How To Make A Reading Habit That Sticks? (31 Actionable Tips)

Everybody wants to become knowledgeable and shine in front of other people.

But when it comes to reading books, it is a daunting task for many people.

Nevertheless, without reading books, you can’t grow your understanding of this universe and about yourself.

Even if you get successful without reading books, you won’t realize how much joy there is in reading books.

The question is: How can we develop a reading habit without exhausting ourselves?

If you do things in a certain way, it’s pretty easy.

Anybody can build a reading habit and make his or her life better.

In this video, we will learn 31 tips and techniques that anybody can use to build a healthy reading habit.

Alrighty, without further ado, let’s get started!

1. Make it easy.

I’m borrowing this advice from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.

It doesn’t matter what habit you are trying to adopt.

If you make it harder than it needs to be, you won’t be successful at picking challenging habits.

Although it might sound easy, most people would do the opposite.

They think that reading is something that requires a lot of preparation.

Thanks to our conventional education system, we think that there must always be a reason behind doing something.

We try to find structure all the time.

I’m not saying it’s always terrible.

The point is:

Make reading fun.

It doesn’t need to be a daunting task.

Don’t think like you have to read a book for the sake of it.

Think about all the activities you enjoy doing.

Do you spend 10 minutes thinking about your favorite song before you plug in your earphones and start listening to it?

What do you do?

Yes, you don’t think much.

You simply start.

And that’s the key with the habit of reading too.

If you are reading under obligation, please don’t do this.

Reading a book must come as easy as breathing.

Keep reading this article till the end to learn how to make it possible.

2. Read less to read more.

Hmm…

“What does it mean?”

Don’t worry, reader, allow me to explain.

The key here is not to set unrealistic expectations.

If you are reading about making a reading habit, I can tell that you are not an avid reader.

And that means that you can’t read too much in one go.

Am I right?

Well, if you can, that’s excellent news.

Often people imagine reading as a task to be done with.

So they assign themselves goals.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t set reading goals.

The point is:

Sometimes it’s better to read less.

In Learning How To Learn, the author says that we should allow our brains some time to relax.

We need to give it some space and time to process stuff after reading.

That not only helps our brain to recharge but also helps build stronger connections.

Which means:

Your comprehension improves.

Another reason you should read less is:

It’s easy.

Yes, when you start your book reading journey, you should take a few steps.

Reading is not a race. It’s like a marathon.

Take baby steps in the beginning. Don’t rush.

Otherwise, you will run out of steam.

Reading requires a lot of willpower, especially when you are starting.

Why make things harder?

If you can read ten pages a day. That’s cool.

But if you can’t, for some reason, then it’s cool too.

Don’t curse yourself for that.

If you can’t even read 1 page a day, even then, you shouldn’t worry.

Try reading a couple of sentences. And start from there.

What happens with most people is:

They have the assumption that reading is a tedious activity. So they don’t allow themselves time to get used to it.

Don’t be like that!

Don’t read when you don’t want to.

Keep things easy.

3. Paint it yellow.

“What? Are you kidding me? Why would I paint my book?”

Well, my friend, you don’t have to.

At least, not the entire book.

Let me explain.

I’m talking about a highlighter.

I love yellow highlighters.

That’s why the heading “Paint it yellow.”

Make sense now? Great.

Now let me explain how using a highlighter would make reading fun.

And it’s not a fancy one.

Many would say that highlighters are useless — that there is no point in highlighting stuff while reading.

The thing is:

It helps when you use a highlighter.

It helps you engage with the material of the book.

There are times when you get bored while reading. And when that happens, you need a reason to stick with the book.

And that’s also the time when most people give up on reading.

So keep a highlighter with yourself before you pick the book up.

Whenever you find something interesting, don’t shy away from highlighting it.

Don’t think about what your friends will think about you if you highlight. (Oops, maybe you don’t.)

You can use the highlighted portions of the book as anchors.

Here is how it works:

• You start reading.
• You read for a while.
• You underline important stuff.
• You get bored.
• Now you turn the pages around and find the last highlighted section.
• You think what made that sentence so important.
• Then you start relating the previous stuff to the new stuff that is boring you at that moment.
• You build a connection.
• Suddenly things start making sense.

