Developing A Daily Reading Habit
Today I want to talk to you about developing a reading habit because who doesn't want to be reading more books? Am I right?
Do you have a Goodreads account? If so, have you signed up for any of the reading challenges every single year and not meet those goals? I get it. I've been there myself. Just take a look at my past reading challenges on Goodreads. They're far from what others may define as stellar.
What I want to share with you in this post are a couple of tips that I learned along the way to help me create a solid reading habit. I can honestly say that I have learned what works and what doesn't work well for me, and I'll let you know straight out the gate, that reading any number of books within a year does not define anyone as a less of an avid reader. In fact, let's make that the first rule or habit we get to work on right now.
Finishing the challenge is always a rewarding way to keep motivated throughout the year. But sometimes when we're in the messy middle of life, we won't always have that perfect and final tally of the number of books read at the end of the year and that's okay. In fact, if we keep this the main focus of our reading goals, we will quickly become disappointed to even keep moving forward. So let's focus on what's possible for us.
Another tip to develop a daily reading habit is to get rid of unrealistic expectations. No one else is in control of what we decide to make our reading goals or what counts or doesn't count as "reading". I've seen a lot of comments on public forums where people have a preconceived notion that a book only "counts" if it's in a physical or ebook form. Block out that noise!
Next up to create a daily reading habit is to pick a format that's most convenient and stick with it every day. A book is a book, whether it's in electronic, physical, or even an audio format is still a book. It's just another format people prefer to consume books and they ALL count. If we love reading the newspaper in print or online, it still counts. If you're someone who prefers magazines, comic books, whatever else that will entertain us to pick it up and read it without feeling as though it's a chore, it counts. Ultimately you get to decide whether you want to make it count towards your reading goals. Whatever you decide to go with stick with it.
Also, schedule time to read. I know, I know. This may seem like common knowledge, but it's not always practiced. I find that my best time to get in a solid hour or more of reading is during my daughter's nap time and while I am commuting to work.
Lastly, I also utilize audiobooks a lot and have subscribed to an awesome service called Scribd where I have unlimited access to ebooks, articles, audiobooks, and so much more for only $9.99 a month. That's a HUGE discount compared to so many other audiobook services out there like Audible that is out of my budget for audiobooks. If you use my referral link you can receive two months free of Scribd and of course can cancel at any time. I'm always recommending Scribd because I honestly love their service and the selections consist of the new and #1 NY Times bestsellers.
If you're like me and love personal development books but looking for an online book club that meets Live every month and dive deeper, then I invite you to join our book club. You can sign up by visiting our website here. I look forward to reading along with you. Cheers!