Developing a habit of reading can be challenging, but it’s one that can help you improve your life. If you want to be successful in whatever you do, you need to read more and better books. It may seem impossible to read 100 books in a year. How will you manage it? Upon carefully examining your daily routine and schedule, you will probably realize that you actually spend quite a bit of time on activities that could easily be converted into reading time. You can definitely achieve the goal of reading at least 100 books in a year if you have a real passion for reading.
1. Become a speed reader
Read a book about speed-reading. Peter Kump’s Breakthrough Rapid Reading is one of my favorite books on the subject.
By using my hand, we guide ourselves through the pages. By doing so, we avoid reading aloud so much in my head. Additionally, we can scan and skim more quickly. As of now, I read 1,000 words per minute instead of 200.
2. Don’t read the entire book
There is a myth that you must read every book you come across cover to cover. You are spending too much time on trivial content if you do.
There are only a few major ideas in average books, a few more in good books, and the most in great books. The majority of books are average. A typical author could write a 20-page book with all their ideas, but that kind of book will never sell to the public-so they usually add 200 extra pages to make it more interesting.
3. Establish time limits
You can stay focused on what you read by setting time limits.
Spend four hours reading a 200- to 300-page book. Be completely focused. Don’t let anything distract you.
You must know what you want to gain from each book you read. You will be able to read a book in four hours if you force yourself to do so. If you give yourself a month, you won’t be disciplined because you will lose focus.
4. Start with easy books
The purpose of this is to build confidence. You may have trouble reading a 1,000-page academic textbook if you start reading it.
Start with a short 100- to 150-page book. Collect a stack of books on a variety of topics. You can read one to two of them a week to see your progress. Once you become more confident, you can start reading bigger books.
5. Read quality books only
Decide whether a book is worth reading before you begin it. Most likely, you picked up the book to find a solution to a problem. You should be able to decide if the book will help you with that problem within the first 10 minutes.
6. Explore different niches
If you stick to one niche, it’s easy to get bored with reading. It’s okay for some people because they are deeply passionate about a particular subject – such that they read 100 books in a year about the same subject. Any book whose content exceeds thirty books on a single subject is overkill for others.
7. Put the concepts into practice
The benefits of applying newly acquired knowledge to your life are extremely motivating when you read books. You should pick up a book that teaches you how to speak on stage if you have a big public speaking appearance coming up, for example.
8. You shouldn’t force yourself to read
If you aren’t enjoying a book, don’t force yourself to finish it. You should not read books to hit the hundred mark, you will be miserable.
If you don’t like the prose of a six hundred page novel, you can drop it halfway through.
9. Make a reading list
If you want to read 100 books in a year, you need to read two books a week. The average reading time per book is 3.5 days. Even though it sounds daunting, remember that some books are short and can be read in a day or two.
- Try to read two books a week on average. There will be ups and downs in your reading. There are weeks when you may only read half a book, while there are weeks when you may read five books.
- Get ahead quickly by reading a few shorter books if you feel overwhelmed by your lack of progress.
10. Optimize the reading time by setting up a system
There are no two people alike, so find what works for you. During the hour before you normally go to bed, turn off all of your electronics and read until you fall asleep. Take a book with you when you eat alone. Take out that book while you wait to meet up with a friend.
Also Read: The Guide to Retain Every Book you Read