See now?

Highlighting helps you stay focused and engaged.

It improves your bond with the book, which is required to build a reading habit.

You don’t have to highlight every sentence you read.

Only highlight the important key ideas.

4. Soundproof your environment.

Most people never pay attention to their environment while reading.

Note this:

Noise is your enemy.

If you have trouble building a reading habit, this could be the issue.

I face this problem a lot.

I have got noisy neighbors. Their kids keep shouting all the time.

Reading requires silence.

You need a calm mind to allow the information to enter your mind smoothly.

If you are distracted all the time, then no surprise you are struggling to build a reading habit.

Here is how I dealt with the noise problem:

I bought a pair of headphones that cover my ears.

When there is too much noise to bear, I don’t go to my neighbors to complain.

I simply play white music in my headphones.

This cuts off all the noise around me.

Pretty cool trick, right?

But yeah, if you are lucky, you can humbly tell your neighbors about the problems you are facing.

Maybe they would understand your problem and make less noise. That might also help.

Your goal should be to remove all the distractions stopping you from building that habit.

5. Know the why behind reading.

Before you even start thinking about building a reading habit, you should ask yourself a few questions.

Like these:

• Why do I want to make a reading habit in the first place?
• What do I hope to achieve with it?
• What has influenced me?
• Is it even necessary?
• Will I be able to continue it for long?
• What if I fail?
• What if I succeed?
• How can I make habit-building easy?

If you paid attention to the questions above, you must have realized that I started the questions with “Why.”

And this “Why” will determine if you will succeed in building a reading habit or not.

Some people quickly pick up this habit while others keep struggling.

I believe to some people this habit of reading comes naturally.

If I talk about myself, this habit came to me accidentally.

But since my reason (the WHY behind reading) was clear, I found it easy to stick with this habit.

And I didn’t do anything special.

I just understood that reading is helping me grow.

That’s it. That was all I needed.

The thing is:

People who want to grow in their lives don’t require too many reasons to push themselves in the right direction.

They find a simple reason — their WHY — and move ahead.

On the flip side, the losers who don’t want to do anything significant in their lives keep giving excuses like “I don’t have this talent…”

Consider it another tip.

Know why you want this specific habit in your life.

And trust me, you will find it easier than you think it is.

6. Keep books around you.

Another thing is:

You should keep books around you.

Analyze the place you are sitting right now.

Did you see any book that would scream “Open and read me”?

No? Don’t worry.

You can always play with your environment.

I suggest keeping a few exciting books as close to you as possible.

Don’t go crazy with this, though.

You don’t need to build a library around you. (Not a bad idea)

Just surround yourself with a few good books that you can read anytime you want.

Doing so would make books accessible to you.

And the more accessible something is, the easier it is to engage with it.

And the more you engage with something, chances are, the more habitual it will become.

The best part about this technique is:

You don’t need to be in your home to implement this technique.

Even when traveling, you can put one book in your bag.

So that whenever you have free time, you take it out and start reading.

But make sure that the book is lightweight. Otherwise, your experience won’t be that great. This is a big NO.

You would want to have a great reading experience.

That’s because your goal is to build a reading habit. If it is not giving you some kind of pleasure, you will tend to do it less.

7. Find the free time.

This might sound like an obvious thing to do.

But these days, most of us have busy lives.

Most people can’t find time to read books.

And that’s ok.

But we can always change a few things and develop techniques to find more time.

For instance, you can delegate those things that are not important at any particular time.

And instead, use that time to do other important stuff.

Prioritizing is the key here.

You will have to prioritize and include reading in your To-do list.

Yes, writing that in your list is essential.

You can’t just say, “Ok, I’ll arrange some time.”

Because our minds are already occupied with so much stuff.

So chances are, if you haven’t written somewhere about a particular task, you may forget it.

Another tip is:

You can stop doing things that don’t add value to your life.

For example, if watching Netflix for 3 to 4 hours every day isn’t helping you much, you can either stop watching it or curb the number of hours you spend on it.

You don’t need to restrict yourself from entertainment.

Just keep in mind that if you don’t manage your time consciously, other unnecessary things will take it.

8. Read the book to your friends.

Sometimes what happens is:

When we learn an idea, we think that we have understood it.

