The Psychology of Reading More — How I Read A Book A Week In 2019 And How You Can Do It Too
A little over a year ago, I happened to look up from my phone while on a bus. Without meaning to, I noticed that every single person I could see on the bus was either staring at their phone or connected to it in some way — listening to music, playing games, taking pictures and scrolling through Instagram, watching a movie etc. It made me think about how much time I spent on my phone on a daily basis — without actually meaning to do so.
This is not an excoriation of social media or the use of phones — most of my work requires me to be on my phone, staying up to date via social media. This is a note on how much time we spend on our phones — items designed to build on addictive behaviors — without a purpose.
Nowadays, most of us feel like we have no other option than to be on our phones while waiting in lines and commuting (see: avoiding awkward eye contact). This can lead to excess sharing of mundane information online, which can encourage others to do the same (even at the expense of interesting conversations and good parties). At that moment over year ago, I made a resolution to try to read more and ease off excess time on my phone i.e. not spend more time than necessary catching up on social media/the news/etc.
As a social psychologist, I knew that just mentally committing to “reading more” wasn’t going to cut it to actually change my behavior. Therefore, I committed to reading a book a week. I was going to have to make very targeted changes to achieve this lofty goal given my full-time work schedule, and even if I failed to read a book a week, chances were that I would’ve hopefully read and altered my behavior quite a bit (in my effort to reach that goal). So even if I failed, I won 😉 (See below for more on loss aversion and goal theory).
It’s been over a year and I’ve actually managed to stick to my goal of reading a book a week. I’ve realized over the past year that reading often just takes a bit of discipline managed via a bit of trickery. I’d also like to add here that I don’t read for a living or having a job in the publishing industry.
I’ve come to realize that there are significant perks to maintaining reading behavior. Aside from the interesting functions your brain goes through when reading, my favorite has been that certain books I’ve read, in addition to better informing me about a specific topic, have challenged my perceptions and even opinions of certain issues. Actual information will do that to you 😉 Most issues aren’t as simple or one-sided as news headlines would have you believe — complex issues involve a number of stakeholders, and most problems have a historical precedent that is important to consider in the identification of the problem and nuanced solution(s) design. It’s also helped me better identify fake or exacerbated “facts” in conversation with others. It helps you identify arguments that are biased/one-sided in their reasoning. It helps you understand that there may be other sides to a story, and to listen before you speak, or formulate an opinion or voice your own. At work, it helps you go beyond the buzzwords.
People will tell you, it’s not that hard to read very often. I disagree. Changing any type of behavior requires some level of difficulty — from commitment to follow through. It depends on how much you’ve read before, whether you’ve already found a genre you enjoy etc. Don’t underestimate the difficulty in committing to reading more. I used some simple psychological tricks to nudge my behavior in the desired direction. Below are some of them for those of you interested in reading more this year:
Set a high, specific goal
Humans don’t like the feeling of losing out on something — even in comparison to the feeling of having gained something (e.g. telling people that they’ll lose something if they don’t engage in a certain behavior has been more effective than telling people that they’ll gain something if they engage in that behavior! i.e. it’s better not to lose $10 than to gain $10). This is called loss aversion — we tend to avoid losses.
Setting a goal can work on similar logic — we don’t like to feel that we’ve failed, lost out on something. We try to avoid losses at most costs — and tend to set smaller goals in response. Reading more becomes “I’ll read from time to time,” or “When I can.” This allows you to fail, and thereby, read less. Therefore, try to set a specific goal that is high in its aspirations e.g. a book a week, or a book a month. Specificity in goal setting has been found to increase performance — it can help us visualize the goal better, think it more attainable, and motivate behaviors to achieve it.
Keep books where you’re most likely to see them on a daily basis
Nudge your behavior towards reading by leaving books where you’re most likely to see them e.g. a central coffee table, your dinner table etc. Books are often seen as decorative items lining the corners of our house, or in a display case below our line of sight. Try to position the next book you are going to read, or the book you are reading, on levels that often meet your line of sight. This will remind you of your goal without you having to actively remind yourself to read and increase the likelihood of you actually picking up the book.
