular reading spot: an armchair, a corner of the sofa, a park bench after work. Over time, just sitting there becomes the signal that it is book time.

Time. Read when you are not waiting for anything urgent. For many people that is the morning before checking messages, or the evening once the day is wrapped up. Evening reading turns into a ritual easily, and we explain how in reading before bed.

Book. The most overlooked reason. If the book bores you, no setting will fix that. Give it a few dozen pages, then swap it for something you are keen to pick up. Romance, crime, manga: what counts is that you want to turn the page.

When you read on your phone

Reading ebooks on your phone is handy, but the distractions sit in the same hand. A few rules:

  • Turn on Focus before you open the book, and leave only your reading app among the allowed apps.
  • Do not switch away “for a second”. If you want to check something, do it after the session.
  • Use dark mode and lower brightness, especially in the evening. The screen is less glaring in a dark room.
  • Bump up the font size. Fewer words per screen means less scrolling and an easier rhythm.

If you are wondering whether to move your reading to a separate device, see our comparison of e-reader vs phone.

A 7-day plan

Day Time To do
1 10 min Set up Focus and choose your spot
2 10 min Same time, same place
3 10 min Note when your mind wandered
4 15 min Add five minutes if three days went well
5 15 min Phone in another room, no exceptions
6 15–20 min Longer only if you feel like it
7 review Pick one thing to change: the time, the place or the book

A day off breaks nothing. Pick the plan up where you left it, and do not catch up.

How to see it is getting better

After each session, note the page number and, if you like, the minutes. After a week you will see whether sessions are getting longer and pages are adding up faster. A notebook works, and so does an app. How to choose one is covered in our guide to the reading tracker app. In Talemi you log the page and, optionally, how long you read, and your daily goal and stats show how your week is growing.

Want a calm place for your pages? See how Talemi works and join early access.

FAQ

Why can’t I concentrate on a book? Usually because your phone is within reach, you are tired, or the book does not grab you. Start by silencing notifications and reading for 10 minutes. If that does not help, change the book.

How many minutes a day should I read to rebuild focus? 10 minutes is enough to start. Add five once a few sessions in a row pass without a fight.

Is it better to read on paper or on a phone? Paper comes with fewer distractions. You can focus on a phone too if you turn on Focus and leave only your reading app.

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