4 tips to read more again
Reading is one of my favourite things I spend time on everyday. Yet every once in a while I will fall in a rut, fall out of reading, and not pick up a book for a couple months.
By then I’d have lost the momentum, and even though I’d feel that itch to start reading again, I won’t know where to start.
So in situations like those, Here are a few things that has helped me gain back that momentum and start reading again.
#1 - Choose easier books
You don’t have to read any book. Nobody is forcing you to. Its always your choice what you want to read and you can always read whatever you love.
So when I’m stuck in moments like these, I’d choose simple books that I can easily move through and gain back momentum. Simple fiction, list style short non fiction and so on. Whatever helps to get you sit down and turn pages again, start with that.
#2 - Set a small daily page goal
However much you think you can read each day, set your goal at least half of that. Preferably even less.
It’s easy to get ambitious and set huge goals. But in situations like these what you really need is to get started and feel like you’re winning. If you set big audacious goals at this stage, you’re simply going to fail and feel bad, and then quit altogether.
Instead what you should do is, set a daily page number goal. How many pages do you want to read. Keep this as small as possible, 5-10-20. Aim really low. Then start tracking this and marking your wins everyday. This will make you feel like you’re winning and get the ball rolling again.
#3- Make reading your default activity
Make your reading apps first things on your homepage and delete everything else.
Whenever you have a little free time, open your kindle, or audible, or apple books, or whatever it is that you use and start reading. Whenever you feel that pull to check out something, or scroll for some time on your phone, just start reading.
Practice this consciously till reading becomes your default activity.
#4 - Read the books you need now
This is the biggest tip I can give. Read books that will solve the problems you’re facing right now(or you feellike you need now).
We learn things when we use them, and when we read things we actually need right now, we have opportunity to actually test them out in our life.
Of course this doesn’t only apply to non fiction. If you’re reading fiction, read genres you like right now. If you’re in the rom-com mood, read that. If you want some fantasy, go ahead. Like I mentioned, don’t aim at huge unaccessible books now. Just read simple things you can easily get lost into and start reading again, eventually when you’re feeling ready you can always go back to those books.
So these are some of the things that help.
Do you have any tips you do to get out of reading slumps and start reading again?
Please let me know.
Happy reading.
— Arshad.