If I could request all my readers to be real for 2 seconds, at one point in our lives or the other, we have all asked ourselves this question, “How can I build a reading habit?”. I was one of the more frustrating ones, and hence I asked myself, “What the hell is wrong with me that I can’t finish reading one stupid book?!”. One night, I tried to clear the fog around this enigmatic question.
After that day, I turned the tables and was able to build a pretty solid reading habit for myself. Thanks to free speech and the internet, which makes this content accessible to you at a time of need, today, I am going to try and share a few tips that might help you to build a reading habit. Because let’s face it, right now is the best moment to try and start something new.
So, ready or not, here we go!
It ain’t right if it ain’t fun!
Remember one habit that you built because you dreaded doing it? I know, me neither. Try to make reading an enjoyable thing to do! I mean, you’re doing this to expand your mental horizons. The outcomes seem pretty cool to me. It’s only fair that we make the journey just as enjoyable. Sit in a comfortable chair, drink your favourite beverage, just make it fun!
Bad choices don’t really make for good stories
To read or not to read, that is the question! No, I am not paraphrasing Shakespeare, I am making this very genuine request, that whenever you start reading a book if it’s not something that you would like to stick with, do not force yourself to continue. As mentioned before, you’re doing this for your betterment, and if you don’t like it, the chances of you actually benefitting from it are pretty slim.
The ocean is made out of drops!
Setting small goals is a fairly common strategy to achieve bigger and brag-worthy targets. Starting off with a reading habit is yet another one of those things which can be accomplished using the same. Kick off your conquest with a very small, yet achievable goal, say 10 minutes or 5 pages. Build on it, minute by minute, page by page and you’ll be unrecognizable in a matter of weeks!
Nothing is cheating here!
Breaking news! Reading articles on the internet counts! The initial stages of building a reading habit can include reading anything that floats your boat. This is how we build habits. Gradually though, it is a conscious choice and effort that we need to make to switch to more sophisticated forms of reading. However, if you choose not to do that, nobody is judging you, except yourself.
Tangibility works here, just like every other aspect
We talked about the relevance of setting small goals earlier, but with the passage of time, these goals need to be turned to higher targets. Set a goal of say reading 10 books in a year. Sounds extremely doable, and at the same time, it gives you something to look forward to. The achievability of these targets creates much-needed interest while building this new habit.
Steal time from other places
Yes, I know Netflix is super fun but also super time-consuming. Although it is very easy to do, extremely entertaining, and grabs a lot of attention directly, when you’ve got the awareness to build a good habit of reading, I think it’s almost a no-brainer that you’d understand why the new habit trumps the old one. Not just your binging time, your commute hours, lunch, or dinner time can also be converted to reading time!
You can’t carry the world on your shoulders, or can you?
Having a book on your person at all times is an added motivator for reading more. Unless it is certain you won’t be able to read, say when you’re going to the movies or meeting your friends who would go crazy and make fun of you for having a book, have a book with you. It would greatly assist your efforts in building this new daily ritual.
I wish you good luck with this new endeavor of yours. Hopefully, there would be a more brainy reader by the time we have you read one of our posts again!
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