Are you familiar with this feeling? It’s always been on your to-list to read more, but you never have the time or can never find the right book? Or you may have a different problem. You’ve always stuck to the same genre and you want to discover new knowledge. We’ve got your back, either way.
Today, we’re talking about how to get motivated to read more and broaden your horizons. Let’s get started!
The Purpose Driven Life
by Rick Warren
⏱ 13 minutes reading time
🎧 Audio version available
Don’t Read Just for the Sake of Reading
In theory, who wouldn’t love to pick up a book about astrophysics or the entire history of the world in the 11th century and absorb the information for conversation starters. However, the reality will likely getting bored and giving up a few pages in.
The key to get motivated to read and actually enjoying it is to pick reading material that you’re attracted to. Just because a friend or your favorite celebrity recommended a book they love doesn’t necessarily mean you will also enjoy it.
When people set a goal to read more books, to browse more articles, and essentially broaden their horizons, the last thing they should do is place reading as another task on their to-do lists—a task to be checked off. If the book holds no interest for you, this will drastically slow down your reading process.
Don’t Be Afraid to Skim
The purpose of this is to get you motivated, why not ‘cheat’ a little? You’re doing this for yourself, so set your own rules. Skimming can be more productive when it comes to reading for your personal pleasure and knowledge.
Why? At the moment, it helps you move through whatever boring parts or irrelevant paragraphs more quickly. This way, you’re not wasting time reading something that doesn’t ultimately serve you. Whether that’s a book, a magazine, a newspaper, or even online content, don’t be afraid to skim, so that you can move on to the next.
Have a Reading Goal
What is your end goal? If you don’t have one already, setting one can be immensely helpful when figuring how much reading you need to do. For example, your goal can be reading two books a week, ten books a month, or even something as ambitious as 100 books a year.
When you break it down, 100 books a year isn’t that much. There are 52 weeks in a year; that means you only have to read roughly two books a week.
What setting a reading goal will do is help you get excited. And when you achieve that goal, you’re going to want to fist-pump the air because you read a hundred books. That’s a big deal! Imagine how much information is flowing through your head!
Read A Genre You Never Considered Before
Do you usually stick to biography and nonfiction? Are you the romantic, Colleen Hoover and Jane Austin type? A Stephen King horror fan? Take a break from your usual, preferred genre and read something that is outrageously different to you.
Some people are even known to try their hand at graphic novels and mangas, even if it’s just to experience their unique storytelling and artwork.
Read a Play Then See It
Try reading a Shakespearean play and then head to your local theater to see Shakespeare’s characters come to life.
The next time you pick up a Shakespeare play, you’ll be able to visualize the story better. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself easily quoting the entire play.
Read 3 Completely Different Magazines
You’ve tried venturing into different book genres, but how about magazines? If you’re looking for a way to absorb new information, consider picking up three different magazines that couldn’t be any more different, each talking about something you’re not familiar with.
Purchase the latest issue of National Geographic, Entrepreneur, and perhaps Art News. Randomise the magazines as much as you like. We can guarantee that you’ll learn something new.
Make Reading Part of Your Daily Routine
If you don’t allocate a specific time during the day for reading, you’ll never actually get to it. Another task or activity will get in the way, and that excitement you started with will turn into dread and guilt.
If broadening your knowledge is really that important, schedule time to do it. A fixed time each day will dramatically reduce procrastination and putting it off. You’ll find that most avid readers tend to read either in the evening before bed or early on in the morning to set the tone for their day.
Find a Quiet Place
You can’t hope to focus on reading if you’re surrounded by constant distractions– the TV is blaring, people causing a ruckus, the neighbors fighting in the street. It’s easier to give up if you’re not fully invested, and you can’t be fully invested without being able to concentrate on what you’re doing. You’ll grow discouraged if you constantly have to re-read paragraphs and pages because you don’t remember what you just read.
So find a nice, quiet, peaceful place; cuddle up with a blanket, have some soothing music on hand, turn your phone off or put it away, close the door, and crack open a book.
Don’t Hoard Towers of Unread Books
Admittedly, hoarding unread books is a problem. It’s a temptation. You see a book you like the premise of, and you add it to the top of an already precarious tower of other interesting books. This is a problem almost all dedicated readers suffer from–committing to reading more books than they could handle.
While, as we said, it’s important to set a reading goal, that goal shouldn’t be sky-high or unrealistic. It’s better to read one book a month than procrastinating or only reading half before giving up and moving on to the next. Once you find your reading rhythm, you can increase your reading goals.
And hey, now, the reading experience already feels a lot less stressful, doesn’t it?
Take Part of Reading Challenges
You may be familiar with writing challenges, but what about reading challenges? They’re out there, and they’re incredibly beneficial. Not only are they super fun, they’re also interactive, which will help you connect with others and have a public goal that motivates you.
Not sure where to start? The website Goodreads always has something cooking up. They have an annual challenge, and through it, you can discover new, diverse books others have enjoyed.
How to Avoid Decision Fatigue
You’re staring at the recommended section of the bookstore. Should you read Jane Eyre, Alexander Hamilton’s biography, or Stephen King’s latest release?
When you set out with the purpose of wanting to broaden your horizons by reading more, it’s not uncommon to be overwhelmed with the abundance of options and eventually experience decision fatigue.
So, what’s the solution? Until you get the hang of things, try this little trick. Find someone who’s already done the work. Instead of searching through endless pages and aisles of new book releases, find the reading list or favorite books of someone you admire.
You can check out anything from Oprah’s favorite books, to the reading lists of entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, put out. Now, you can focus more on the actual book and the reading time than stressing about which book.
Sign Up For a Book Club
Building on the previous point, the next key to getting motivated and excited for reading more is to consider joining a book club. This will push you into reading more. Why? The book is already decided, there’s a deadline, and you’ll get phenomenal recommendations.
What draws people to book clubs is the community aspect of it. You have a room full of people who share the same ambitions as you and who are ready to benefit each other. With a book club, you have a community to discuss and share your thoughts with. And you never know, you’ll find titles you never would have considered before– and these titles may end up becoming your new favorite.
Google book clubs near you. Or if you want to go the online route, digital book clubs work just as well.
Kindle or Paperback?
Is reading from a screen the same as reading from an actual physical book?
Who says you have to choose? Use both to your advantage. Yes, nothing can beat the feeling of holding a book in your hands, its texture, the smell of pages, and the satisfaction as you finally close it and put it back on the shelf, but ebooks are equally phenomenal.
You have something like the library of Alexandria in your hands. You want a book about the eating habits of Beethoven? The nightly routines of the world’s most creative minds? The biography of Michelle Obama? You don’t have to worry about not finding your desired book in the library and bookstore.
All it takes is typing a keyword and you can have something like “Apollo: the Race to the Moon” delivered right to your device. Technology also has the added benefit of giving you more opportunities to experiment with the genres of books you want with less effort on your part.
Not to mention the practicality of having most of your library on one device, which means you’ll never be without a book!
Ready to tackle that reading list yet?
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With the Snapreads app, you get the key insights from the best nonfiction books in minutes, not hours or days. Our experts transform these books into quick, memorable, easy-to-understand insights you can read when you have the time or listen to them on the go.
