How To Develop The Reading Habit

              Top 5 most amazing ideas to develop the most productive reading habit 

Have you ever tried to start reading an amazing book and then lose the track on the way and eventually never complete it? How many times have you been through the interviews of successful people and they start talking about their reading habits and a sense of guilt haunts you? I too had been in a similar condition earlier and today I am going to share some amazing tips that worked best in developing my book-reading habit. 



1. Identify the field of your interest 

Most of the time we get carried away in the hefty recommendations of entrepreneurs, friends, or some other social sites. We pick the book and can't process it after a while and that takes a lifetime to finish reading. The most effective idea is to identify the fields you are already interested in. You can easily do this by observing what kinds of videos on YouTube attract you most, the kinds of movies you watch, the topic about which you can talk for hours, and the news that gets your attention. 

After ranking then, you may start looking the short, interesting, and best-selling books on those topics. You may even follow the New York Times Bestseller List for even more surety. When you already have some idea about a topic you can relate to it better while reading and you don't get dazzled. This helps you to understand the book and finally finish reading it. 

2. Select Short Books 

It's utterly a bad idea to go with lengthy classics when you are just beginning to develop a reading habit. Of course, the classics and lengthy books are worth a ton and in fact, they must be on everyone's reading list. But, it might be tiresome to keep reading page after page, hundreds of pages when you have just begun the journey. Instead, look for the shortest one. Not more than 200 pages in fact. Better to look for the most plainly written. You might even go with teen fiction, stories, novels, picture book, or anything short and spicy. 

Finishing shorter books ignite a sense of accomplishment in your brain. You feel the momentum building up and that raises your confidence level. Then gradually, you can start picking up the lengthy and more detailed book. Remember, it's always one step at a time. 

3. Take Enough Breaks 

When you are just beginning, even finishing a hundred-page book can be a herculean task. You can't stay focused for longer and constantly get distracted by the phone's notifications or the beautiful scenery outside. The best way to combat the problem is by taking frequent and enough breaks in between. If you feel distracted after reading a few pages, you may put down the book, take a short break and come back to it immediately afterward. 

Remember the 5 minutes rule. When you feel too lazy to read, commit yourself that you are going to do it for just 5 minutes and then stop. If you feel hooked by the book you may continue even after 5 minutes or else simply put it down. Repeating this cycle a couple of times helps you to hold for a longer time. And afterward, you don't have to push yourself at all, you get automatically get pulled by it. 

4. Talk about it with friends 

As it's often said the best way to remember what you have read is to talk about it with people around. You may talk about what you have been reading or the amazing book you have finished reading recently. Talking about the likes and dislikes of the contents of the book actually develops your analytical skills and even makes you point out the things you enjoy reading and what you don't. That can further enrich your reading habit. It's a virtuous cycle. The more you talk about it, the more motivated you get about reading.

And then another advantage of it is, it makes you look smarter in the group. If you already have a circle that's much into reading, doing so makes you feel less left out. Who knows, seeing you talk that way might inspire another of your friend to start reading too. 

5. Don't hesitate to drop the boring book 

Most of the time the readers fall into the trap of the fallacy of escalation of commitment. That is when you have invested enough time and energy in reading a book and you find it too boring halfway, you cannot simply feel like dropping it. You want to finish it even if unproductive, boring and draining. 

The best thing you can do is drop the book without guilt, take a break and look for another one. In many cases, even if the book is best class, it's simply not the right time or right state of mind. You can find the bestseller boing too. And when you feel like the right time, you can always go back to it and pick the thread from where you had left it earlier. 

A combination of all these tips would produce a great result when you practice them consistently. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and it takes some time and effort to form life-changing habits. And reading habit is certainly one of them. Take your time, look for better options and always rise when you fall. Over time you will surely be proud of the result. Best Wishes. Happy Reading