"Read more" is one of the top goals that many people set for themselves after "stop procrastinating" and "go to the gym." And rightly so: a good book can be immensely satisfying, teach you about things beyond your daily horizons, and create characters who are so vivid that you feel as if you know them personally.
Consistency is the key to inculcating any habit, and reading is no exception. Irregularity is often and soon followed by reluctance and lethargy.
If reading is a habit you'd like to develop, there are several approaches you can take.
Setting fixed time & fixed place - If you train your brain into falling into a pattern, your brain will automatically start associating that place or period of time with reading, almost forcing you to read.
Plan in advance and arrange pre-requisites - You need to ensure accessibility and availability of the books you plan to read. All plans are delayed for many excuses hinder the beginning. Remember "Well begun is half done". You're only one distraction away from keeping your book down and scrolling on your mind-numbing phone. Put your phone on silent and sit with a nice bottle of water and even some nuts if you like snacking.
Instant gratification- Don't take the easier way out. Your brain knows very well that completing a book will take a lot of time, as compared to watching a Youtube video, which will take hardly 10 minutes, which is instant gratification and adrenaline. Keep your targets easy, target on completing one chapter at a time, and not the whole book!
Find a partner - The only thing better than a book, for a book lover, is another book lover! Find a partner, sit back, and enjoy reading together. This will keep you motivated, and hold you accountable too!
Do not take breaks - It takes a mountain of courage to start over. Once you have started reading don't give up the habit, keep up the momentum. Keep reading even for smaller durations. It just takes the courage for few seconds, once you begin reading, you automatically get yourself to read more!
21 days - A Japanese technique prescribes one to do a job, or perform an action every day for 21 days if one wants it to become a habit. And it has the backing of neuroscience. Follow all the tips for just 21 days and then see the growing joy, reading will become a habit, a pleasure, and then you can boast of being a voracious reader for life!
And finally,
Excitement - Don't treat reading like a chore, thoroughly enjoy the process. Imagine yourself, surfing through the clouds with Harry on his broom, and going to magical worlds with devious creatures, with Geronimo. Experience the book!
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