Reading | 30 Days Challenge | Word Counter
I Read 20 Pages Daily for 30 Days
Never underestimate the power of micro-habits. Let’s do the simple math.
I read a book one day and my whole life was changed.
― Orhan Pamuk
Quick math
Reading 20 pages per day is 30 books per year.
20 pages x 365 days = 7300 pages per year
The average book is 200–450 pages, and you’ll read 30+ books
Let’s say average book size is 240 pages
7,300 / 240 = 30.4
Power of micro-habits.
I am an avid reader and hiker. I’m also extremely busy: full-time job, writing on medium, running a couple of websites. I can still manage to find time to read. No excuses!
How to make time to read
You have to prioritize tasks. I do not watch TV/Netflix a lot, and long shows don’t intrigue me; the last thing I watched on Netflix was Down to Earth with Zac Efron.
If you like documentaries and want to hear real people’s advice, I strongly suggest it. In a nutshell, I am quite a book nerd.
I always love to talk about books. Recently I read a book — My Life in Full by Indra Nooyi (affiliate link) — former chairman and CEO of Pepsi. She said a couple of times in the book that whenever she took additional responsibilities or faced a new challenge.
She always purchased 5–10 books on the subject to ensure she understood everything.
I occasionally purchase discounted Kindle books. Keep an eye on Amazon’s recommendations at all times.
I’ve been really busy at work and on personal projects recently. I had the impression that I wasn’t reading as well as I used to. Reading for at least 20 minutes each day and encouraging my coworkers, friends, and family to do the same is a great way to give back.
My full-time job also requires a lot of reading and writing: market research, product launches, RFPs, extended strategy meetings, and so on. That’s just part of the work, and as I often say, “there is no such thing as an ideal job.”
30 days reading goal
I decided to read for at least 20 pages every day for the next four weeks. Another thing to note is that I don’t read fiction since it never interests me. I enjoy reading nonfiction and biographies on how individuals achieved their goals in order to learn from their mistakes and accomplishments.
I’m also a big believer in developing little habits, and this 30-day reading challenge is right up my path. Last month, I also completed a 30-day challenge of drinking 3.78 liters of water every day.
You can read more on how I drank 3.78 liters each day here.
Why do I divide the big challenges into tiny ones?
I was raised in a small, rural community surrounded by farmers. As a youngster, I had no notion what divide and rule principles were, but if you read history and contemporary army tactics, you will.
For millennia, divide and conquer have been utilized to weaken the opponent. According to my grandfather’s acquaintances, the British ruled the subcontinent for more than a century. They carried out the divide-and-rule strategy — the British stoked distrust between Muslims and Hindus to foment unending falsehoods to gain control.
We may easily use this simple policy in our daily lives to break down larger tasks into smaller ones. Always begin with a tiny step; if you don’t have 20 minutes to spare each day to read, set aside five or even two minutes to read.
Big thanks to Kindle
I enjoy traveling and spending time in nature, particularly mountains, so packing a few books was difficult. Kindle solved that problem.
Kindle is a game-changer. I bought the latest — Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (affiliate link). I was initially reluctant to read on a Kindle; believe me, it feels like a book, waterproof, wireless charging, auto-adjust light, and battery timing, the best part, is almost 7–10 weeks for the avid reader.
I am working on developing a writing system, and I’m hoping that this book, The Miracle Morning for Writers (Kindle image), may be of assistance.
How long will it take to read 20 pages?
It was taking roughly half an hour to read 20-pages. On average, a page is around 500 words.
I am approximately reading 20*500 = 10,000 words a day, which is the minimum. I set in a calendar to read 15 minutes each morning and 15 minutes before bedtime or after supper. I always transverse the threshold.
It also depends on your reading speed. Adults, on average, read 300 words a minute when reading for relaxation. However, it can take longer if you read a technical proposal, legal document, or scientific paper.
Here is a table to show your reading speed based on 20 minutes of reading time: slow, average, and speed readers.
Transformative expereince
I was delighted to finish three books in 4 weeks and amazed by the consistency of the results. The first book was 200 pages long, the second was 300 pages, and the third was 400 pages.
The most effective habit I built was to read a minimum of 20 pages a day.
Some days I read more than 20 pages. I will read more if I have time and am excited about the topic. Sometimes, I read one hour constantly, Indra Nooyi’s books I literally finished in 3 days — 300+ pages.
Bottom line
To summarise, reading does not have to consume your entire day. Not everyone has the time to finish a book in a couple of days. I strongly advise setting aside 10–15 minutes first thing in the morning to develop a reading habit. In my 5th week of reading, I’m on my 4th book.
Can you see how powerful little habits can be?
I began by reading only 20 pages every day, but consistently. This is how, like compound interest, knowledge accumulates over time. Now, on average, I read 20–40 pages every day, 20 in the morning and 20 before bedtime.
A big thanks to Kindle. I challenge you to commit to reading 20 pages a day every day in the next 30 days. If you ever thought to quit, ask the following question loudly.
Why did you start?
Thank you for reading.
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