1. Stop reading if you don’t like the book

You also don’t want to seem like someone who succumbs to difficulties, so you force yourself to finish reading a book even if you don’t like it? If so, you’re wrong. This approach should not be used to reading, says Gretchen Rubin, author of the best-selling book The Happiness Project.

Reading shouldn’t be an obligation. Stop reading if you don’t like the book. Then you’ll have more time to read what you enjoy.

Gretchen Rubin

And stop blaming yourself if the book doesn’t read.

2. Use every free minute

Stephen King credits reading as a success as an author and advises everyone to read for five hours a day. Especially if you want to be a writer. He himself doesn’t leave home without a book and reads everywhere. You should try it too.

During the day, there are a lot of free minutes that you can spend reading. Of course, you should not delve into the book at a meeting with friends. But why not read in line or in traffic?

3. Keep your plans to yourself

According to researchers, when we talk about our intention to achieve a big goal, we are less likely to succeed. The brain perceives the mere fact that we shared information as an achievement of a goal, and motivation decreases.

So if you want to read more, set yourself this goal, maybe even write down the steps you need, but don’t tell others about it.

4. Limit distractions

If you are usually distracted by the TV or computer, sit down to read in another room, away from it. Otherwise, you will spend all your energy not to turn on the TV or go online, and you will have no energy left to read.

This is confirmed by an experiment by psychologist Roy Baumeister. Hungry test subjects were asked to solve a complex puzzle. One group of participants was given cookies and told not to eat them; the other group was given nothing. Participants who received cookies gave up much earlier.

5. Read paper books

This will also help you avoid distractions and waste your willpower. After all, when reading on electronic devices, we often go online and stop reading.

Well, a paper book is just nice to hold in your hands.

6. Change the way you read

Writer Ryan Holiday considers this to be a prerequisite for reading more.

Stop thinking of reading as something you need to do. Reading should be as natural as breathing or eating.

Ryan Holiday

First, try to read a certain number of pages per day. Over time, you’ll get used to reading.

7. Look for lists of recommendations

Decision fatigue is very real. In order not to waste time choosing the next book, browse through the book collections. Look for recommendations from your idols, lists compiled by reputable publications or famous writers.

Of course, not everyone can read 500 pages a day like Warren Buffet or 50 books a year like Bill Gates. But if you follow these tips, you’ll read more this year than you did last year.

Source: https://lifehacker.ru/how-to-read-more-books/

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