How do you read?
I started the year of doing well with my reading habit, it quickly died away though, which made has made me sad. I'm not shy in buying books, when I see something I like I just buy it. But now my pile to read is massive!
I love reading and never regret doing so. I also know it directly and positively impacts my work. I stupidly get into the habit of being on my laptop too much.
How do you read? What works for you? And how do you fit it into a busy life?
My wife has made a great habit of going to the coffee shop every Sunday and reading for 1-2 hours.
As @JamesReilly said, it's related to habits and I view it similar to meditation. Meditation and mindfulness are necessary for me now but I have a really hard time building the habit because it feels like unproductive time even though it results in improved productivity later. The key, IMO, to habits is:
1.) Make it a rule to remove decision fatigue and taxing will power.
2.) Make it regular and repeatable.
3.) Find a way to measure the success resulting from successful completion.
All that being said, my reading list is also growing and I'm terrible about reading regularly.
Hi Rosie! I'm working on a side project (haven't announced it yet, besides some posts like this one). Bookeclub.com allows people to organize and grow an online book club. Books are decided by the users voting and setting start and end dates; newsletters and emails keep the group engaged and in sync. Discussing the books much increase their impact. I'm announcing it soon and starting a book club focused on Saas development and growth.
Answering your question, being extremely busy lately I started listening to audiobooks, part of my morning shower routine and work commute. Once I launch my site the discussion of the books would help make the best of them, create a small community and continuously finding and deciding what to read next.
Joining an online book club was the reason I started reading books and at the same time the reason I stopped reading when I could no longer keep up with everyone else.
That's something to consider and try to address, if you're hoping the book club will help people get into the habit of reading.
Thank you for the reply, this what we are doing about it. Each book club admin sets an initial number of daily reading pages as part of the book club profile, so users know what they are signing up for. Then at the end of the book, we ask users for a quick rating/review of the book and use it to signal the percentage of users that completed the book. We can use this information to speed or slow down the book club. That way the majority of users can remain comfortable with the club speed.
If someone prefers to read faster/slower is easy to start a club, and we can match people based on types of books they read, speed and location. These are some of the ideas we have, only partially coded as part of our current MVP.
I've been thinking about doing this as I've tried to launch in person clubs a few times. Everyone appreciates the book club but no one can make time for it.
I hope you'll do "invite only clubs" and "public clubs". The public clubs could have a list of books they're considering and users can join if they want to read the chosen book.
I've registered an account on bookclub.com, do you want people sharing it on social media yet?
Thank you for the reply, is not ready to be shared yet. I will announce the site in 2 weeks. I started this side project when I saw my girlfriend very interested in book clubs; did not find something that really helped her. I also like books but I wouldn't go out home to discuss them. That changes when the group is a small online community. I feel like then I can discuss and discover good books with the help of the group.
I miss placed my phone over the weekend and then managed to finish reading a book. Coincidence? :|
Always try to make 30-60 mins at the end of the day to read before bed (also inspired by the book Atomic Habits and the idea of "habit stacking"). I'm only reading non-fiction and always keep a notebook handy to write down ideas and how they can be applied to my side hustles.
I’m just like you. I can’t resist a buying a book - especially used ones. Sites like abebooks are incredible. I ended up having to create a wish list rather than buying them then and there. Now I’ll read when I can, normally having to force myself to start. Eventually I’ll make it through my wish list!
I stopped reading books in my early teens, but then I picked up the habit in 2019. That means I didn't read books for over 15 years!
First of all, if you haven't yet read Atomic Habits by James Clear, start with that.
I spent the first few months of 2019 reading consistently, every day, until I could no longer keep up with my reading target of one book every two weeks. I slowly went off track and stopped reading altogether.
I recently got myself back into it, and my current streak is 39 days. I'm doing two things differently, which I think are super important:
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