I love reading. The more I read the more I’m inspired to read. The majority of the books that I read are business and personal development books.
One thing I discovered is that the more I read, the more I know, and hence, the better I can perform.
Some people love to read, but some people don’t. And we all know the benefits of reading. If you don’t, read my previous article here.
Reading is one of the major reasons people become successful.
Warren Buffett is one of the extraordinary people who read, a lot. Here’s what he said about reading:
“Read 500 pages…every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”
Charlie Munger, Buffett’s business partner and the vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway credited reading to the company’s success by saying:
“I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they are learning machines. They go to bed every night a little wiser than they were when they got up and boy does that help, particularly when you have a long run ahead of you.”
The same happened to Oprah Winfrey, the billionaire media mogul also credited her success to reading. She said that she started reading at the age of 3, and since then she has discovered a whole new world outside of her small farm in Mississippi.
Reading helps improve your ability to focus, increase your creativity, and more importantly, widens your perspective about what you can achieve in your life.
So, most successful people read. And they read a lot. But, how do you read more? I know we all have limited time each day.
And if we don’t do something about it, time will just fly out of our hands and go to waste.
Here are 7 little tricks you can use to help you read more books every day:
1. Schedule reading time
If you want to read more, you must schedule a time for it. Things are not going to happen automatically, you need to schedule it and plan for it in order for it to happen.
Just like your meetings in the office, you schedule for it to happen, don’t you? When you schedule your reading time, you make sure it will happen.
For instance, you can schedule your reading time from 7 AM to 7:30 AM each morning. So, at this time, all you do is read. Your mission is to get the task done, which is to focus on reading.
Whatever gets scheduled, gets done.
2. Bring your book with you
Yes, bring your book with you wherever you go. There are plenty of small pockets of time you can use to read instead of scrolling your phone.
When you wait in line, when you wait for your friends to arrive, when you commute in buses or the subway, use those time to read.
Plus, when you carry a book with you, you are constantly reminding yourself of reading. Whenever you see the book, it reminds you to read it.
3. Set a reading goal
Next, set a reading goal. You have goals and dreams you want to achieve in life, right? Why don’t set a goal in reading too?
How many pages do you want to read per day? Or how much time do you want to dedicate into reading each day? Or how about the number of books you want to read in a year or a month?
For me, my target is to read 1 book per week. I spend about 30 minutes to an hour or sometimes even more time into reading every day.
What if I run out of books? I just reread the old ones. You shouldn’t just read a book for once, you should read it over and over again, for a few times, to really capture the essence of the knowledge.
By the way, if you want to learn more about setting goals, how to do it and how to achieve your goals, follow my Goal Setting Formula method.
4. Write down interesting ideas
Don’t just read, you need to take notes too. Whenever you come across any interesting idea or idea that sparks your inspiration, write it down.
Treat reading like attending a class, don’t just skim through the books just for the sake of reading, take notes and write down ideas. That’s how reading should be done.
When you write down interesting ideas that connect with you, you will discover that you are able to remember the ideas better. Besides, it makes a better learning experience than just plain reading word for word.
5. Read in the morning
Always find that you are constantly being distracted and can’t really concentrate to read? Then read in the early morning when everybody else is still sleeping.
Early morning is the best time to read because there is literally no distraction, plus, it is a great way to condition your mind to kick-start your day.
Imagine you are able to start your day with motivation and a sense of mission, don’t you think you’ll be able to achieve much more throughout the day?
This is why I recommend you spend at least 30 minutes each morning to read before you go to work.
Condition your mind with great ideas, inspiration, and positive thoughts, so that you can jumpstart your day with greatness.
6. Share what you have learned
Another trick to put yourself into a reading habit is to share what you have read and learned. When you have committed to someone that you will share the ideas of a book, you are more likely to finish the book, plus, you will be more focused when you read.
Not only that, when you share what you have read with someone else, you are able to retain the ideas better.
Passively reading is not a good way to learn. This is why if you want to learn more from a book, make it a target to share the ideas from a book with someone else.
It can be your friends, your spouse, or your business partners. The point is to share some interesting ideas with them so that everyone can benefit and get inspired.
7. Make a reading list
When you see yourself checking off your books from your reading list, it makes you feel proud and gives you a sense of accomplishment.
But first, you need to create a reading list. Write down all the list of books you want to read in this year, it can be 10 books, it can be 12 books, or it can be 24 books.
The key is to make a reading list so that you can be inspired to read, like your goals. Writing things down increases your probability of achieving them.
Another thing is that when you check off the books you have read from your list, it gives you momentum. For instance, if you have read 8 books out of 10, you will feel motivated to read another 2 more books to hit your target. It gives you momentum and drives you into taking action – reading.
Check out some of the books I recommend you read here.
Conclusion
The more you read, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you can achieve. Reading has become part of my life and it has become my habit.
I’m not sure if I have the passion to read or is it because I have made it as my habit, I read every day. And I think you should too. Use these little hacks above to read more books and achieve greater results in life.
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