Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash.
Beloved,
Reading is one of the three hobbies that I truly believe every single person should have ( the other two being exercising and journalling). I won’t go into details about the benefits of reading – maybe I’ll write a blog post about it one day but so many other bloggers have written extensively on this topic. For now just take my word for it – reading is good for you
Personally, I’ve always been a reader. As a kid I read all the time. However my reading habits have greatly fluctuated throughout the years. In some years I read 30 – 40 books, while in others I was lucky to even read five.
About five years ago, I decided to be a bit more intentional about it. Nothing dramatic – just a simple goal of one book a month (12 a year). And honestly, that tiny bit of structure helped a lot. From 2020 to now, I’ve read 143 books, with 2021 being my only off-year at 11.
Anyway, if you’ve been thinking about becoming a more consistent or intentional reader as part of your yearly resolutions, here are a few tips to help you build a solid reading habit:
1) Set a reading goal
I don’t know man, something about having a goal to work towards just really gets the brain going. Free fall reading decreases accountability to yourself because what’s to stop you from just like not reading. A goal gives you a semblance of direction – to have something to work towards. If you’re struggling to get (back) into books, I personally recommend starting with six books a year. A book every two months is super doable. If you’re up for a challenge, 12 is a nice sweet spot. I like to aim for 24 but if I hit even 12, I think it’s a good year.
A tiny hack: I set your official goal lower than what you actually intend to read. This kinda takes the pressure off and the dopamine really hits when you surpass it. Also the Goodreads and StoryGraph apps are really good for setting and tracking your annual goals.
2) Build a manageable tbr
My full tbr (to-be-read) as you will see on Goodreads is actually unreasonable. However, every single year, I set aside certain books I fully intend to read that year. Full disclosure is that I don’t usually read everything on that list. I’m very much a mood reader, but trust me it does work.
A tbr makes reading obvious. Instead of trying to surprise yourself about what you want to read, I recommend you set aside books or book types you want to get through that year.
A Few tips:
- The number does not have to equal your overall goal. So for example you can set aside 2 specific books you want to read out of the overall 6 you’re aiming for that year.
- Set a few quick fast reads
- Choose genres you enjoy or books you’ve been meaning to read.
- Check out reading challenges. I have a few on my site for: 6 books,12 books and 24 books.
3) Track your reading
Listen and excuse my french, but if you’re actually trying to cultivate a habit, you can’t just say fuckall with the way you’re reading. You kinda have to somehow be organised. There’s just something incredibly satisfying about seeing a list of titles you’ve read over the years but it also helps to build your longer tbr. As you get more invested in books and reading culture you’ll find yourself wanting to track not only what you’ve read but what you’re going to read. Again, Goodreads and StoryGraph are really good book trackers. And if you’re looking to track more of your reading stats, I highly recommend StoryGraph.
4) Set a time to read
Again, to become an avid reader, you have to be intentional and organised about it. As you get older and schedules get busier, you actually have to make time for the things you want to do. Who knew? I personally started waking up at five in the morning to make sure I have a bit of some alone time to exercise and read. I usually read from around six to around seven which helps me cover some twenty or so pages before I start off my day.
A small tip: Setting an actual alarm for a specific time of day actually helps.
5) Create a good reading space
Outside of setting time to read, setting up a proper environment also really helps you get into the mood and mindset for reading. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. I like to read on the corner of my couch all the time. I just add a few cushions here, a cup of tea there and I’m usually good to go. I try to make myself comfort and block out as many distractions as possible. I have the Forest and Stayfree apps on my phone which really help with that. I treat reading like a sacred practice and that really helps get me in the mood.
6) Have reasonable daily goals
Finally, outside your overall annual reading goal, I like to set daily/weekly reading goals. These goals can shift from day to day but for me they usually shift from book to book. It’s always something small and digestible. Like read for 10 minutes a day. Or a specific number of pages per week. In time of writing this, I’m trying to get through Anna Karenina. My main goal is to read at least 50 pages of this mammoth of book every week (it’s 800 pages). Setting a daily goal gives you something more tangible to work towards making reading more satisfying and less overwhelming.
A few final tips:
- You don’t have to read every single day. But I do recommend setting a weekly goal to keep yourself accountable. (Check out the app Streaks to help with this).
- You can DNF a book you aren’t enjoying. (DNF = Did not finish).
- Read at your own pace. This is not a competition. Some people will just read more books than you will.
- Try not to read more than one book at a time. Especially if you’re just starting out or getting back into it.
- Always adjust to your needs.
