Reading is one of the best habits that you can pick up. I’ve heard people term it a “superpower” and I’d be hard pressed to disagree. Reading opens up so many avenues of advancement and development. Both fiction and nonfiction. There are benefits to reading that you just can’t get anywhere else and because of that, and the impact that it’s had on my life, I’ll always tout the benefits of reading to everyone I come across.
But let’s say that you’ve made reading a habit, and if not we’ll get to that in a second, and are looking to maximize what you get from this experience. Looking to not only read but read in the most efficient and effective way possible to attain the most “nutrients” from it, so to speak. While still enjoying the process of course.
Many would recommend things like speed reading but I think this defeats the purpose more often than not. You don’t remember everything you read, no where near it. And yet if all you is gloss over it you’ll retain even less than you did before. You might be better at a test administered right after the speed reading session but that doesn’t mean that ideas and such stick with you.
But first let’s look at how to make reading a habit, if it’s not already.
How To Make Reading A Habit
Like everything else in life you’ll never “find” time to read. Just like with working out, writing, journaling, or whatever else you want to do, you’ll never find time. Instead you must make time. So find a time to read, start small and work you way up. I don’t care if you start out reading a paragraph a day while on the bathroom. I don’t care if you start out with articles instead of books, though I would recommend you eventually move to books.
Do it first thing in the morning, do it right before you go to bed, do it on your lunch break, do it when going to the bathroom. Just find a time that’s going to happen just about everyday and choose that time to read. A paragraph, a page, two pages, whatever just start somewhere. Don’t sit down and say you’re going to read ten pages a day when you’ve read zero for the last year.
You have to crawl before you can walk. Just like with running or eating healthy or any other habit. Slow and steady wins the race. Start small and build up from there. While also understanding that you will miss days and you will mess up, don’t beat yourself up about it, just pick up where you left off as soon as possible and keep trucking.
And when you start read things that have high interest for you, even if they don’t seem “practical” or whatever. Find things that won’t bore you even a little and start there. As you progress you’ll look for “meatier” stuff that might be of more benefit to you but when starting just find whatever interests you and holds your attention and work from there.
How To Read More Books
But let’s say that you’ve made it a habit and are working from there, how do you read more books? Well the answer is relatively simple yet it’s how you go about doing it that makes the difference. And the answer as to how to read more books is…
To read more books.
Seriously, but I know that doesn’t help you. So here’s what I mean. Most people have a book they pick and read through until their interest wanes and then they put it down for awhile. So here’s what I recommend. Instead of reading one book at a time, read two or three or even four. Now obviously you won’t be reading the same amount in each but because your attention can go from here to there it will be longer.
Let me explain.
Let’s say you were reading ten pages a day consistently. Well when you break up that ten pages over four books that becomes much easier. Reading three pages in each and you’ve already passed your old mark with a lot less effort. Divide your attention up and you’ll go through books faster. And if you read at a normal rate you’ll still retain much of what you read, just as much as you would reading straight through.
Find what works for you. For some people two books works best. Maybe switch between a fiction and nonfiction books. Or two nonfiction books on completely different topics. Maybe three or four works best for you. You’ll have to experiment and see what happens. But count your daily pages or words read or whatever, just track in some way so that you know that you’re going up.
Read More, Learn More, Grow More, Become More
The more you read, the more you learn, and the more you grow. And the more you grow the more you become. Don’t underestimate the different that reading can have in your life. It can literally be life changing, I know that it was for me and I know it has been for many that I’ve coached and worked with. But simply knowing that fact will do nothing for you.
You have to go and actually read. Make a habit out of it. Day in and day out, just like with everything else whether it’s exercise, eating right, or any of the many other things that will benefit a man’s life. You have to make a habit out of it because it’s habits that shape and define you as time goes on. Make sure you adopt good ones.
Thanks for reading, be sure to check out my books on Amazon if you liked what you read or check out the Ultimate Alpha Collection in the corner for the collection.
Best Wishes,
-Charles Sledge
