Reading Hacks
Reading hacks; what are those? Well, these are tools or techniques to try or even use directly when things seem to be stalling (or if one wants to improve the reading experience).
Why am I sharing them? Well, reading is another skill that can improved with time and by changing a few things. It does not have to a scientific process; sometimes it is okay just to feel better about something (more on this later)!
So the premise here is that if you are happy with your current reading journey, you are golden. Ignore anything that is being said here (unless you find something interesting that you might want to apply in your daily reading life).
This post is informed by many years of personal experience and testing; so what works for me, might not work for you; what did not work for me, might work for you! And in that spirit, if you have suggestions to make, do not hesitate to comment down below!
While preparing this post, I realized that there are plenty of these hacks to talk about so I will be splitting this approach in multiple posts.
One of the most inexpensive and effective ways to improve my reading journey was the “I am a reader” affirmation. This process translated into making sure that I read every single day. It does not mean that I need to read 100 pages every day; it means I need to read one line at least a day. I need to actively reach out for my books and spend time reading.
This was a game changer for me; and I think I will take advantage of the fabulous impact this had so far to rephrase this affirmation into a slightly different statement for the rest of the year: I am a fantasy reader. This means that I should spend time in a fantasy setting at least once a day!
In other words, you can transform this affirmation into anything else that works for you.
This hack ultimately helps with the compounding effect; while it does not seem much, if you were to read one page a day, you will immediately end up with 364 pages on top of your regular reading, per year. Yes, it does not seem a lot but it does make a difference in the long term. It can be a short book that you add to your reading journey!
On top of that, this also helps with getting over the challenges of starting for the day; once you start, it is more likely that you will read a few pages rather than a single line.
Yet, you know what? All of these additional benefits do not even matter; if you are a reader, you read at least one line a day and that will make you feel accomplished at the end of the day. This is the feeling I am looking for. Yes, this is a hobby; yes, this might not be my job (and in fact, it is not); yet can you imagine the positive feelings you can accumulate over time? I believe this is a key element to further help mental health and, overall, the general well being.
If you have not tried it, I would strongly recommend to give this process a go and please let me know if this works for you the same it works for me. And if it does, make sure you share this suggestion with your friends and family!
While this hack does not always work (although if you like visual progress and/or you are a competitive person this might be perfect for you), another one that worked for me is keeping track of my reading.
Now, this hack can take any shape that you need and want. It can be as “simple” as having a Goodreads account (and yes, if you are a reader, this might be something to consider) and indicate how many books one wants to read a year.
This also can take a ton of different shapes: some use this tool to push themselves to read more; some do not like the pressure these procedures put on them and they just list one book.
Alternatively, tracking one’s reading progress can be a different tool all together. I like to think that a reading journal could fit this bill precisely! These are very personal journals and they take different shapes and forms. They can be physical and they can be as adorned or as minimalist (or anything in between) as you want; it could be just a list of books read during the year. It could be a page per book with decorations and notes about the reading.
They can be digital; both as PDF on GoodNotes (or other note taking app) or a page on word or pages for book. It can be decorated or minimalist.
One probably needs to explore and test different things to find the best set up. I go back and forth on a number of options and I have not found the perfect set up. Better said, I have a pretty simple approach to it right now, with the Goodreads account. Yet, I am working on developing a reading journal I can use on GoodNotes and try to be a bit more decorative than I have been in the past!
What is your preferred set-up? Or, even better, do you have something else that can be used and tested by others? Comment down below!
Another hack that made a difference for me in 2022 and that I keep working on is interacting with my reading. As I said in my post about my 2022 reading experience, I started with the concept of “interacting with my reading” without truly understanding what this means. And it took me a while to understand what that was. Mostly, it came down to being frustrated with my inability to remember what I read in detail. This frustration does not really go away (if I read a book a long time ago, I will never remember all the details), but I enjoy the idea that I helped myself tackling two issues with one tool, which it to take notes while I read. This helps me with my long term memory (yes, this is old fashioned but it helps me) and it helps me in the future, when I will want to resume a series or check my notes about a book. I will not have to re-read a book to remember the content; I will only have to re-read a book when I want to enjoy the story one more time.
This approach removed quite a lot of frustration in my experience and hopefully it is something that will continue to support me in my reading experience.
With that said, in my notes while reading a book I also jot down feelings and ideas regarding the books I am reading: what I predict will happen next, who is who, what are the aspects that I enjoy the most or that I am not enjoying as much.
Some people take interacting reading as an opportunity to highlight and take notes in the books they are reading. All of this is great; interacting with the book become a very personal process. On one side because people remember things differently so there are different tools to ensure a longer term retention of the content and/or a deeper understanding of the reading; on the other side, people like to do different things so it is a great idea to experiment!
And if you think that a book should not be touched, you probably belong to the category of people who needs an external note taking tool (whether the iPad, a notebook, a computer, etc.). This also opens up a ton of opportunities to test and find out what works best. For me? I mostly read digital books, so I keep Bear open next to the book I am reading and keep jotting down events of the book and feelings and ideas.
What are your thoughts about these initial reading hacks I am sharing here? Have you tried any of them in the past? Did they work for you? We have more coming in the next weeks; yet, it would be great to know what are you reading hacks and what works for me and what you want the rest of the world to know and try for themselves!
