Reading Routine Guide:How To Create The Best Book Reading Routine

It isn’t uncommon to hear your friend saying that they have a sleep or morning routine. However, reading routines are not frequently mentioned. The worst part is most people rarely read. We live in a digitized world whereby people pass time by watching television, playing video games or scrolling social media. The traditional ways of passing time such as reading books or magazines has become a thing in the past.

In the past, I would go for my eyesight checkup and would find various magazines on the waiting area. However, nowadays, televisions have replaced  magazines. I believe that technology shouldn’t rob the world of the beautiful art of reading. My life is made up of routines from the simplest things such as doing my laundry to major things like reading.

'Reading gives us some places to go when we have to stay where we are.' -Mason CooleyClick To Tweet

I believe that having a reading routine is what has kept me reading over the years. The 8 tips in this post will help you not only to create an effective book reading routine but also one that you will keep for  the rest of your life. I have also created a guide for the top 5  best beginner personal development books to read. If you are looking to start taking personal development seriously but you have no idea which books to consider reading, then these books are what you need. The good news is that I have personally read all the books that I have listed in my guide and I am confident that  they are the best. The best part is that I am giving the you the guide for free. Download the guide down below by letting me know where to send it down below.

What is a reading routine and why do you need one?

A routine is a sequence of things that you do regularly. Whether you are aware of it or not, you have a routine for almost everything. The things you do immediately after waking up contribute to your morning routine. Unlike morning and night routines, a reading routine doesn’t come naturally. It has to be cultivated consciously because reading is a skill.

A reading routine is regular reading pattern that you follow. You might read once a week during the weekend or everyday before bed. Either way its still a routine. Just like I said , it has to be created consciously.

There are various reasons why I believe that a reading routine is important. The reasons are:

• It helps you save time. When you get into a reading routine, you save so much time that you would have wasted wondering which book to read, where and what time you will read. It takes away the luggage from your back.
• Your quality of reading improves. A reading routine helps you become better at reading . Just the same way a person who exercises frequently develops a stronger body is the same way that your reading quality improves. You become better at it the more you do it.
• You develop reading self discipline. There are days that you won’t feel like reading and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you entertain this feeling for long, you will get to a point where you never finish reading any book. That’s why creating a reading routine will help you read even when you don’t feel like.

What are the various things that you need to do to start an effective reading routine?

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1. Decide on the genre of books you want to be reading.

In order for you to start an effective reading routine, you need to choose a genre of books that you want to be reading. The truth is, not every book would suit your needs. Maybe you want to read books for entertainment purposes or to get a solution to a problem. It all comes down to your why. Determining what your why is will help you choose the genre of books you want to read.
From my own experience, I would advice you to choose genre of books that are similar. This would help you stay focused on your needs and help you complete reading your books.

For instance, when choosing the genre of books that I wanted to read, I went for personal development and mental health books. This has helped me remain focused on the type of books I read. It has also been a big help to me when book shopping. I don’t waste my time and money on books that are not within my genre.

It is very important to be specific when choosing a genre. Be honest with yourself and determine if a genre is worth your time. Ask yourself if it will fulfill your needs or solve your problems.

2. Determine how frequent you want to be reading.

Do you want to be reading once a week or every single day? Answering this question will help you create an effective reading routine. This is because, you make your reading conscious. You do not want to read anytime you feel like doing it. Its a bad habit and you will soon realize that you rarely complete reading any book. Creating a routine, however, makes your reading more tangible especially if you write your schedule down. You are not only able to stick to your reading routine but also, you end up reading more books at the end of the year.

I love how planning my reading routine helps me fall in love with the whole reading process. I always feel happy when I tick on my reading schedule that I have completed the day’s reading. Its more ecstatic when I finish reading my book. I don’t know about you but I love stacking my already read books separate from the books I haven’t read. Watching my stack grow longer makes me feel so proud of myself and the achievements that I have been able to make so far.

3. Find the right books to read.

The whole point of starting an effective reading routine is to become a reading person. Finding the right books is equally important. You do not want to be psyched up about the whole reading process only to start reading a book that doesn’t suit you. You will end up not finishing it which may create a wrong pattern in your brain that may make you never finish reading books.

Its not enough for your friend to recommend a book to you to make it good. We are all different and what works for me might not be the same case for you. That’s why being active about choosing a book will save you a lot of disappointment and money. If you have pushy friends who would want you to read a book at all cost, you might go through a hard time especially if the book isn’t great.

• The first thing I do whenever I am deciding if I want to buy a book is to read the book summary. This may seem obvious but it is greatly underestimated. If the book summary doesn’t seem good for you, chances are, the book might not be great. Its a sad reality. However, ignoring the “red flags” in the summary hoping that the book turns out great may leave you disappointed.
• The next thing that you want to check on is the three star rating for  the book. You do not want to go for the one star or five-star rating because the extremes are sometimes exaggerated. You might decide to buy a book based on the five star rating only to find that the book is overrated. The three star rating will show you the good and the bad of the book without being extreme. This will help you have a good idea of what the book might be like.
• The last thing I check is the background information of the author. You need to ask yourself if the author has an authority in the book that he has written. Is he qualified enough to give me advice on a certain topic? Does he or she have experience with the topic or the book was written just for the sake? These questions are important to ask yourself and the only way to get answers is to do a background check. If the author’s story relates to you then its a bonus for you to consider buying the book.

Don’t be so quick to buy a book. Take your time to determine if the book is worth it and you will save yourself a lot of money and time.

4. Create a book reading plan.

Once you have an idea of the books that you want to read, its now time to create a plan. You don’t have to have already bought the book. All you need is the title of the book and author.

Creating a book reading plan entails that you know how frequently you want to be reading and what time you can create to reading, daily, weekly or monthly. Also, knowing the number of books that you want to have read by the time the year will be ending will be a big determiner for your book reading plan.

I took time to create a book reading planner that includes reading schedule, reading log, wish list, journal, book review and many more.

In my book reading planner, you have different pages to help you plan for your reading. There is a wish list that you can note down all the books that you wish to read. The reading log will help you track the books you have read and the start and finish date. I also included a daily,weekly and monthly book reading schedule for 2021. Click here to see my book reading planner.

5. Get into a reading routine

Routines are the lifeblood of productivity. The more you do the same thing the same way over a long period of time, the easier you do it. Having a routine will help you overcome procrastination and will develop self discipline to always read no matter how you feel.
If you decide that you want to be reading at 7:00am to7:30 am every day , make sure that you do it. The more consistent you are, the more you get into a routine. Always remember that consistency leads to growth.

6. Read one book at a time

I have struggled with this for a long time. Reading many books at the same time is is something that I do frequently. I noticed that at the end of the day, I rarely got any of those books done.It has been a struggle but I have had to disciple myself to read one book at a time and I have found it to be more effective than reading numerous books at the same time.Discipline yourself to read one book at a time and complete it. It takes self discipline but at the end of the day you will have learnt to complete reading books. It takes discipline to develop that habit.

7. Highlight  your most prominent sentences.

This is my favorite point. It is important to highlight your favorite points. Why? Because you can always go back and remind yourself of the important points. Our human brains tend to forget things easily. That’s why you constantly  need to remind yourself of what you learnt.Its also a great way to engage with the book. If possible, take notes.

8. Have fun reading.

There is nothing worse than doing something boring. That’s why you need to make your reading session fun. Set up your reading area and make it as cozy as possible. You can light some candles with fragrance or set up lovely flowers around your reading area to make it pleasant.

Make sure you sit in a comfortable position. