Greetings, everyone.
Very good point. I am one of those who start reading and after some time I realize that I am not registering anything. My mind was wandering somewhere else.
Also, the web itself becomes more than a gathering point, it's a trapping device. I have been doing what you suggest here, shutting down the router to avoid distractions.

The thing is that we have been taught and even expected to multitask because the internet solved the problem we had before when we needed to be physically present, say, at a library to do research and then at a bank and then at a store. Now we can shop, do banking and research from our computers, we can even do all our work from there.

We got too used to having multiple windows opened and check the news and some trailers while writing a post and solving some other problems.

It takes discipline to undo all that. But, as you rightly point out, it is doable. I write down the list of urgent things, and then another list of important, but not urgent things that can be done only if there's time left after the urgent ones have been covered.