How To Improve Your Reading Habit

If reading is a habit, you should like to get into it. There are several ways to cultivate Reading Habit.

Realize That Reading Is Highly Enjoyable

If you have a good book. If you have a lousy book (or an extremely difficult one) and you are forcing yourself through it, it will seem like a chore. If this happens for several days in a row, consider abandoning the book and finding one that you’ll love.

Set Times

You should have a few set times during every day when you will read for at least 10-15 minutes. These are times that you will read no matter what happen each day. For example, make it a habit to read during breakfast and lunch (and even dinner if you eat alone). And if you also read every time you are sitting in the car, and when you go to bed, you now have four times a day when you read for at least 10 minutes each  or 40 minutes a day. That is a great start, and by itself would be an excellent daily reading habit. But there is more you can still do.

Always Have a Book At Hand

Always carry a book wherever you go, take a book with you when you leave the house.

Make a List

Keep a list of all the great books you want to read. You can keep this in your journal, in a pocket notebook, on your home page, etc. Be sure to add to it whenever you hear about a good book, online or in person. Keep a running list, and cross out the ones you read. Create a Gmail account for your book list, and email the address every time you hear about a good book. Let your inbox be your reading list. When you have read a book, file it under “Done”. If you want, you can even reply to the message (to the same address) with notes about the book, and those will be in the same conversation thread, so now your Gmail account is your reading log too.

Find a Quiet Place

Find a place in your home where you can sit in a comfortable chair (do not lay down unless you are going to sleep) and curl up with a good book without interruptions. There should be no television or computer near the chair to minimize distractions, and no music or noisy family members/roommates. If you don’t have a place like this, create one.

Reduce Time Of Television/Internet

If you want to read more, try cutting back on TV or Internet consumption. This may be difficult for many people. Still, every minute you reduce of Internet/TV, you could use for reading. This could create hours of book reading time.

Read To Your Friends/Brother/Sister Etc

Create reading habit in your friends, brothers, sisters. This is the best way to ensure they too will love to read and it will help you to be more focus if you are surrounded with such people.

Keep a Log

Similar to the reading list, this log should have not only the title and author of the books you read, but the dates you start and finish them if possible. Even better, put a note next to each with your thoughts about the book. It is extremely satisfying to go back over the log after a couple of months to see all the great books you have read.

Buy Used Books

Buy old and new books at a discounted rate to reduce cost on the books. You can also sell some of your old books at this place. You can read a lot of books with very low cost if you buy used books.

Have a Library Day

Make sure you visit public or private library to look for new books. You can make it a weekly visit to the library. Read fun and compelling books. Find books that grip you and keep you going. Even if they are not literary masterpieces, they make you want to read more.

Make It Pleasurable

Make your reading time your favorite time of day. Have some goodies while you read to keep you moving. Get into a comfortable chair to sit.

Blog It

One of the best ways to form a habit is to put it on your blog. If you do not have one, create it. It is free. Have your family go there and give you book suggestions and comment on the ones you’re reading. It keeps you accountable for your goals.

Set a High Goal

Tell yourself that you want to read 24 books in a year (or some other number like that). Then set about trying to accomplish it. Just be sure you’re still enjoying the reading and do not make it a rushed chore.

Have a Reading Hour Or Reading Day

If you turn off the TV or Internet in the evening, you could have a set hour (perhaps just after dinner) when you and maybe all the members of your family read each night. Or you could do a reading day, when you (and again, your other family members if you can get them to join you) read for practically the whole day. It is super fun.