But it’s usually not true.

Nobody learns this quickly.

Take your test.

The best way to test whether you have understood a concept properly or not is to teach the same concept to someone else.

Find a few friends and try teaching them.

Ask them before you start. Don’t bore them just because you learned something new.

It’s not guaranteed that your friends would also enjoy learning about the same stuff as you do.

Encourage them to ask questions.

Now see if you can explain everything correctly or not.

If you find yourself struggling with an idea, you can always read more about it later.

Yes, don’t let your ego give you false notions.

Be honest when you don’t know about something.

Otherwise, this thing will backfire.

The best part about this is:

It will not only encourage you to read more, but your friends would also find it easy to read books.

9. Go cheap. Buy second-hand books.

Often people don’t buy books as they can get expensive at times.

Some people even use pirated websites to download them.

Well, if you do that, then please stop doing that stuff.

You are keeping yourself away from this great habit by not paying for the book.

I suggest that you buy physical books.

It’s a fantastic feeling when you hold the book in your hands.

Especially when the book is new, it feels incredible.

You can feel the smell of the new shiny pages waiting to be turned.

This further encourages you to read more.

But when you avoid buying books and think that you will find some trick to read the book’s content, you lose this opportunity to create a special bond with the book.

If you don’t have enough money or are in a situation where you can’t afford to buy a particular book, then you can buy a second-hand book or borrow it from one of your friends if they have it.

You can save money.

You can limit your spending on unnecessary stuff like watching a movie.

You can cut out on useless subscriptions.

You need to feel the book in your hands to build a habit.

This is important.

Otherwise, it will be challenging to make a reading habit.

Sure, you can consume that same information via other means.

For instance, you can listen to audiobooks or read them on Kindle.

But in the end, it doesn’t give the same pleasure you get while reading by holding the book in your hands.

10. Read easy topics first.

Whenever you start reading a book, make things easy.

You aren’t going to receive a gold medal for studying tough topics initially.

Always find the easiest topics first. And start reading from there.

Don’t take this advice mindlessly, though.

Sometimes, you will have to do the opposite.

But if you have a choice, take full advantage of it.

Don’t make the process harder for yourself.

Another advantage of this is:

Your mind stays calm.

When you start reading a complex topic, in the beginning, it’s like putting 10kg on your brain.

But when you start reading easy topic, you put 2kg on your brain.

Your brain muscles loosen a little bit.

Well, don’t think of it as real.

I just gave you this example to help you understand the concept better.

Understood? Awesome.

Now, let’s move on to the following technique.

11. Read multiple books in parallel.

If you get bored, try reading 2-3 books in parallel.

You may get bored while reading a specific book continuously for a few hours or maybe a few days.

But the thing is:

You need to repeat the process every single day to get used to the process.

So in case you get bored.

Stop reading that book.

Pick a different one.

It’d be better if you choose a topic unrelated to the previous one.

For example:

If you are reading a book on Leadership and get bored, try a fiction book.

Don’t read topics related to Leadership and business for quite a few days or hours.

You may do as you wish, though.

No obligations here.

Just make sure you allow yourself enough time so that you don’t get bored again the next time you pick a book on Leadership.

Reading books in parallel is also a productive thing to do.

You can understand the concepts better and even get new perspectives.

12. Feel good after finishing a topic.

After you finish a topic, feel good about yourself.

Not many people can finish what they start.

For example:

According to this study, only a maximum of 15% of people finish an online course they start.

So what do the other 85% of people do?

It’s obvious. They drop out.

They don’t finish the course.

There could be a lot of reasons for doing so.

So we can’t draw much from this study.

But the point is:

Just like this, many people tend not to finish what they start. And the above example of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) only shows us a part of the story.

Frankly speaking, self-education is boring.

You are supposed to put effort to deliberately educate yourself on specific topics.

So most people fail to finish it.

Next time you finish reading something, feel good and celebrate.

You defeated the tendency to keep things unfinished.

Also, it’s an excellent habit to finish what you start.

This habit not only helps you build a reading habit, but it also helps you build other high-performance habits like seeking clarity, asking questions, etc.

13. Stop being around those who don’t like reading books.

You should have good company of friends who enjoy reading books.

