How to Build a Reading Habit

7 easy ways to increase your daily reading time

I’m an avid reader and, because I read in every free moment I get — meaning I frequently read in public - I often hear the sentence “I wish I had more time to read”.

Nowadays, people are very busy; everything is a priority. Even so, there are ways to add minutes of reading in your day, without having to do any mental gymnastics or multitasking. It’s all about being a bit creative.

To create a habit takes regularity. I could bet that, often, you have a bit of free time to kill and it doesn’t even cross your mind to pick up a book — you’re not used to it. So, by creating a routine or, at least, to be regular in an activity, you will develop a habit — like reading.

Let me show you how you can build a reading habit. Besides the pleasurable activity, as I wrote in my piece 8 health benefits of reading daily, reading as short as 15 minutes a day improves your health.

So, give it a try and use the strategies I’m suggesting today; you’ll see it’s much easier to have a reading habit than you might think.

How to build a reading habit

1. Always carry a book

This is by far the best advice I can give you. If you think about it, in your day you have a lot of dead moments — those when you usually distract yourself with your phone.

I am a kindle fan. Although I love reading physical books, a kindle brings a lot of advantages; namely, it’s light, I can always carry it in my purse. Every time I have a spare moment, I take my kindle and read for a few minutes.

So, to start, always carry a book with you — even if you think that day you won’t have any chance to read, trust me, you will — there’s always a break, a waiting room, a lunchtime,… you have the time; you just aren’t fully aware of it.

2. Quit a book if you’re not passionate about it

I am not one to spend time reading a book that I’m not enjoying. There are so many books waiting to be read! My wish list is infinite.

You might buy a book, confident you’ll like it but when you start it, you feel disappointed. It happens to me and, unless there is still hope for it (the characters begin to develop, or the plot gets more attractive), I quit the book.

If you’re not having pleasure reading a book, you won’t feel motivated it; ergo, you will find excuses to do something else besides reading. My honest advice is: if you’re not feeling it, drop it and chose another book.

3. Chose books you think you’ll like

This seems much obvious, but sometimes we chose books based on someone’s suggestion or because we read all the books of the author so this one must be good as well. Spoiler alert: not always are.

My last bad choice was “Little Fires Everywhere” — the reading community was praising this book to the gods, so I blindly bought it; I wanted to see what was all about. Well, I read it, and I didn’t enjoy it that much. I didn’t hate it (otherwise I would have dropped it), but I didn’t love it as millions of readers did.

We all have a favourite genre and writing style. To start building the habit, chose a book in your genre, it will be easier to stick to the reading. You should try different genres, but my suggestion is that in the beginning, play safe and chose books you think you’ll like: you will find the time in your day to return to the story.

4. Prioritise

Reading should be in your to-do list as a priority. When you have free time, instead of going to your phone browsing feeds, pick up your book and enjoy a reading moment.

I’m not suggesting that all your free time is exclusively to read, of course not. Just find a balance between all the activities you enjoy, prioritising reading. When you have a good book in hands, prioritising comes naturally, you will even make time in your day to go back to your characters.

5. Have a dedicated reading time

Besides reading in the free moments that come up during the day, you can create a “reading time”. Being a routine, it’s more probable you stick to it, which will improve your habit.

If you use the train to commute to work, make that your reading routine; if you have your lunch break on your own, use that. Even if it’s 10 minutes, it’s worth it.

For two years now, I became addicted to audio-books. In my car, I no longer listen to music, only books. Also, when I go out to walk my dog, I take my headphones and listen to my book. It’s all about making reading a priority — when you do, you find time for it.

6. Cutt-off distractions

When you’re reading, cut-off all the distractions around you; turn off the TV and silent the notifications on your phone. It’s not about reading in silence (impossible when you’re reading in public), but not being interrupted or distracted by things that don’t matter at the moment — those entertainments can wait for their turn.

7. Keep a log of your readings

Tracking the books you read will feed your motivation. Besides, it’s a good way to suggest a book when someone asks you for opinions. You can use a paper system, excel or, like me, Goodreads.

How to save money buying books

If financial reasons is a stone in your way to read more, let me give you a few suggestions on how to get cheap/free books:

As I said, I am a huge kindle fan; it’s rare for me to buy hardcover books. I’ve read amazing ebooks that cost me only £0,99. There are always promotions on Kindle, it’s easy to read a lot in a cheap way.

When I did buy hardcover books, I used to go to charity shops — they are very cheap. Used book shops definitely are a great way to save money.

You can also go to a public library and borrow books for free, or exchange books with your friends and colleagues.

With these simple 7 suggestions, you can have reading sessions several times a day. If you prioritise reading, and read, let's say, three blocks of ten minutes daily, you will read easily - and stealing no time to your busy day -, half an hour a day. That will be, on average, one book a month! As you can see, you can, indeed, read (much) more than you do now. You just have to create the habit.

Reading should be about pleasure, so don’t put pressures on yourself to read but prioritise it. It doesn’t matter if you can’t finish one book a month, what matters is that you have a habit of reading. It’s relaxing, and it has health benefits. Invest in it.

Choose your next book and enjoy the several reading moments you’ll have from now on!