Reading Hacks - How to Easily Read a Book in a Month
Written by Brian Chien - 3/19/2021
If reading one book might allow you to gain one new insight, vicariously live through another person's experience, or debunk a misunderstanding, you become a different person whenever you read a book. A study in 2004 shows that people in the US read an average of 12 books a year, and the median is only five books. Let us provide you four tips to be more than just the median and the average. We believe you can.
Make the books accessible.
Do you find yourself reading social media feeds, news feeds, and recommended articles everyday? The answer is most likely a yes. Now think about how you manage to "find the time" to read these? Why are the time for these types of reading relatively "abundant"? It is simply that they are one click or one tap away. We can replicate the same effect by downloading digital books on e-book reading applications on your mobile or tablet, placing physical books near where you usually do leisure news browsing or audio-books on your playlist. Once you have all these books on your phone or near you, you'll realize that any chunk of time you would have spent on social media or news would be more enjoyably spent reading a few pages of books that may bring you a more profound impact. You can read while waiting for your next phone call. You can read while you need a slight detour of your attention from work. You can also read while you are killing time while commuting. These little reading moments add up.
Set a goal per reading session.
Now that you have made your reading accessible. It is time to ensure that we also allow ourselves to feel empowered every time we choose a book over social media or mindless infinite scrolling. A sense of accomplishment can help us to have the self-efficacy to continue. We can set a goal for our "mini" reading sessions. A goal can be as big as "I will read at least one chapter" to as small as "I will read at least two pages." If these goals seem overwhelming, you might even start with "I will read at least two paragraphs." It's about the process and how we build our confidence towards feeling capable of "finishing reading a book." This simple build over time may have the possibility to turn into a reading habit.
Read before going to bed or the first thing in the morning
We can also try to connect our new desired reading action to our existing habits. Books like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg mentioned how we could change our habits by replacing or connecting to existing daily routines. In the book The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg talked about the Keystone habits. Keystone habits are "small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives. Keystone habits create a domino effect that can impact every area of your life. If you always start your day with a cup of coffee, simply piggyback reading to it. Whenever I drink my coffee, I will read two paragraphs of my book of choice. If you normally walk your dog when you wake up, try to listen to 10 minutes of the audiobook while you walk around the block. If you usually binge on Netflix after dinner, try reading for 20 minutes first. If you typically take a shower and go straight to bed, try reading for 20 minutes before going to bed. Pairing reading to your existing daily routine can be a simple and easy way to start your reading habit.
Join your peers
Maybe through a friend, a family member, or a personal reading journal, accountability can help you to stay on track for your reading journey. What we have found effective can be broken down into two categories. The first is number objectives. Some find it helpful to set a number goal for how many book reviews they write on GoodReads. Some people might use a journal to keep track of how many pages they read. Some may depend on e-book apps to remind them to continue reading. This type of tracking requires self-determination and self-discipline. Given the mental effort needed to start a new reading habit, sometimes things become challenging. You lose motivation. You lose momentum. And the next thing you know is that the book is still there yet to be finished. The second category is a support network where you have social accountability. A socially accountable partner can be a friend, a family member, or a book club where you hold each other accountable. Together you discuss and share what you think about the book. You encourage each other when one might be off track. You get excited about reading because you have someone to talk to about the book.
We hope you find this article useful. Reading is an enjoyable journey for us, and we hope it is true for you too.