Title: How book-reading can make you a laser-focused web designer Author: Drew Lyon Published: December 2, 2014 Last modified: August 25, 2025 --- # How book-reading can make you a laser-focused web designer Web Design & Development ![Profile Image](https://www.glidedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/Drew-1.png) Drew Lyon Published Dec 2014 ![featured image](https://www.glidedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/5-qualities-to- look-for-in-a-website-design-company.svg) Share on Social Media * [Fb](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.glidedesign.com/blog/book-reading-can-make-laser-focused-web-designer/&t=How book-reading can make you a laser-focused web designer) * [Li](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&title=How book-reading can make you a laser-focused web designer&url=https://www.glidedesign.com/blog/book-reading-can-make-laser-focused-web-designer/) * [Tw](http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Currently reading How book-reading can make you a laser-focused web designer&url=https://www.glidedesign.com/blog/book-reading-can-make-laser-focused-web-designer/) Table of contents ![optimize-your-brand-ai-driven-search-ebook-cover](https://www.glidedesign.com/ wp-content/uploads/optimize-your-brand-ai-driven-search-ebook-cover-300x388.png) Future-Proof Your SEO with GEO Strategies Discover the key insights on how AI-driven search is reshaping digital visibility. [Download Ebook](https://www.glidedesign.com/blog/book-reading-can-make-laser-focused-web-designer/?output_format=md#geted-post-form-popup) ## In a nutshell, we’re not as good at multi-tasking as we think we are. Reading books improves our ability to focus on one thing at a time, making us better at complex tasks, like web design. > **If you’re reading this chances are it’s not the only thing you’re doing.** You’re > juggling an array of tabs and windows, you’re waking up your phone just to tell > it to go back to sleep, you’re shelling pistachios, and, if you’re lucky, maybe > every so often you’re taking a moment to stare out the window and appreciate how > leaves fall. _Ahhh how serene—_ Okay, scan another sentence. -Where are the pictures?-Check your email.-Where was I?-Forget it, jump to the conclusion… ### Read a book. Not just any book, but … wait, actually, yes, any book. Start the _Game of Thrones_ series, read Stephen King, check out the new Hillary Clinton biography, whatever you’re into. Commit to reading **any full-length book you think you’ll enjoy**. All that matters is that you’re focusing your attention on the singular act of reading. Why? Not because it’ll make you more cultured or learned member of society, but because** it’ll make you better at your job**. If you’re a designer, you’ll have a distinct advantage over your non-book-reading brethren and sistren— > Is sistren even a word? > -Command+T to open another tab. > -According to the [www.oxforddictionaries.com](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/), > yes: “Both brethren and sistren were used in Middle English (12th to 15th centuries) > simply as the plural forms of brother and sister.” > -So the answer is yes—or at least it used to be. See what I’m talking about. I’ve gone totally off the rails. Where was I… ### Your Secret Weapon The advantage you’ll have over your peers is that you’ll be more focused. **You’ll get more done in shorter amounts of time**. But how? Reading helps you become a better single-tasker—and **single-tasking is crucial to completing complex mental tasks to the best of your ability**. Just ask [Brainfacts](http://www.brainfacts.org/sensing-thinking-behaving/awareness-and-attention/articles/2013/the-multitasking-mind/)( based on research by Society for Neuroscience): > “While the right and left sides of the prefrontal cortex work together when focused > on a single task, the sides work independently when people attempt to perform > two tasks at once.” What that means is that we have a limited amount of brain power and **the fewer things we’re doing at once, the more mental energy we can put toward each one**. One task gets 100% of our available brain power—meaning better results, fewer mistakes, and yes, more efficiency. ### One Mind, One Design I think we can all agree that [good web design](https://www.glidedesign.com/services/design/)— a combination of **form, function, and problem solving**—is already multi-faceted enough without asking your brain how to make chicken marsala on top of it. Put everything you have into one activity, then move onto the next. ### But what’s so great about reading, specifically? Reading demands and develops two of the most important skills needed for single- tasking: **focus and attention span**. It’s also fun and informative and quite frankly, mentally liberating. Give it a try. Read for thirty minutes (a day, perhaps) without doing anything else. Think of it as mental exercise, think of it as guilt-free entertainment, think of it as job security. 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