4 Simple Habits To Read More Books In 2022 (And Beyond)
“If you spend that same amount of time reading, you’ll be in the top 1% of whatever your field is.”
Even though there are no shortcuts or magic pills in life, reading non-fiction books comes pretty close.
In just a few days or weeks, you can gain the wisdom someone spent a lifetime acquiring (through trial and error) simply by reading their books.
Honestly, it’s the biggest ‘life-hack’ there is.
“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” — Jim Rohn
But despite the advantage of reading books, most people struggle on a daily basis to make it a priority.
Fortunately, as the founder of WealthWise (where I’ve summarized the key lessons from the best financial books), I’ve learned how to read more and faster, without compromising on knowledge retention.
1 Hour of Entertainment → 1 Hour of Reading
Studies have shown the average individual spends 3 hours watching TV (Netflix included) and nearly 2.5 hours on social media each day.
I’m not implying you need to ban all entertainment from your life. You don’t have to live like a Spartan. Life isn’t much fun that way.
But, do you really need more than five hours of entertainment each day?
Personally, I don’t think so. Two hours, for me, is more than enough.
“The big problem in America is that everyone is spending 2–3 hours a day watching TV. If you spend that same amount of time reading, you’ll be in the top 1% of whatever your field is.” — Jack Canfield
What if you traded one hour of Netflix, video games, or social media per day for one hour of reading?
Not only will there be enough time left for entertainment, but you carve extra time in your day to read and educate yourself.
Just to put it in numbers, one hour of daily reading amounts to roughly 45–55 books per year.
And as Earl Nightingale said, “One hour per day of study will put you at the top of your field within three years. Within five years you’ll be a national authority. In seven years, you can be one of the best people in the world at what you do.”
Plan It In Your Calendar
Your weekly schedule should reflect your goals and priorities. If I’d check your schedule — without knowing who you are — I need to be able to quickly identify which habits you find important.
If something is important to you, whether exercise, working on your side-hustle, or reading books, plan it in your calendar.
What doesn’t get scheduled usually doesn’t get done.
Out of all the productivity hacks, weekly and daily planning is the most important one (which is why I developed the Peak Productivity Planner).
Truth is, what doesn’t get scheduled usually doesn’t get done.
If you want to make progress in any area of life — your health, finances, career, skills, or relationships — make a weekly goal-oriented schedule focused around these priorities.
So, if you want to read more books, you need to plan for it. Take a look at your upcoming week and schedule a few time blocks dedicated to reading.
Transform ‘Wasted Time’ Into Learning Time
For most of us, there are many wasted moments in the day. Whether it’s the daily commute to work/university or doing chores around the house (laundry, dishes, cleaning), these activities occupy our time without really moving the needle forward.
Fortunately, this daily ‘wasted time’ can easily be transformed into productive learning time — especially through audiobooks.
Besides, where you might not have the time each day to sit down and read a physical book, you’re more likely to have enough time to listen to audiobooks while you’re on the move or doing routine tasks.
For example, your daily one-hour commute can become your daily hour of self-development, and a time-consuming home-maintenance routine can be accompanied by a great business or personal finance book, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you need to fill every moment of silence with audiobooks.
It’s healthy to have enough moments in the day without any form of input. The silence allows your mind to connect ideas, process information, and take a well-needed break in our information-overload world.
However, if you find yourself having lots of ‘wasted time,’ consider signing up for an audiobook service such as Audible or Storytel so you can easily turn it into learning time.
Learn To Skim Chapters
Honestly, most books are unnecessarily long. The average 300-page non-fiction book should be 150 pages or less. I even think some books could be a 2000-word article instead.
So, here’s a message to my past self:
You don’t have to read every single chapter, page, or paragraph from a book.
You see, reading non-fiction is not really about reading — it’s about learning. And for most books, you’ll learn 80% of the lessons in just 20% of the pages.
Out of the average 300-page book, roughly 60–100 pages contain the most important lessons and insights. The remaining pages continuously repeat these lessons or simply contain much less valuable stuff.
In other words, if you want to read more efficiently, learn to separate the most important chapters from the less important chapters.
To do so, I recommend you read the first and last two paragraphs of a chapter and ask yourself:
- Does this chapter spark my curiosity?
- Is this information new to me?
- Does it sound like a repeat from earlier chapters?
- Does it seem worth my time to read this entire chapter?
And then, for a final conclusion, quickly skim over the entire chapter and see if anything stands out and catches your interest.
If it doesn’t, it’s okay to move on to the next chapter. You don’t have any obligation to read every single page of a book.
Not to yourself. Not to the author. Not because ‘it doesn’t count’ if you don’t read every word from the book.
Once again, non-fiction books aren’t necessarily about reading — they’re about learning.
Often, it’s better to spend less time on low-value chapters, so you have more time to deeply study the chapters that contain the most valuable lessons and insights.
Maximize learning. Minimize time wasted on fluff.