Or, at the very least, you should be around those people who wish to build such a healthy habit.

The psychology behind this is:

You get influenced by the people around you.

The way your friends think, the way they act, etc. It all affects you in subtle ways.

You just don’t realize when it affects your mind.

The truth is:

Unless you have prepared yourself to notice every detail that adds to your beliefs, you will be pretty surprised if I tell you right now that you are a highly conditioned human being.

By “conditioned,” I mean that you don’t know about thousands of things influencing you in your life.

To know all that, you have to read books.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to be around those friends who encourage each other to grow.

That’s because it is impossible to have bad friends and still have an opposite personality.

It doesn’t happen.

Their lousy influence will affect your life in so many ways — more than you can imagine.

Make a list of your top friends with who you spend most of your time.

Now ask:

“Are they helping me grow?”

If not, put a cross mark near their name.

And if yes, put a tick mark near their name.

Finally, write down the names of those friends you think you should be around.

Don’t select only those friends with whom you have had a lot of fun.

Focus on the quality here.

The key is to be around those friends who have a growth mindset.

And if you don’t have any friends, to begin with, don’t worry at all.

Books are your friends.

Make the authors your friend.

Although, chances are you might not reach the author physically. But the author has already told you what you need to know.

I can understand that it’s not always possible to find people with similar interests.

That’s also the reason I love reading books.

You don’t need so many people, to begin with.

Have a few books with yourself, and you will never get bored.

Don’t underestimate this!

You could be friends with successful authors even when they are not present near you physically.

Can you imagine how influential books are?

I bet this would have lit a fire inside you.

And if it didn’t, then keep reading.

14. Read book summaries first before you read the actual book.

If you struggle reading books, you can try reading book summaries.

You may argue that book summaries are not helping you to read more books.

But the truth is:

Book summaries help you decide whether you will find the book enjoyable or not.

It depends on how you use them.

If you use book summaries as a substitute for reading books, it will not help you build a reading habit.

But if you are using them to make the right decisions, then there is no way you won’t read the book.

It’s important.

Because for you to read a book, it must be interesting enough.

Book summaries also save your time and let you know in advance about the key ideas discussed in the book.

So you already know what’s coming when you pick the book.

Also, you can remember critical ideas from books better.

In short:

Book summaries help you reduce clutter.

Please note that there are more than 75+ book summaries on many topics like mindset, productivity, motivation, spirituality, marketing, etc.

15. Switch off your mobile phone while you read.

These days, we all have smartphones.

Gone are the days when we had to ask our friends and relatives for information. Or watch TV and read newspapers to learn about recent events.

Now we can simply search the internet and find answers to our questions.

But there are other problems too.

Your smartphone is one of the biggest distractions.

Every app on your smartphone is designed so that it keeps asking for your attention.

So if you are paying attention to your smartphone all the time, you won’t find time to read books.

In short:

If not used wisely, smartphones will not allow you to build a reading habit.

The best thing you can do while reading something is:

Turn it off.

Yes, it will require courage in the beginning.

I know it’s hard.

You might miss a few notifications or emails.

But you can always check them later.

They are not going anywhere.

We all have this fear of missing out.

The question is:

Are we really missing out?

And if we are, then is it that important?

If you answer these two questions, you will observe that you don’t need to check every notification on your smartphone.

You can disallow the app from sending you promotional alerts.

The key here is to take back control of your life and use your time wisely in doing activities that help you grow.

16. Focus on actionable ideas.

To build the reading habit, you must focus on the actionable part.

Most people avoid reading books because they think reading books has no connection with reality.

But if you pay attention, you will find that books contain highly actionable ideas.

Non-fiction books are beneficial when it comes to learning real-world knowledge.

So stop having this mindset that says that books are theoretical.

No, they aren’t.

They pack a lot of wisdom which you can use in real life.

Even fantasy books can teach you about real life if you think about it.

For example:

If you read the book The Lord Of The Rings, you will see how everyone was after the ring as it granted immense power to the wielder.

Now it might sound like a thing from the movie.

But we all have impulses that we need to overcome to grow in life and do things that matter.

You also learn that no matter how little you are in front of an obstacle, you can overcome them with courage and perseverance.

