This blog post is for people who used to love reading and fell out of that habit for one reason or another. If you feel like you can’t go through books like you used to, this post is for you.

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I’ve told this story many times.

I was an avid reader as a child. I loved reading at any chance I got. Trips to the local library brought me so much joy. This was the case up until college. College is when I noticed I stopped reading for fun. After spending all day doing homework and reading long research papers, reading no longer sounded fun or relaxing.

Even after graduating and moving away from the academic setting, I noticed I was still barely reading. That makes me very sad.

This Vox article, which describes my exact reading experience, made me realize I am not alone in this. Others also identify falling away from past reading habits. Many people also identify struggling to start reading again, due to so many other things vying for our attention. If you relate, I hope it comforts you to know we are all in good company.

How To Start (or Restart) a Reading Habit – Working on Your Mindset

Accept that you likely won’t feel like reading (and read anyway)

Focus on building the habit. Like most habits, there will likely be some tension at the beginning. It can be easier to overcome that when you go in with the mindset that you are going to read anyway. Even if you don’t feel like it.

Reading doesn’t give our brains the quick hits of dopamine that we are now so used to. Serotonin-inducing activities require more effort than dopamine-inducing activities. Michelle Barnes says this means we need to intentionally plan for serotonin-inducing activities. I realized this was the case with reading. I don’t crave reading the way I crave watching a short TikTok or some other type of quick entertainment. And I’m learning to stop expecting that. Reading offers a completely different benefit to a different part of my brain.

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Know why you want to maintain a reading habit

Why do you want to read more often?

What value does reading provide you?

Knowing the answers to these questions will keep you moving forward. Especially at times when you lack motivation.

Consume More Long-Form Content

I once told my parents that I feel like my brain is mush. As much as I wish this was 100% a dramatic joke, it is worth noting that my attention span isn’t what I would like it to be. I do not want to come across as someone who bashes social media—I find that mindset boring and extreme. However, it is true that because of social media, we prefer quick hits of short-form content. While social media has its time and place, we need to push ourselves to consume long-form content regularly to get more comfortable with that. Consuming more long-form content will help you to improve your attention span. Think of this as practicing to strengthen your ability to focus on an activity.

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Think about how much you love reading

I like to play this psychology game with myself where I purposefully think about how much I love reading. I take pauses while I am reading to zoom out and get excited about the fact that I am sitting there reading a book. I couldn’t find any research to back this up, but there must be some psychology in this. I’m using these thoughts to reinforce the idea that I am an avid reader. Then, I am continuing to line my actions up with that goal.

This is to reprogram your thoughts to align your mindset with your goals. Think of the way people say positive affirmations to themselves to improve their self-confidence.

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Romanticize your reading time

Creating a nice atmosphere makes reading more exciting. Find a comfortable place to sit. Light candles, put on soft music (if that won’t distract you), and really make it a vibe.

Surround yourself with positive influences

Consume content that motivates you to read (Bookstagram, BookTok, BookTube)

I found this incredible site while researching to write this post. Joining a community, such as this virtual one through BiblioLifestyle.com, can inspire you on your reading journey.

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Gamify reading

We know how much I love Notion. Notion is a fun tool that makes me that much more likely to accomplish a task. My brain loves ticking off that little checkbox. A while ago, I found this Reading Tracker Notion template. This adds a satisfying gamification/dopamine element to your reading journey (if you know, you know). You can use this template to track current reads, as well as your TBR (To Be Read). You can input information about your books (title, author, page number, etc.). Each time I read, I update my current page number, and it automatically tells me what percentage I am done with the book. This is so much fun!

Sign up for Notion

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Reading benefits

Most of us know that reading is good for us, but I am not here to convince you to start reading. I wrote this blog post as someone who used to enjoy reading for people who used to enjoy reading. That said, remembering the benefits you get from reading can help motivate you (and can also help you identify why you want to relearn your reading habit).

• Escapism

• Relaxation

• Improving your attention span and concentration

• Improving your writing and vocabulary.

• Entertainment

• Education and information

How To Start (or Restart) a Reading Habit – Actually Reading

Pick a book you enjoy

Reading a book you find interesting is key to a sustainable reading habit. Give yourself permission to read what you like. Do you enjoy graphic novels? Romance? Personal development? Allow yourself to choose any book you want. None of this picking books because we believe that is what we should be reading or to impress others. No need to read “the classics” or high-level literature (unless you want to). Picking a book based on what you think will impress others is a surefire way to end up reading something you don’t enjoy. Reading something you find boring/uninteresting will make you dread reading, which is the opposite of what we want.

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Create a dedicated reading time

A common reason people don’t read is because they feel life is too busy and they don’t have time. I completely understand this feeling. Look at your schedule and identify any gaps you can fill with some reading time. I’ve been toying around with the idea of reading while eating breakfast and lunch. I think that sounds like a nice idea that would work well with my schedule. Find what works for you. And commit to actually reading during that time. This is where we can fall off track with our goals. We make a plan, and we get excited, but when the time comes, we fall short.

I will admit, I wanted to make a daily reading challenge for myself. I planned to report back when publishing this post. But I didn’t end up setting aside time to read every day and opted to do other activities instead. And that is okay. Remember that Michelle Barnes (Muchelle B on YouTube) said to normalize “false starts” as part of the self-improvement journey.

Turn off distractions

It is difficult to focus and get invested in a book if your phone is going off or you have other distractions. Try (as much as possible) to create a quiet environment and put your devices on Do Not Disturb.

Photo by Aline Viana Prado: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-a-book-2465877/

Take as much time as you need

Don’t put pressure on yourself to read at a certain speed or try to finish 10 books in one week. Allow yourself to read at a comfortable pace, so you to enjoy the reading process.

Set a reading goal

Start by determining the amount of time you can spend reading uninterrupted. YouTuber Hannah Lee Kidder calls this a “reading sprint.” Basically, you just commit to reading for a period of time. Set a very low and achievable goal, like 10-20 minutes. This isn’t your end goal. This is a place to start. I currently read for 15 minutes at a time. It is important to a realistic target based on your current attention span and interest level. The goal here is to take a manageable step toward creating a long-term reading habit. Commit to reading for that amount of time every day. Try to make this one consecutive time block, rather than broken up chunks of time. It is fine to read for several shorter periods as well. But, if you want to improve your attention span, you need to practice concentrating on reading for extended periods. It just depends on your goals.

Set a timer

Another tip that helps me focus on reading is to set a timer. Having the timer going helps prevent me from feeling the need to check the time to see how much time has passed. This is similar to the time pressure element that makes The Pomodoro Technique effective for helping you focus.

Increase your reading time

Incrementally increase your reading period. I started with 15 minutes. After a few days, I am going to go up to 20 minutes. Then continue increasing by 5-10 minute increments until you can read for whatever length of time you want.

I hope this blog post helps you if you are a former book-lover who fell off the reading bandwagon. Or even if you never were into reading, but are interested in starting to read more, I hope you found value in these tips. Make sure to sign up for my email list and follow me on social media (links below) to stay connected and receive content designed to help you create your dream life!

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Resources mentioned in this post

MuchelleB’s YouTube Channel