Reading More: Building a Habit
How I went from reading occasionally to reading regularly
I used to read a lot. Then life got busy, and reading became something I did on vacation or when I had nothing else to do. Which meant I almost never read.
I missed it. Not just the stories, but the way reading made me think. The way it gave me new perspectives. So I decided to make it a habit again.
I set a goal: read for ten minutes every day. Not a book a week, not a chapter a day. Just ten minutes. Small enough that I couldn't make excuses. The first week was hard. I'd forget. I'd be too tired. But I kept at it. Set a reminder. Put the book next to my bed. Made it as easy as possible.
Having a book ready was key. If I had to decide what to read, I'd skip it. So I'd always have the next book picked out and ready to go. Reading before bed became my routine. Not every night, but most nights. It replaced scrolling on my phone, which was better for sleep anyway.
Ten minutes doesn't sound like much, but it adds up. Over a month, that's five hours of reading. Over a year, that's sixty hours. I've read more books in the past year than I had in the previous three.
More importantly, I'm reading regularly again. It's part of my routine. Some days I read more than ten minutes. Some days I read less. But I'm reading, and that's what matters. The habit is the goal, not the amount. Once the habit is established, the amount takes care of itself.
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