5 Tips For Reading More Books In 2018

With 2018 fast approaching, many folks will use the new year as a chance to reset their priorities in life and develop new habits. But making a new resolution isn't likely to succeed unless you have concrete, specific and achievable steps to reaching your goal.

Among some of the most popular New Year's resolutions — including eating better and exercising more — is reading more books. Becoming a more habitual reader has many benefits, such as increasing your ability to pay attention, expanding your worldview, improving your writing skills and honing your knowledge in particular subject areas. It can also help you avoid more mindless activities like watching pointless TV shows or mindlessly browsing the internet that leave you unfulfilled.

But even when people recognize the benefits of reading more frequently — according to YouGov, 18 percent of people want to read more books in the new year — it can be easy to slip into other habits that take less mental effort.

Here are five tips that can help you keep to your goal of reading more books and avoid some common pitfalls:

1. Read what you like

One of the biggest barriers people face when they’re trying to develop a reading habit is the desire to read famous classics — “Ulysses” or “War and Peace,” for instance. But one of these reason these books are so revered and famous is that they’re challenging. If you’re going to start mountain hiking, though, it would never occur to you to start with Everest.

So when you jumpstart the new year with more reading, start with whatever books really intrigue you. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or biography, it doesn’t matter as long as it gets you into the habit of reading. You’ll never become a prolific reader if you can’t aren’t excited about opening up the next book.

2. Don’t be afraid to give up on a book

The flipside of reading books that excite you is to stop reading books that bore you. This tip is counter-intuitive for a lot of people, because so many of us treat the ability to get through dull books as a source of pride.

But sometimes books don’t hold your attention simply because they’re not worth it. If you find that you’re not looking forward to getting back into the book you’ve recently started reading, consider moving on to another story that is more appealing.

Again, if reading becomes a chore, you’re unlikely to do much of it.

3. Commit to reading a set amount every day

Even if you’ve picked the perfect book that really holds your attention, it’s not always easy to motivate yourself for a period of quiet reading — especially when binge-watching on Netflix requires so little effort.

So set yourself a set amount of reading to do each day. It doesn’t have to be a ton, especially at first. Tell yourself you want to read 20 pages a day, or maybe ten — then do your best to stick to it. It’s fine if you miss a few days every now and then, but if you stick to the plan and you’ve chosen a good book, you’ll quickly find yourself excited for reading time, and you may soon read significantly more than your minimum daily goal.

4. Keep a book with you

Preferences about when to read will differ, but the well-worn method of keeping a book next to your bed is always good advice. If you can train yourself to read in bed before sleep instead of playing on your phone or watching movies, you’ll find benefits beyond an improved reading habit. And since sleep experts agree that looking at a screen before bed can disrupt your sleep cycle, replacing phone time with book time at night could make you a better reader and a better sleeper.

But don't just keep a book by your bed — try to carry one wherever you go. If the main book you're working on is a heavy tome, feel free to throw a lighter read in your bag for those points in your day when you have a few minutes to spare. Getting through a few pages of a book you've always wanted to finish will be much more satisfying than scrolling through Twitter or Instagram while you wait at the doctor's office — we promise.

5. Try audiobooks

Listening to audiobooks is vastly underrated. Not only is listening a great way to dig into books if you struggle to focus on reading a traditional book, but audiobooks give you the opportunity to get reading done while you take care of other tasks. You can listen to books while driving, hiking or cleaning the house — and once you’ve started, you may find you’re getting more reading done than you thought possible.

Amazon’s Audible is one of the most well-known ways to easily and conveniently download audiobooks to your smartphone. But don’t forget that you can also get audiobooks from your local library — and the app Overdrive will lets you directly download any files you borrow directly to your phone.

Also See: Amazon's Top Books of 2017

Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images for David Jones