Often times, reading can seem like a little bit of a chore. It’s much easier to simply turn on the TV to watch some new Netflix original series or spend hours scrolling through TikTok. Whatever your reading goals are, here are some tips and tricks that will have you picking up a book instead of the remote.
Read before bed
Instead of spending hours scrolling through social media before going to bed, pick up a book instead. Reading a book can lull you to sleep. Even if you end up reading solely for five minutes because you’re too tired, that’s five more minutes than you would’ve read anyway, and over time, it eventually becomes a habit.
Always have a book on you
Whether that be a physical copy or an e-book, reading is a great way to kill time in-between commutes to work or when you’re waiting on your friend who’s always late at a cafe.
Listen to audiobooks
Although this doesn’t technically qualify as reading, listening to a narrator can help you get excited about finding your next novel. For many, listening to audiobooks serves as a gateway into reading. Listening to audiobooks isn’t as strenuous, which makes them perfect as background noise for when you’re either cooking up a mighty meal or finally deciding to do that load of laundry that’s piling in the corner of your room. So next time, before you head to YouTube for a dose of entertainment, try listening to an audiobook instead.
Explore different genres
It’s perfectly okay to enjoy a specific genre of literature, but by exploring different genres, you are less likely to get bored or suffer from reader’s fatigue. Furthermore, exploring different genres can help you find new books that you generally wouldn’t have read or even heard of otherwise.
There is no such thing as a “guilty pleasure” when it comes to reading
If you like a certain book that isn’t particularly popular or well received, don’t allow that to discourage you from reading more books like that one. Everybody likes different things, at the end of the day, it’s about what you want to read. Besides, there are some people out there who actually enjoyed It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover (no offense to anyone who actually likes this book).
Think of TV time as your reading time
This mental trick will surely have you flicking through pages even before you think of grabbing that remote. Those three hours you’d usually spend catching up on the latest episodes of your favourite series, try and use half that time to read a chapter of that new book you bought that’s spent its first few weeks in a new home collecting dust.
Take your time
Reading is not a race. It’s best to read at your own pace to reach your reading goals. Trying to get through an entire book can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! Don’t be too hard on yourself, and remember that you get to decide how quickly or slowly you wish to complete that novel!
