Reading has at all times and in all ages been a source of knowledge, happiness, pleasure, and even moral courage. In today’s world where we spend most of our time looking at our digital screens, we have forgotten the importance of reading. Not only reading relaxes your mind but also improves your imagination.
As the world’s entire knowledge is available at our fingertips, we have failed to remember the vast amount of knowledge books provide. Especially, in this ongoing lockdown, people have been wasting their time on trivial matters such as scrolling news feeds for hours and meaningless series marathons. At times, people cannot even begin to read even when they desire to due to a lack of reading habit. Are you one of those people? In this post, I bring some tips to cultivate a reading habit during this prolonged lockdown.
1. Determine your reading goal
Whenever you are set on a new journey in life, it is important to set the purpose by giving the answer of why to it. So, it is crucial to start off by setting a goal to cultivate a reading habit. This goal should be well-articulated and backed up with a purpose. Start by thinking about how a consistent reading pattern can help you grow in different areas of your life- spiritual, academics, career, relationships, and more. When you find concrete reasons and a purpose attached to your goal, you’ll be more motivated to keep pushing and achieve it. In addition to it, set a specific number of books to read in that year, say 20 books a year.
2. Schedule a time for reading
To make sure that you will read every day, you need to schedule reading into your day. You could read first thing in the morning, during your commute, before going to sleep, or even during lunch. Set aside specific times every day to read your assigned book for the week/month and any other articles you may have bookmarked. It would be beneficial if you read for at least 30-40 minutes a day as it would help you to develop a concrete reading habit.
3. Find a good place to read
Before you begin your reading, it is important to find a comfortable place to read. Find a place in your home where you can sit in a comfortable chair (don’t lay down unless you’re going to sleep) and dive into your book without interruptions. There should be no television or computer near the chair to minimize distractions, and no music or noisy family members/roommates. If you don’t have a place like this, it is important to create one.
4. Get a reading partner or join Book Club
Goals need to be backed up by accountability in order to help put a check and encourage you during times you don’t feel motivated. Joining a book club or getting a reading partner is just the right tactic to ensure it. That’s why it is advantageous to get a reading partner who has a heart and willingness to read. It will also help you to create a plan to achieve your reading goals. Similarly, joining a book club gives you an opportunity to discuss lessons you learnt and other thoughts from books.
5. Eliminate Distractions
There are uncountable distractions in today’s world. Make sure you eliminate as many distractions as you can before starting your reading time. Not only you should turn off the TV and put your smartphone on silent, but also manage some alone time without your younger siblings or kids. Only in a distraction-free environment, you can dwell in the book without losing your focus.
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Get Started With These Books
One of the integral aspects to cultivate a reading habit is choosing the right set of books to start with. If you choose vague and complex books in the beginning, not only you will feel bored but also stop reading altogether eventually. Sometimes it can also be a confusing deal because of the number of books available to read today. To help our readers, we have listed a few books that are suitable for beginners to read. Make sure you check them out.
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
- The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini
- The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