Did you notice how I connected the events of a fictional story to real life?

You can do the same too.

It’s all about your perception.

It’s about the reader or the person consuming the content.

If you read in a certain way, you can extract value out of anything.

You can even relate highly unactionable ideas to actionable ones.

Books are highly practical.

So stop listening to those who say that books are not actionable and provide only raw information.

Focus on actionable ideas every time you read something.

This will also motivate you to read more books.

And thus help you build a reading habit.

17. Audit and figure out what’s preventing you from reading books

This tip is similar to the one above.

But instead:

We will take an investigative approach here.

I suggest that you do an audit.

The trick is to find out all the things preventing you from making a reading habit.

Is it your mindset?

Is it time?

Or is it something else?

Do a self-analysis.

What is it that is keeping you away from this healthy habit?

There doesn’t need to be only one thing.

There may be a combination of things stopping you.

It might be a behavior that could be stopping you or triggering another unhealthy behavior.

You might be having wrong notions related to the books.

It could be anything!

Once you find out what it is, then it’s obvious. Try to fix it.

Take help from other people if you need it.

Don’t feel shy.

Discuss it with your friends and try to come up with a solution.

18. Imagine the results before and after reading.

This is something that most people forget to do.

It’s based on common sense, though.

I’m not saying that most people lack common sense.

The point is:

We are so occupied with unnecessary tasks that we forget to imagine the end goal.

In the classic bestseller The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey talks about why we should begin with the end in mind.

Here is why most people get it wrong…

They think we just have to set a goal and call it a day.

But goal-setting is not enough.

You have to imagine your end goal.

You have to visualize exactly what you want to achieve.

If you don’t have a clear picture of what you are trying to achieve, you won’t succeed.

Here, your goal is to build a reading habit, right?

So clearly visualize yourself reading books throughout the year. Also, imagine what kind of person you will become after successfully adopting this habit.

Please note that I’m not telling you to imagine anything you want.

Stay realistic.

Don’t make wild imaginations that you know deep inside your heart will never come true.

My intention is not to demotivate you. I want you to be firmly grounded in reality.

Keep your end goal in mind.

After you read a book, imagine the results.

Before you start reading a book, imagine what you will achieve.

19. Gradually introduce reading to your daily routine.

Don’t rush.

Don’t try to go big in the beginning.

Reading is a habit.

Give it some time.

Don’t expect quick results from reading.

You must change this mindset if you are damn serious about building a reading habit.

Understand that it’s a slow process.

Think about the things you do almost daily.

How did they all enter your life?

Did you develop them quickly?

For example:

Let’s say you have a habit of sleeping early at night.

Did that habit come instantly?

You might have repeated it over and over again.

And gradually, it became a part of your life.

Reading is also a habit.

So you have to be patient and gradually allow it to be a part of your life.

This article claims that it can take 18 to 254 days to form a new habit.

You might have heard somewhere that you need at least 21 days to form a new habit.

But it’s a myth. It depends on the habit itself.

Also, it depends on how easy or hard a behavior is for you.

I would suggest that you wait for at least 30 before you start judging yourself.

Don’t expect any behavior to become automatic after doing it for 21 days.

Be patient, and the results will come.

20. Have a good sleep after you read something hectic.

According to this study, sleep helps in the adaptation of behavior and underlying neural plasticity.

In simple words:

It helps your brain perform better and adapt to changes in behavior.

Which further enables you to build new habits.

Note the word “neural plasticity.”

It means that your brain can change over time.

Our brain keeps forming new connections.

We must take at least 7-8 hours of good sleep.

It’s good for brain health.

We all know this.

But do we follow this?

Most of us will still deprive ourselves of a good night’s sleep just to finish a task.

So take good care of your brain.

Give it what it wants.

This will make things a tad easier for you.

21. Think about why successful people read books.

It’s common knowledge that most successful people like:

• Warren Buffett
• Oprah Winfrey
• Bill Gates
• Mark Zuckerburg
• And a lot many…

They all read a lot of books.

What does this have to do with your habit of reading?

It has a lot to do.

Just think about it:

How do we learn most of the time?

We learn by copying those who have become successful.

We admire successful people and wish to be like them.

So the chances are that if you admire one of the above guys, you are rewiring yourself to adopt reading as a habit.

