Reading Tricks for Non-Readers

Couple of weeks back I shared my reading plan online. I also shared the fact that I plan to read one book every fortnight and will keep updating that page with my reading progress. This simple action has helped me pick up a new habit which I'll share with you today. The key to getting things done is to have a clear vision of the goal. The clearer the vision is the more likely it is to be achieved. As I wrote down that post about reading my goal became very clear. It wasn't just about reading 25-30 books a year but it was further broken down at a weekly (or bi-weekly level). This means I am forced to look back at it every week to see whether I failed or succeeded. With a goal like 25 books a year, we are more likely to review it at the end of the year and say 'well we couldn't finish this resolution last year, let's try it this year'. Longer term goals have this problem. You only realize that it's out of reach over longer time periods. That's the reason it is so important to break goals into smaller actionable-reviewable sub-goals. When we do this, we know more frequently of whether it's working or not and whether we need to make some changes to our goal.

I have another theory. Once, one thing starts working well in life it has a positive effect of all the rest of the things. Since I decided, now I'm on my third book and always looking out for more books in my reading list. Getting time to read isn't easy if you don't have a habit for it. For the past couple of weeks, I'm trying to create time by waking up 25 minutes early and reading. I now also read regularly before falling asleep. I'm able to read 40-45 pages everyday which means there is no pressure to create extra time specially to read.

Bookmarks are important

I have often started reading many books before only to end up reading 40 odd pages and forgetting about it. It is important to have these cues for us to remember where to pick up, as they also remind us of the very fact that we are supposed to be reading this book.

One useful trick for readers

I have found that it is much slower when we start reading a book. Typically while reading fiction, we may be taking more time to get at ease with the characters or the plot that is building. With non-fiction also we might take more time to adjust to the writing style of the author. This can be sometimes discouraging. However, it helps to remain calm and persistent with the first half of the book. Make an extra effort to read through the first half by devoting more time each day or trying to read faster. Once you are halfway through the book, reading usually speeds up and our mind also gets into a state where it believes it is much better to finish the book now that to leave if after reading more than half of it. This is a good place to be. Force yourself into it.

Reading helps at work

Since I have started reading regularly, I have found that I'm reading better at the office also. Most of the jobs in the world are of such nature that we are required to go through a lot of information on a daily basis, especially so in the world of finance. Reading those 25 minutes in the morning means my mind is already up and running before I reach office. Then I can skim through the news or other emails quicker than usual. Once this becomes easier, this task of information consumption itself becomes less daunting and thus we end up avoiding or postponing it less often.