Hello Earthlings!
If you haven’t noticed already… I read by the cartload. I consume books like people binge Netflix. You will find it hard to believe that just three years ago, I was struggling to finish seven books in one entire year.
In a society where everyone and everything is vying for your attention, it can be difficult to sit quietly and just read. The good news is, it’s possible! (I’m beginning to sound like an informercial but stay with me!) If you create your own method and have patience, becoming a voracious reader is easier than you think it is.
Let’s compare reading to going to the gym. Imagine a ripped gym rat, pumping iron after his/her 9-5 job every day. You understand that their physique is a combination of a rigorous exercise routine and healthy diet. Reading is very similar except you cannot flexing your reading muscles is less showy.
Reading is a matter of training your reading muscles by adopting a habit. I have a couple of my own tips from the last two years of reading. Enjoy~
Pick a suitable reading space
Selecting a space that is conducive to learning or cultivating a habit is critical to success. Solely relying on willpower to resist distractions and temptation is mentally depleting. It is a bad strategy if you’re looking to cultivate a new habit. Intuitively, you wouldn’t advise a recovering alcoholic to go to a bar, so is highly susceptible to distraction, it is your responsibility to remove yourself from distracting environments…that’s if you want your habit to survive. When I read, I retreat back to the office where I work except I close my laptop screen and lean back in my chair. The closed door sets the expectation to myself and others that I would not like to be disturbed.
Set up a regular reading time
I taught piano for three years and from my experience, consistency was the largest factor differentiating standout players from mediocre players. Not talent, passion, or even length of practice could trump someone who was dedicated to practicing consistently the right way for 3-4 months. With reading, don’t just say you’ll read for X minutes. Set up the same reading time every day where you read without distraction for X minutes or X amount of pages. Selecting the timeslot is important. If the mornings are too hectic for you, pick an evening time that is convenient after work and dinner responsibilities are finished. Protect the timeslot at all costs and adapt your schedule around your reading time.
Set small wins
Lofty, gargantuan goals tend to fail because they become overwhelming. Restarting seems like a huge opportunity cost so people give up altogether, year after year. The intention is to make the goal kindergarten level. For example, read two pages every day (sounds easy right?! Well that’s the point:)). You want to associate reading with ease, fun, and mastery; not pain, obligation, and punishment. Stick with the ridiculously easy goal for a week, then increase the number of pages for week two. Continue and adjust the number according to how you feel as the weeks progress. The goal is to keep the momentum of reading so much so that it makes you uncomfortable when you don’t read. If that means tuning down the intensity once in awhile, that’s still progress.
Set a long-term reading goal
If you want to track progress, I suggest being more specific with your reading goal. ‘Reading more’ is ambiguous. I have noticed that when I quantify my reading goal, I always exceed my goal. Providing a number gives you a target to work toward and motivation to reach reach the goal (a bit of internal communication doesn’t hurt).
To reach my 40 book reading goal, I figured I needed a robust plan. Here’s my simple formula:
- 365 (days of the year) / Annual Reading Goal = Days to finish one book
- Average length of book (use a number between 250-350) / Days to finish one book = Pages to read in a day to reach annual reading goal
- Example: 365/40 books per year = 9.1 Days to finish one book. 350/9.1 = 38.5 pages per day to reach annual reading goal
- You can take this even further: Calculate how long it takes you on average to read a page and you’ll know approximately how long you should read per day to hit your goal
Positive reinforcement
Reading takes energy and focus. You are unconsciously processing new words, digesting sentence structure, understanding concepts, imagining scenarios/storylines etc. No wonder beginners feel sleepy after reading a page or two. I use positive reinforcement to associate reading with accomplishment or something positive. Such activities include crossing off reading from my to-do list (I love lists!), updating reading progress on my Goodreads account, having breakfast or walking dog immediately afterwards as a reward. Habit stacking enables me to feel a string of productivity and good energy when I start my day with reading.
Read more than one book at a time [optional]
Strangely, this is a habit that I used to feel guilty about. I used to see reading multiple books like a person with commitment issues and having multiple affairs. Now, I just see it as focused learning in different areas. I have started to read at least one fiction and non-fiction book simultaneously.
At the end of the day, the number of books read is not as important as what it represents. My main purpose for reading so much is to pursue continuous learning and knowledge (and there’s never enough of that!). When I started reading more frequently two years ago, it was about the strong desire of wanting these values to be a part of my identity. Reading has taken me places without leaving my home, improved my empathy, changed my thinking, and also given me another conversational platform to connect with other readers.
Do you have any books that changed your thinking or your perspective on life? Do you have favourite authors or lessons from reading? I would love to hear about them, share below.
In usually geekiness, I presented on the topic of reading at my work (Toastmasters chapter). You can see my powerpoint presentation here.