How To Read More…A Lot More

Reading isn’t something I’ve always done. In fact it was only couple of years ago that I started to take reading ‘seriously’. If I remember correctly, my first initial reading goal was to read three books in the year. Fast forward to today, I’m currently reading over a book a week, and over the past 18 months, I’ve read a total of 70 books.

Here are 3 ways to drastically improve your reading output:

A Reading Schedule

Try scheduling in your reading like you would with any other task during the day. You might think this is a bit over the top, anal and damn right ridiculous. However, if you think back to how busy you are throughout the day, the chances are you have a job to contend with, children to look after along with many other responsibilities. You’ll have a lot on your plate, which is exactly why a reading schedule is essential to boost your reading output.

Pick a time where you know you’ll be able to fit in some reading. For me personally, I have a dedicated time in the morning for reading, and another slot in the evening. These periods work for me. You might not be able to fit in reading when I do, instead your reading time could be:

• Just before you go to sleep
• Early in the morning before everyone else is awake (less distractions that way)
• On your journey to work (listening to an audiobook or reading a physical book if you’re on the train, bus etc)
• During your lunch break

Pick a time which suits you and try your best to stick with it.

But before you can build yourself a schedule, you need to…

Make Reading A Priority

One of the most common reasons/excuses for not reading more books is ‘I don’t have enough time’. For the overwhelming majority of people, this just isn’t true. You probably do have time to read, you’re either unaware of how you spend your time or reading is just not your priority.

For example, how much time do you spend on your phone? A survey carried out by App Annie found, that in the UK, people spend around four hours a day on there mobile phones. Instead of looking at your phone, maybe crack a book open instead!

On your way to work, what do you do during the journey? Do you listen to music? Look at social media? Listen to the radio? Instead of doing these things, maybe consider listening to an audiobook on Audible instead. By the way there is nothing wrong with the things mentioned above, not at all, but be honest with yourself, you probably do have time to read more books, you’re just not making reading a priority.

Buy a Kindle

Buying a Kindle has been one of the best decisions I have made in recent times. Having a kindle has helped me read so much more. It’s like carrying a whole library around in my rucksack. Everywhere I go, my kindle comes with me too. If I have my kindle with me, I know I have an array of books right there at my disposal.

By no means is this a way to shun paperback books, you might even enjoy reading physical books more than reading off a digital screen. In fact, recently I’ve been reading more paperbacks myself. But in general I do believe buying a kindle would be an extremely beneficial purchase for most people if the goal is to devour more books.

So there you have it…

These are my 3 best tips (as of yet) on how to read more books. I’m by no means a reading expert at all, there are people out there who read way more than me. However, I hope these 3 tips go some way into helping you read more.

If you have any other ways in which I can improve my reading output, feel free to let me know. It’ll be much appreciated.