3 Quick Ways to Brainwash Yourself Into Reading More Books Daily
Make your creativity flow like a leaking faucet.
Reading is drifting into a competition.
People visit libraries on the 1st of January, issue books, and return them without reading. In other words, new year’s resolutions only last three weeks.
Similarly, gyms get a surge of new members around January 1st. Do you know why?
People view book reading, fitness training, and meditation as tough endeavors that can only begin in January. When you treat reading and training as part of your day, you no longer treat them as an occasional ornament.
Our minds are stupid creatures. Unless you create a daily frame and ease to read books, your mind will never entertain.
When this happens, we mostly say, “not today, but tomorrow.”
If you feel your quitting time is near, here are 3 ways to brainwash yourself into reading more books.
1. Buy Into Imagery
- Book-building habit is tough.
For someone who promises to start reading every 1st of January, reading in the middle of the year seems sinful. Books look towards you shamefully as you do your chores.
(Hang on. Remember that books are non-living. Hence, your shame directly results from you quitting earlier.)
When starting over reading seems hard, buy imagery books.
Imagery books contain:
- White spaces
- Diagrams, images, graphics
- Things you can intentionally skip
How to apply?
A single page has over 100 words. If your book contains at least ten imagery pages, that means quick skipping.
Quick skipping allows your brain to register that you’re reading faster, and hence completing the book earlier.
This makes you happy. For that reason, buy books with images. Such examples of books are:
- Self-improvement: 4-hour work week, Tools of Titans, Think Straight, Ikigai, Good Habits Bad Habits, The Psychology of Money, etc.
- Novels: Everything Everything, The Sun is Also a Star, Every Breath
2. Books With Overloaded Information
Pick up books with loaded information.
Meaning books with
- Quotes
- Hypotheses
- Theories
Quotes are usually 2–5 lines and are quite readable. Small excerpts give you an edge to complete a page in less than 5 minutes.
Why?
Because, unlike novels, quote books have small chunks of information even a kid can grasp.
How to apply?
You can read quotes before or after reading the page.
When I rebuild my reading habits, I buy a collection of quote books that are easier to read and skip.
Some examples of books that are full of quotes and poems are:
- Self-improvement & Fiction: Rumi daylight, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Mind Platter, Milk and Honey, the Sun and her Flowers, and Homebody, etc.
Poems and quotes are compact, have rhymic patterns, and are easier to digest in one setting.
In other words, reading one quote from a poetry book equals reading 1 page of a non-fiction book.
3. Children’s Books
I know most of us would die rather than buy Winnie the Pooh.
Would it make you feel any better if I were to tell you I still read Winnie the Pooh?
Children’s books are filled with imagination — smooth writing and beautifully scribed words.
When I lose my imagination and creativity, I turn to children’s books.
Children’s books come with many advantages:
- Images: photos printed on the side of the page, reading becomes fun.
- Large print: most children’s books have large images, less wording, and white space.
- Premium paper quality: children’s books are made with extra care, a quality you can hardly see in hardcovers or paperbacks.
How to apply?
Read a children’s book, and creativity flows like a leaking faucet.
Toddler books make a good reading option as these books are made with extreme care.
A perfection we hardly observe in self-improvement/adult books. This means these books are well-versed and well-thought-out.
For that reason, issue children a book from a library or borrow some from your friend’s house. (easy)
As a recommendation, here are classic children’s books you should buy:
- Children’s book, pg +8: Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Goldilocks and the Three Bears,Gingerbread man, and Jack and Jill
Summon creativity and build your reading habits through classic children’s books.
Final Thoughts:
When I am in the mood to start my reading habit, I do the following:
Visit the library and pick books from three genres: short self-improvement, poetry, and children’s books.
After that, I start my reading journey with the most:
- Easiest: children
- Medium: Poetry
- Hard: self-improvement
This is the best way to restart my reading habit.
Every day is not the same. We all skip reading, but if we know the right method to get back on track, it gets easier.
Because falling leaves are always an indication of “spring” to come.
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