Our brain is excellent at making connections.

You can see the pattern here:

Reading BOOKS has some sort of special connection with SUCCESS.

That’s why I highly recommend that you pause right now and think about why successful people read many books.

We are living in a digital age where everyone is busy watching videos.

Most people now prefer to watch videos.

These successful people have enough money to buy expensive streaming services subscriptions and easily entertain themselves.

Yet they choose to read a book.

Are you able to understand the psychology and mindset of a successful person?

A successful person focuses on constant learning and growth. In comparison, an average person focuses on the consumption of entertaining content through various means.

The thing is:

You become what you consume.

And also you become like the one you spend most of your time with.

So enjoy the company of books’ authors by reading their books.

Understand that not every content is created equal.

Even the most expensive courses fail to deliver the value a single book written by an expert with genuine experience does.

22. Make a list of books you wish to read.

Organizing your life also helps a lot while building habits.

Make a nice list of books you want to read.

Why are we doing this?

That’s because our brain loves structures.

If something is unorganized, we tend to stay away from it.

Naturally, we love order.

Likewise, by writing down exactly which books you have to read this week, you will make things easy for your brain.

Most people rely on their memory.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

It’s ok.

But remember that memory is disorganized.

So it requires a bit of processing to bring older thoughts into your consciousness.

23. Think of reading as an investment of time.

Most people approach books with a weird mindset.

They don’t think of it as an investment.

They think their money will be wasted if they buy a specific book.

Yes, I agree that some books are garbage.

But most of them are not.

Buying books is not an expense. It’s an investment of Self.

Yes, when you buy a book, you invest in yourself.

And no denying that the author receives the money too. I think the authors deserve at least some money for the value they provide in their books.

I have lots of friends who don’t read books for the sole reason that they don’t have money to buy books.

But this is an excuse, isn’t it?

It’s the trickery we use to fool ourselves.

If a person has enough money to ensure his basic needs, he must read books.

What I’ve found is that those people who give excuses like:

“I don’t have money to spend on books.”

They spend money on things that don’t add value to their lives.

It seems that most people don’t know what is actually valuable.

But if you are fortunate enough to read this, understand that nothing is more critical than self-growth.

Reading books is one of the cheapest ways to grow yourself.

Nothing beats reading books.

24. Grow patience within yourself. Read slowly.

There is no doubt that you need a bit of patience to make a reading habit.

There are many things you can do to grow patience within yourself.

But before talking about them, let’s understand why patience is the key here.

If you don’t have patience, you will try to read fast.

And it’s hard to finish a book if you want to jump over the pages and reach the end.

We can play a video on 2x speed.

But we can’t do the same with a book.

We can skip, but there is a limit on how fast one can read.

And I’ve tried all the tricks.

None of them help in reading effectively.

The best way to read a book is to read slowly.

Especially if you have just started reading, you should read very slowly.

After that, it depends on you and the concept.

If the concept is more complex, take it slow.

Conversely, if the book is repetitive, feel free to skip a few paragraphs or scan.

That’s also how I usually read books in a decent time frame.

25. Read about guided meditations and spirituality.

Ok.

So now you know why reading slowly is essential to improve your comprehension.

The better your comprehension, the better you connect with the book.

And the better your connection with the book, the more the chances you will build a reading habit.

Now.

The question is:

How to be patient while reading books?

I recommend that you start reading a few books on guided meditation or spirituality.

And if you struggle too much to read books, you can also do courses or listen to podcasts about mental health.

You need a calm mind while reading books.

Everybody starts reading with a quiet mind.

But after a while, it sometimes becomes challenging to stay focused.

Our mind keeps running in different directions. Isn’t it?

When you read about meditation and spirituality, you also understand the traits of your mind.

The better you know your mind, the calmer you will become.

But…

Where does one find the proper resources?

The internet is filled with a lot of information, right?

So how does one know what is the best way?

I recommend that you go over the book summaries that I have published here on this blog.

I’ve covered a great deal of information regarding that.

So don’t worry about it.

26. Shift your mindset. Become a problem solver.

Don’t approach books as if they are just a few pages bundled with lots of information.

Approach books with a purpose.

Let me explain.

