Just a year left for me to hit my third decade on this planet.
Well, I am here writing a blog about “How I made my reading habit”. As there is
saying:
“It
is never too late to do the right thing”.
From my blog, you might have found I am from a technical background. I always had the interest to read books, but never a motivation to start one.
Even now I think I
am a slow reader but I am a READER. That is cool, right?
With
my start of the reading book in 2019, I read 7 books within 6 months. This
leads me to target 12 books in 2020. I have already reached my target for 2020
and still reading more books.
Well here are
five tips that have helped me to read:
1. Finding
The Book You Like
This is the main motivation to drive you to read past that first chapter. When I tried to make reading habit back in 2016, I started with classics.
They were a great
book with much better reviews and recommendations. It was me who was the problem.
After one or two chapters into the book, I got bored and started to
procrastinate.
At the time I
was getting excited with Entrepreneurship and was reading articles in the
various blog. So, thought non-fiction book would be a good start. Well, it was
a good decision that I made.
So go and see
what you like. When you are browsing the internet, what do you usually go
through? Find books related to those topics to get started.
2. Make A
List Of Book You Want To Read
Now you got
the kind of books that interests you. Next, make a list of book that you want
to read. The list might not be a huge one and I do not recommend it either.
Just find two books that you want to read immediately.
Why two?
As you will
complete one, then you do not have to go and check what you want to read next.
This might bring back your procrastination habit. While reading your second
book, you will have time to explore for the third one. The loop goes on.
When I made my list and was searching for a book. I came across gatesnotes.com a blog by Bill Gates.
Due
to my technical background and Gates being one of inspiration, I was quick to
go through his list and add some books in mine.
Do you have a
hero? Check out what book they read, you might be inspired to read those book.
Also, if you
have friends who read, they might be able to convenience you to read one.
3. Set Time Or Pages For Reading
This is to
make you read. Just go and set a time, say you will read for 15 minutes. It is
a small amount of time and doable. You will not be stressed out.
If time is
something that you think is difficult. Why not set the number of pages that you
will read? Just set that you will read 5 pages today, that’s all. It is easy
and doable.
I personally
go for an hour of reading every morning or a chapter from the book. This helps
me feel less stressed out and read better.
It is easy to
start reading right?
4. Find A
Good Place To Read
Finding a
good place to read. A home is always a good place to be and to read too.
Every one of
us has a choice of place. For me, I read in my bedroom in the morning. I find
morning time to be refreshing. I also sometimes read during the night just
before bed.
Why I am
suggesting home?
Due to
COVID-19, it is not safe to go outside. So it is home that is the perfect
place.
If you have
disturbances at home, try mornings like me. You will have no
distractions.
5. Track
Your Reading Habit (Goodreads App)
Here is
something I want you to have while you read.
Track your
reading!
Seeing the
progress of reading will inspire to keep up the habit.
I use Goodreads to track my reading. I found it to be a good platform for readers. You can check it out.
You can search book of your interest, see the ratings and read reviews.
Make friends, join groups and get inspired.
To conclude, those are my simple five ways to make a habit of reading. You can see so less effort in making habit. I still make time for other activities like my office work and writing this blog.
If you have any more points to develop reading habit. Share in the comment section.
Here is one
book that I recommend anyone who want to start your reading habit. Hope it will
inspire you as it did to me.