Hello fellow bookworms!
If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering how you can become more efficient at reading more but not just that — you’re probably in search of sneaky time saving tips that actually work.
Without further ado, here are 10 ways you can actually read more books this year:
1. Make a To Be Read List, and keep it visible: Make a list of the current books that you want to or are trying to read at the moment. I’ve actually got a handy dandy reading list on my Notion, with sections like Book Name, Status (reading, haven’t started, finished, paused), Author, and Genre. At the end of it, there’s that glorious check box that I can click once I finish a book.
2. Take a book with you everywhere: I’m not joking. At the risk of sounding like a total bookaholic (which I totally am), take it everywhere. That includes the bathroom. I mean, we take our phones in there all the time, why can’t we normalize using some of that time to read? There’s no shame in it, and considering on average how much time we spend on the toilet (a 2019 survey from England reports that on average, men spend 373 days, or 23 minutes per day; and women will spend 456 days, or 29 minutes per day — that’s some good reading time!) it’s really a smart way to get some quality and hopefully uninterrupted reading time. But I digress — take your book everywhere. And definitely take your book to your appointments and to the grocery store or better yet if you’re in Australia — good old Centrelink (the average person throughout their lifetime spends five years waiting in lines — I’m assuming that also accounts for time spent sitting in doctors’ waiting rooms).
3. Ask yourself why: Why do you want to read more books? Is it societal pressure or something you actually want to do? If it’s societal pressure, I can practically guarantee your procrastination will sky-rocket. We need a personal drive to invest so much time into something. Societal pressure just doesn’t cut it. Here are some examples of personal motivators:
- To relax
- To learn something new
- To gain a different perspective
- Self improvement
- To gain inspiration
4. Incorporate reading into your morning routine: Although it is a noble aspiration, you don’t need to consume the entire book in one sitting (unless it’s by James Patterson — then consuming it in one sitting becomes basically inevitable). Read a chapter per morning. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but over the span of a week, that’s seven chapters my fellow bookworm! Do it for 2 weeks, that’s fourteen chapters! This technique also makes sure that you don’t read yourself to the point of burnout, which is how most reading slumps begin. Slow progress is still progress!
5. Incorporate reading into your night routine: If you’re a night owl like me, this is the perfect chance to get some uninterrupted reading time! Reading at night before bed is also a great night time routine activity — it relaxes you and, seeing as it’s not on a screen, doesn’t sabotage your sleep quality. Now that’s a big win! Use the 1 chapter technique from above. If you combine 1 chapter in the morning with 1 chapter at night, that’s 2 chapters per day, which in a week equals to fourteen chapters!
6. Don’t force yourself to read books you don’t enjoy: I’m just going to say it — you don’t owe the book anything, you don’t owe the author anything, but what you do owe to yourself is a damn good read. My general rule of thumb is that if the first page or first 1–3 chapters don’t draw me in, it’s a no-no. Don’t waste your time dragging yourself through a book. A good read shouldn’t make you feel as if you’re dragging yourself through it! Deduct the books you actually don’t like from your reading list, and you’ll find that the time (and the books) fly when you actually enjoy what you read. Reading isn’t a chore; it’s an intellectual pleasure.
7. Consume media consciously: Do you actually want to or need to spend an hour in the morning consuming information you weren’t even looking for? I know it’s easier said than done — but it’s not impossible. Have intention behind your actions. Be on social media because you intended to, not because of an impulse action. And be conscious of the content you expose yourself to. Mute those pesky notifications that steal your precious reading time. Schedule a time to check your emails or to text people back. We have books to read!
8. Visit your local library: A library is a bookworm’s best friend (along with our bank accounts). You can borrow books from the library, renew them if you still haven’t quite finished yet, and it’s (usually) all for free! This tip is especially good if you’ve seen something at the bookstore that piques your interest — but you’re not entirely sure if you love it enough to spend money on it.
9. Lose the “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts”: This goes hand in hand with tip number 6, but is moreso about that pressure you sometimes get from friends, colleagues, family members or the internet about which books you definitely need to read or which ones you shouldn’t. Take these recommendations with a grain of salt, not as law. Nothing bad is going to happen if you don’t read the book that Susan over there tried to bully you into reading. Don’t just blindly go with the hype. Of course, sometimes the hype has really good recommendations and you find some good gems, but don’t force it. Forcing yourself to read a book because the internet told you that you “should” read it to find love or gain happiness or whatever is a sure fire way to put yourself off from reading.
10. Surround yourself with like-minded people: Surround yourself with people who are also into reading, people who will encourage your endeavor and more importantly, who will respect your boundaries and not guilt-trip you over them. Like with anything else in life, surrounding yourself with the right people is super important. Surround yourself with people who respect your love for reading, people who don’t get offended when you tell them you don’t want to go out tonight because you really want to finish this good book. People who can even hold you accountable to your reading goals, who listen to you when you start rambling about your latest reads. Mind your tribe.
There you have it, my lovely bookworms! Let me know which tip you’re going to try or if you’ve tried some of these ideas out already, let me know how they worked for you.
Until next time,
Tea_rriffic.
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