Most people approach books if they like the title or have some curiosity.

Sometimes, they read a book because they hear someone making a big deal out of it.

While the other times, they read because some random guy on the internet recommended it.

Is it the best way?

No. It isn’t.

So how should one approach a book then?

When I say that you should have a purpose before reading a book, you should clearly know what problem you are trying to solve.

Don’t just read a book just because you are trying to make a reading habit.

Please don’t do that.

One of the best ways to build a habit is to make it logical and obvious.

Even James Clear says the same thing in his book Atomic Habits.

The more prominent a specific behavior is, the more likely you will perform it.

Let me give you an example.

Suppose you have a fear of public speaking.

No problemo!

Now what you have to do is realize that you have this problem.

You get scared when you face a huge crowd.

The solution?

Read a book that teaches you how to overcome the fear of public speaking.

Read whatever book you would like to read.

Can you see how this is an entirely different mindset?

You are now solving a real problem.

You would pay attention to everything written in the book as you very badly want to overcome your fear.

So be a problem solver instead of just being a reader.

This will help you a lot in building this habit.

27. Read about the author.

It has no direct connection with the habit of reading.

But it’s a fun way to build a deeper connection with any book.

The more you are emotionally and logically connected to a book’s ideas, the higher is the probability that you will finish it to the end.

Most people ignore the section where the author talks about himself.

I recommend that you don’t limit yourself to the short description of the author, which is usually present in the books.

Try doing some research on the internet.

Most authors these days have their official website.

Read their blogs. Watch their videos on YouTube.

The more you connect with the author, the better you understand what he says in the book.

So this improves your comprehension.

You can also check if the author does what he says in the book in real life.

By having questions like:

“Do I want the same results the author has in his life right now?”

“Do I want the type of life the author has?”

Such questions will bring fantastic clarity to your thoughts.

And eventually, help you decide whether you want to read a particular book or not.

Why is this important?

Because if you are in your initial days of building a reading habit, you won’t want to pick a boring book that has no value.

You would want something interesting.

Won’t you?

So before you start reading a book, try reading a few things about the author.

This little extra effort will save you a lot of time too.

28. Get some action.

Learn and apply what you learn.

If you are just reading and reading, you will get lost.

So don’t read too much at once.

Save some for later.

Put the book down and try to apply what you just read.

Start bringing the simple changes to your everyday activities.

If you are reading a book on productivity, try a few things from the book on what you will do today.

You will also learn which things written in the book work by doing this.

I can say confidently that you won’t be able to apply all the things.

But don’t get demotivated.

Try your best.

Don’t worry if you fail a few times.

The more actionable ideas you learn, the more fun you will have while reading the book.

29. Read about the science of building habits.

Once you try the above tips, start learning about the science of habits.

Here are a few books that I think will help you:

• Atomic Habit by James Clear [Read book summary]
• The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard

Why is it necessary?

Every habit follows the pattern:

• Trigger
• Behavior
• Reward

So when you understand how they work, it becomes easy to adopt any new habit.

So you will get the power to build any habit you want.

You just have to figure out a few factors that affect habits.

Our habits influence our daily behaviors and thus impact our life.

You just need to learn about them.

30. Give meaning to your reading habit.

Expect that you will face challenges while building this habit.

You will have to give meaning to it.

Don’t read aimlessly.

Be clear about why you are trying to build this habit.

And what change it would bring to your life.

It may sound contradictory but don’t read just because successful people read books.

Find your reason for reading books.

This will help you a lot in the long run.

31. Read. Read. Read. And Repeat.

Read as much as you can.

And repeat this behavior as many times as you can.

If you have read everything so far, then you have enough understanding of why reading books is so important in life.

And you also have enough tips and tricks up your sleeves so that you can build a reading habit.

The final thing that you need now is:

Repetition.

Repetition is the key to mastering anything.

And especially habits develop when you have a specific desired behavior.

So…

Read as much as you can in your leisure time.

Stop wasting your time doing things that don’t add any significant value to your life.

Fill that time with this activity of reading books.

Final thoughts

I hope you will now be able to make a reading habit.

I know these are a lot of techniques.

So practice them at your own pace.

And if you still find yourself struggling, let me know.

Thanks for reading this article.

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