Keep your book on your pillow
Keeping with the logic above, I’ve found that keeping the book that I’m reading on my pillow has been more helpful than keeping it on my nightstand, where it’s more often than not used as a thicker-than-average coaster for my phone and laptop. Keeping the book on my pillow reminds me to put my phone away, and start reading before I go to sleep.
Increase salience: have a book on you, wherever you go
We are faced with a myriad decision every day, from the mundane (what do I wear?) to the complex (for when should I schedule that meeting?) This all takes cognitive effort. You should try to make reading versus scrolling through your phone an easy decision by always having your book in your bag, wherever you go. Don’t try to decide whether you should take your book to this appointment, or that meeting. You may have time to kill between meetings, or be made to wait at that doctor’s appointment. Taking your book with you should become as much a habit as reading, as one can directly lead to the other, “I carried my book all the way here, might as well read it!”
Have books downloaded on your phone
This can be a bit dangerous given the number of notifications that can distract you on your phone but if you are a person who likes to read on a device, it could be good to have books downloaded on your phone. Even if not, it doesn’t hurt to have a book or two downloaded onto your phone, just in case you forget to take your physical copy with you. It may also help with the notion of having your book on your wherever you go. Just keep in mind that you may be tempted to click on Instagram over your Kindle app when on your phone, but depending on your level of discipline, this may work for you.
Delete unnecessary app shortcuts off your home screen
…and delete unnecessary apps off your phone altogether! If you’re reading on your device, it helps if you don’t have an attractive but not as useful alternative right next to Kindle/reading app of choice. Place your reading app on your home screen and try to place social media shortcuts further along on your menu. Try to mute notifications from unnecessary apps if you don’t want to disconnect from them altogether. Think about it — if you were on a diet and had to choose between a health bar and a donut (assuming you like donuts) placed right next to each other when you are hungry, which would you prefer to go for? Try to make reading the only, salient choice you have, with more effort required to get at other alternative options.
Make the most of your commute
An oldie but goodie. Drive to work? Try audiobooks. Take public transport? Whip out your book. I would not have managed to stick to my goal of a book a week without my daily commute of 40 minutes round trip. You’d be surprised at how much you can accomplish in 20 minutes!
I also find it useful to have my book in my hand when headed to the bus/leaving the house. This makes the book even more salient and reduces the ‘effort’ of having to take it out of your bag when on your commute. There’s a reason phones are small enough to fit in your hand/pocket — easy access!
Find your preferred genre(s)
I believe it is key to find genres you enjoy when you read. Think about it this way — if you’re trying to exercise more and you love running but hate weights, would you commit to doing weights in a bid to exercise more? You may or may not have found your genre of choice, but there are obviously several to choose from including but not limited to fiction/non-fiction, fantasy, autobiographies, historical fiction, crime, science fiction, romance, satire, etc. I personally enjoy political memoirs, autobiographies, and Who-Dunnit crime-thrillers, and intersperse them with others whenever I need to get a bit more excited about reading (it happens!) e.g. when my workload gets tougher. This can help when you…
Read to take breaks
This is a key conditioning exercise that needs to occur to make your habit long term. In order to start thinking of reading as a hobby, something you enjoy doing, versus a chore, you need to start reading books you enjoy when taking breaks from work/when at home. I often take 15 minutes between doing the dishes and vacuuming when doing the chores for example, and instead of scrolling through my phone for 15 minutes, I read.
Expect Error: Remember that it’s OK to fall short of your expectations
If you tell yourself that you can’t eat meat for a month, chances are that’s all you’ll think about. Meat. Telling yourself that you choose not to eat meat for a month can be more effective — and it’s better that you fall short by having a ‘cheat meal’ once that month and getting back to your goal versus eating it and giving up on your goal altogether. So you couldn’t finish your book this week? No worries — continue onto the next week. You’ll find your rhythm and be able to catch up sometime in the future — or not, and that’s OK. It’s always better than abandoning your goal altogether.
