8 Tips To Help You Read More

Article contributed by Suya Chry

Reading has many benefits: it increases concentration of the mind, memory power, enhances mental refreshment, expands your vocabulary, improves your writing skills, and is entertaining so you could reduce stress. However, life keeps us busy and many a times, we do not find time to read. If you want to read more and fight what is keeping you from doing so, here are a few tips you should try out!

1. SET GOALS

When you are determined to read more, the first step would be to dare yourself. Start with small ones, like a goal of reading 25 pages a day, a book a week, or what you think would be easy for you. Once you accomplish your goals, you can demand more of yourself. This provides a great head start to read regularly.

2. TRACK YOUR READING

Keeping track of your reading may seem impractical when it comes to reading more, but it actually helps. Not only does it make you self-congratulate and encourage yourself to read more, you can find out what you want to read next. Traditionally, you can jot down the names books you read and want to read in a notebook, but a more practical easy way, would be using a Goodreads account.

3. TAKE CHALLENGES

Challenging yourself would be a good way to read more. The Goodreads yearly challenge has you choosing a target number of books and this way, you can read throughout the year and see how much you have achieved. Besides, there are plenty of specific challenges throughout the internet. One such challenge is The Nerd Daily 2019 Reading Challenge.

4. READ WHENEVER YOU CAN

Just keep a book with you wherever you are, and whenever you find time, read. There is no rule saying that you should read only in the comfort of your loveseat or the library. On the train or a bus, take out a book and read. Waiting for your next lecture, read instead of catching up with the social media. Waiting in a queue, download e-books for reading at these times.

5. SMALL BOOKS

We all know it. Just looking at a book with considerable number of pages can be tiring. So, you can alternate between books of different sizes and when you feel pressured to finish a big book, read a small one.

6. HOW TO DNF?

DNF; Did Not Finish is a term used when you get tired of reading a book and are forced to give it up. However, the job itself is a tough one for an avid reader. If you’ve tried it, you know you just don’t think keeping down a book is the right thing to do. But, everybody cannot like all the books. We all have our tastes, and if you think the book is not for you, let it go and pick up one that is. You can have a rule for it if it makes it easier, like, read 100 pages of the book you don’t think you can read and if you don’t think you can after reading those pages, then you give it up.

7. TALK TO OTHER READERS

This might be a long shot but talking to fellow readers boosts your reading stamina, encouraging you to read more. Chat about the fictional worlds and characters you experienced with others and listen to theirs and this way, along with developing friendships, you make reading bonds! You can also join a book club, where you can discuss a book monthly. This is a great way of reading more books and takes less effort.

8. LISTEN TO AUDIOBOOKS

Audiobooks are a great way to catch up on reading. It is much simpler than reading words, which is difficult when you are tired and your eyes are strained. You can listen to audiobooks while cooking, or when you are stuck in traffic, or in bed, when you just do not want to open your eyes. There are many sites to get audiobooks and among the prominent ones are Audible and Hachette Audio, providing thousands of audiobooks.

Do you have any further tips? Tell us in the comments below!