One of the best ways to slow down or prevent cognitive decline is to keep your brain active. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all activities are good for the brain; in fact, some activities are more beneficial than others. For example, mindlessly scrolling on social media for hours on end is not going to fuel and nurture the brain as well as other, more intentional activities, such as reading. Why not add “Read more books” to your goals for the year ahead?
While reading isn’t a rigorous, physical activity, it has a positive impact on intellectual, emotional, and mental health. If you read more books this year, you might be surprised at the effect it has on your overall well-being. You might be thinking that you barely have time to fulfill your daily duties, much less read an entire book. This post provides several ideas for ways to make time for reading.
Read more books by incorporating it into your daily routine
Like any goal, if you want to read more books, you must make it a priority. When we prioritize something, we typically incorporate it into our daily or weekly routine. To make time for reading, review your daily schedule to determine where you can fit it in as a regular activity. For some people, this might mean spending the last 30 minutes of each day reading before bed. Others might prefer to read a few chapters after breakfast or during their lunch break.
By making it a priority, you’ll find it much easier to read more books throughout the year. You might even notice that reading helps you spend less time on your phone, which is something a lot of people are striving to do. Finding time to read is often a matter of “taking” rather than finding; the time is there—you just must be intentional about it.
Carry books with you wherever you go
You’ll read more books if you always have books on hand to read. While some people like to carry a Kindle or listen to audiobooks while they drive, studies show that reading hard copy books helps to enhance memory, improve cognitive skills and make readers feel engaged more than reading digital copies or listening to stories. If you enjoy audiobooks, you might try a reading format known as “hybrid” reading. This means you will read chapters in a book, then listen to the next chapters on audio, so you’re going back and forth between audio and hard copy for the same story.
Read at least 50 pages to decide if you like a book
There’s no reason to finish a book that you’re not enjoying. You’ll read more books if you make sure the books you’re reading are stories you like. Some novels might feel “slow” at the start but wind up being great stories. You can usually tell if you like a book by reading the first 50 pages. This article contains more ideas on ways to make more time for reading. Set a goal, then make it happen!
