Four tips to help you pick up a book again
With these tips, you might finally find time to start reading.
Most people complain about not having enough time to read. They cite everything from school work to feeding their best friend’s grandfather’s goldfish as reasons for not reading.
If you haven’t picked up a book (for leisure, mind you) in ages, perhaps these four tips might help you pick up a book again.
1. Set some goals
Since setting goals work for almost everything, such as exams and weight loss, why not set some with your reading?
Track your reading habits with Goodreads, a Facebook equivalent for readers. One of the functions I personally love is the Goodreads Reading Challenge.
You get to set a goal to read a certain number of books in a year and Goodreads will keep track of your progress. It will also let you know if you are falling behind, or if you are pages ahead. It’s revolutionary.
So, set some goals today and work towards them!
2. Carry a book with you everywhere
You will be so surprised to learn how much time we actually have and waste in a day. We often waste time waiting for the bus and staring blankly at our phones in the train. You may say you are busy, but you are most certainly not busy 24/7.
Why not kill time with a book in hand? E-readers, like Kindle, let you carry a book with you everywhere. Read when you can, and you will find that you will gradually end up reading more.
Just don’t miss your next stop!
3. Go for audiobooks
Audiobooks are actually amazing – for once, someone is reading to you! For the times when you cannot read on the go, such as when you are walking home or when you are squished in the MRT, plug in your headphones and “read” your books without actually reading.
If you are still of two minds about audiobooks, you can check out this post on why audiobooks are so awesome.
4. Read two different books at the same time
This may seem a little odd, but it can be an interesting experience when you read two different books of contrasting genres at the same time. This prevents you from slacking because you will always have two options.
If you’ve had a hard day at school, you may not want to unwind with a book that requires plenty of brain juice. Just read the other book you have on hand, instead of not reading at all.
For starters, you can try reading a high fantasy book together with a light contemporary piece.
With these tips, you can no longer complain about not have enough time to read. Yay!
