Being busy has become a lifestyle for many people and having the time to read for leisure has become a luxury. In fact, an individual reads an average of five to 12 books in a year, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.
Ironically, some of the busiest people have more time to cultivate their reading habits, such as the former President Bush, who was able to read 200 books during his term, according to The Wall Street Journal. So, how do they find the time? Below are some suggestions:
1. Read physical books instead of a digital reader. If you see a pile of books on your side table, then you're likely to be more encouraged to pick it up and read. Besides, an e-reader has more distractions, as you're bound to tap on other apps.
2. Multi-task reading into your daily habits. Take 30 minutes to enjoy some pages as you have your breakfast. Bring a book with you when you're out, so you can flip the pages during commutes. If you're lining up in the bank, just pull your book out and read as you wait. If you're fond of reading digitally, then sync your reader across different devices and never lose a page. In multi-tasking, learn to adapt techniques of speed reading, according to Wired.
3. Ask a friend to join you and set up a monthly goal to track your progression. Similar to people enlisting at the gyms in groups to motivate them, this idea may also work with reading groups. Sites like Goodreads offer such a feature for friends in the same network. You may also set up reading groups with shared goals on other social media platforms, like Facebook or Twitter.
4. Unwind with reading before bedtime. Instead of turning on the TV, consider turning pages instead. You'll exercise your brain and improve mental retention and inferential learning with more reading than with television, according to a study published at Taylor & Francis Online.
5. Be open to joining reading challenges to really push you to read more. Goodreads has this feature on its site, too, while several sites also offer challenges. Check out Popsugar, Kindred Digital, or All About Books for some of these.
