Hi all, and happy New Year! I hope all of you had a wonderful time during the holiday season and are ready to take 2018 by storm. One of the things I always do at the start of the year is take time to remember all the amazing books I read in the previous year, and set goals for how many more I want to read in the coming one.
A lot of us make the resolution, “I want to read more,” to go along with your fitness, health, and work goals. But what does “more” actually mean? If you’re someone who wants to read as much as you possibly can in 2018, here are my tips for you to make it happen!
Find your free time. The top reason we don’t read as much as we want to is because we think we are too busy…but a lot of times, we have more free minutes and hours than we think. Write down all your hard obligations, like work, school drop-offs and pickups, meal times, exercise classes, etc. Then, figure out where you have free time. Do you have 10 minutes waiting in the car for your kids to get out of school? What about commutes to turn on an audiobook? Make sure you’re using those free hours to reach your reading goals instead of scroll through your Twitter feed.
Make a list. What are some books you absolutely know you want to read? Make a reading bucket list that gets you excited, and start checking them off one-by-one. This keeps you from getting distracted or procrastinating because you don’t know what you’re in the mood to read.
Utilize Goodreads. The Goodreads app and website allow you to set reading goals for yourself that you can easily track! Pick the number of books you hope to read in a year or a daily/weekly page goal, and make sure you update your progress!
Be realistic. Setting too lofty of goals sometimes has the opposite effect we want it too—instead of pushing us harder, it makes us more likely to give up entirely. Even if your friend is able to read two books a week, that doesn’t mean that goal is something that fits into your life. Remember, reading should be enjoyable and something you look forward to. If 10 minutes a day is all you have, savor those 10 minutes and know you’re on your way to reading your way through 2018!
Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions this year? Let me know what they are in the comments!