Do You Want to Read More Books? Get a Chronometer
My best advice is a very simple one.
“I’d love to read more, but the truth is I just don’t have the time.”
Maybe you think that, in order to be a serious reader, you have to set aside at least an hour a day, brew a good cup of coffee, find a nice couch, open the curtains (bonus points if it’s a rainy day), bring your favorite blanket, and upload an Instagram picture.
I won’t deny it, I love it when I can have the “perfect” reading session. But the truth is, most of the time, things look very different. People who love reading read on the bus, while eating cereal, on the toilet, while they wait in line, and in all kinds of non-Instagram-able situations.
Time slips our grasp and we don’t even notice. If we counted the minutes we waste checking our phones or mindlessly consuming entertainment, the results would surely scare us.
Start a short timer and just read
If you want to develop the habit of reading, the best thing you can do is notice and take advantage of the small slots of free time you have every day that would otherwise be wasted on things that don’t matter.
The average reading speed is said to be around 200 words per minute. Suppose you read 15 minutes a day; in a year you would be able to read more than a million words! That could represent more than 13 books a year.
But let’s say your life is so busy you don’t even have 15 minutes every day to spend reading books. How about 10? Or 5? Maybe 3? Reading one minute a day is better than reading absolutely nothing. Investing 60 seconds a day on reading would allow you to read a full book in a year … a short one, but a full book nevertheless.
I try to read at least 30 minutes every day. To make that happen, I use two apps:
Streaks helps me track how many days in a row I manage to read at least 30 minutes. This gives me the small push I sometimes need to sit down and read, even when I don’t feel like it, so I won’t “break the chain”.
I use Forest as a timer. This app allows me to block my phone for a certain amount of time while I am reading or doing anything else that requires my uninterrupted attention.
Forest helps me stop for at least 30 minutes, while Steaks comes in handy when I need a boost to persevere with my habit.
The minutes add up
How can you read more? This is honestly my best advice: get a chronometer. This world is moving a mile a minute, and we are not usually aware of the great reward that a few minutes well spent can bring.
Set aside a daily time — no matter how short — and read. The minutes add up and you will see that it will be increasingly easier for your mind to concentrate on reading.
Reading a minute is better than not reading anything today.
A version of this article was originally published in Spanish on Medium.
