Reading is a great habit with many benefits. I believe that almost everyone is aware of the benefits that reading can have on your life, however, it is still difficult to make a habit out of reading. It took me a long time to make reading a habit and I still must remind myself every now and then of the methods that worked for me in the beginning. I remember that it took me a year(!) to finish the first serious book that I bought for myself about six years ago. A few years later I now manage to read at least two books a month on a consistent basis. So how did I manage to read more books? Below you will find some of the methods that I used to make reading a habit.
Table of Contents
Bring a book wherever you go
This sounds rather simple, but it helped me a lot. I made a habit out of taking a book with me wherever I went. As a result, whenever I felt the slightest motivation to read , or was bored and had nothing else to do, I could take out my book and read a few pages. These moments, even if you read only one page, quickly add up and you will have finished the book before you know.
Buy physical books
Even though it is interesting to listen to audiobooks or borrow books from a library or a friend, buying the actual book might motivate you to read more. This was the case for me. Whenever I finished a book, I would put it on a shelf specifically intended as a location for all the books that I had finished. As a result, I could see the progress that I was making, this motivated me to continue reading because I would be able to place more books on this shelf. The more I was reading, the more I wanted to read.
Create a ‘reading window’
It might be a good idea to dedicate a fixed moment every day to reading. This might be just after you have woken up, during your lunch break, or, as I do, before going to sleep. I like to go to bed around half an hour before I want to go to sleep, I leave my phone and I only bring a book. Find a moment that works for you and try it out.
Read books that you like
Probably the easiest way to read more is to read books that you like. Try to define the topics that you would like to read about and if you have found an author whose style you like, it is likely that you like almost all of his or her books. It might also be a good idea to read reviews about the book before you decide to buy it. If you are looking for inspiration you might find something interesing in my top 10 list here.
Take notes
One of the mistakes I have made in the beginning of my reading ‘career’ is that I never took any notes. As a result, a few months or even weeks after reading a book it was hard for me to remember what the book was all about, this was of course not very motivating. I therefore decided to place a sticky note on every page that I found to contain something interesting.
Share your new knowledge and findings
After reading more and more books I noticed that I wanted to discuss the content with others. For this purpose, I created an Instagram page and eventually this blog and a Youtube page as well. This was a great motivator to read more. The more I read the more content I could post.
