For years, I felt that I should read more often - but I did nothing. I’m sure everyone can relate to this. There’s something you want to do more of, but it keeps getting put off and ignored.
I’ve been able to turn this trend around and I am now able to read 2-3 books in a month. On paper, this looks like a pretty big lifestyle change for me, look at the data pulled from my Goodreads list:
- 2017 - 2
- 2018 - 19
- 2019 - 19 // as of 8/29/19
What surprises me though, is I didn’t have to change much to make this happen. Here are a few things I started and also stopped:
- Utilize commuting time - I have a 20-minute train commute. I stopped doing email, Instagram, and texting to free up time that was already built into my day.
- Got a library card - You can loan free eBooks or audiobooks from your iPhone or Kindle with the OverDrive app and a library card.
- Quit a book if it was boring - This is not easy for me, but it’s not worth suffering through something - too many other good books out there.
Really not that much of a change.
I’ll admit, I feel really stupid for not pushing myself to do this sooner. I read mostly nonfiction; a mix of biographies, some business books, and various topics I find interesting. I’ve picked up so many invaluable lessons for daily and working life - sometimes it feels like having cheat codes for a video game.
It’s crazy how much knowledge is out there and completely free. The only bottleneck is the time investment, yet the payout is both obvious and immediately observable. This is a habit I know that I will keep up now. I’m proud of this, because I know there will always be a positive ROI.
I’m aware that books aren’t the only way to measure reading, e.g. some people read a lot of newspapers. This is just my method for measurement.