Switch out two hours of watching TV at night to an hour of TV and an hour of reading
Don’t think of reading as coming at the expense of your social life/things that you enjoy. Try to build reading into your schedule to replace an excess of something else. For example, I replaced watching Netflix and scrolling through Facebook with reading more. This doesn’t mean I don’t Netflix and go on Facebook. I just do it less and read more. Researchers have estimated that approximately 45% people use social media globally on a daily average of 2 hours and 23 minutes. This average varies significantly when taken as a function of age group and geographical location. Point is, you’d be surprised at how much time we spend every day on social media, even when we don’t need to! Try switching out an hour you’d spend on your phone or watching TV with an hour of reading. One or two episodes on Netflix coupled with an equal time reading, to get yourself engaged with the material and build it into your routine.
Sometimes, read more than one book at a time
Some folks have found this helpful in spurring their reading habits. This could help if you haven’t found your preferred genre yet or like to alternate between topics. Either way, whatever helps you enjoy this habit and build it into your routine!
Read every chance you get
Waiting for the bus? Read. On the bus? Read. In line at the doctors? Read. Waiting on your friend at a restaurant? Read. Thinking about taking a picture of your boots for Instagram because you’re bored? Pick up that book instead. Basically, every time you think of going on your phone because you have nothing else to do — read.
Talk about what you’ve read with your partner/friends/family
Talking over dinner about things you’ve read — what you like, what you dislike, and what your family/friends may think of those issues over meals can be a great way to reinforce reading habits. Post about it on social media. Talking about the goal that you’ve set with others can keep you accountable for it as well.
Increase salience: notifications
This can be a bit tricky, but sometimes including notifications to related to your goal on your calendar — when appropriate e.g. over the weekend, after work etc. — can help remind you of the goal you’ve set. Try to set reminders that remind you of your goal and not things like “read more” which can sound like a chore. Try to build activities around reading — if you enjoy going to cafes or the great outdoors over the weekend, plan to take a book with you to read at the café, park, when walking your dog, at the end of your hike, etc.
Try to read before you start the day and/or at night
Not going to lie, this is a toughie. For those of you who are not morning people, replace the phone with the book before you go to bed. Hopefully, the material is interesting enough for you to wake up in the morning and continue reading. If not, no worries — just try to build it into your day. Replacing your phone with your book at the end of your day can be a substantive foot in the door to get you reading in the morning and/or during the day.
Start with something you’ll really enjoy
This seems like a no-brainer but hear me out. It may seem helpful for you to start off your #readmorechallenge (yes, use hashtags when talking about what you’re reading on social media!) with something that may be useful for you to read such as an informative book related to your work. I would suggest you rather you pick a book that you know you’ll really enjoy — such as an autobiography of a sports legend you’ve been interested in reading, or a mystery you’ve been looking to get into. It’s best you avoid losing interest in book on a dry topic related to your work — which could lead you to abandon your goal altogether. You need to get your foot in the door with something you really enjoy to convince yourself to keep going. I personally started my #readmorechallenge with Michelle Obama’s Becoming and it definitely drove my interest to explore more biographies.
Keep track of what you read
This is an excellent way to keep you accountable. Keep track of the weeks or months that you have committed to sticking to your goal and write down every book you’ve read per week/month (depending on the specificity of your goal). The sense of accomplishment you’ll feel in writing it down and seeing the progress every week will keep you going. It will help you stick to behaviors and help you achieve this goal by keeping you in check. It’s important where you keep this list — not on a loose bit of paper tucked under a pile of documents somewhere in your house, but somewhere very visible. For example, I record it on a Google Sheet with a shortcut on my home screen — so that even when on my phone, I’m reminded to start reading 😉
That’s it, now start reading!
Please note that the books pictured and mentioned in this article aren’t necessarily based on or representative of my own political/social/economic beliefs. I also cannot speak to the veracity of the content in the books. I try to read as extensively as I can, as I believe this is important in articulating more informed and nuanced opinions.
This article is also for those who are trying to read more, not that slice of the population who are already voracious readers. If you are an academic/researcher/professional/ardent consumer of the written word and have tips on how to increase reading behaviors or just books to read, I’m interested to learn more!
You can follow Kulani Abendroth-Dias on Twitter via @kulaniadias. Visit https://www.kulaniabendrothdias.com for more writing and information.
