7th October 2011

Finding Inspiration: Reading on the regular

Recently, I wrote about finding inspiration to write regularly. But what about the other side of that coin? How do we keep up our efforts to read regularly? Making reading a regular part of our day has so many benefits, both professionally and psychologically. It improves retention of information, calms the mind and reduces stress. Plus, it can be just plain fun.

However, it’s so easy to get off track. I’ve been known to read in crazy fits and spurts, where I either spend hours at a time in a book or go weeks without even cracking the pages. How can we making reading a regular habit?

1. Honor the 100 page rule. Have you ever gotten into a book, but then found yourself bored and having to work up the energy to pick it up again? Well, here’s a new rule: if you’re bored after 100 pages, give up on it. There’s no sense slogging through a book that you aren’t excited to read. On top of that, books that don’t entice you will slow down your ability to move onto something that truly inspires and excites you to spend some time in the stacks.

2. Make an appointment with the library. Think about this for a second: How many places in your life are quiet? And is that quietness expected, honored and consistent? I can think of only one: my library. A quiet space isn’t just calming, but it’s good for our productivity. Make a regular appointment every week or two to visit the library and sit in the quiet space for a while. I guarantee that you’ll start to look forward to this regular date.

3. Don’t get TOO many books to read. I am guilty of having a stack of 20 or more books next to my bed that I “just have to” read. As a result, I get easily overwhelmed and regularly avoid it, so I don’t have to make a decision about what to read next. You should never have more than 5 books on your list or the number of books that you can realistically read in one month.

Need inspiration for something? Send us your biggest inspiration pitfalls to [email protected] and we’ll try to help.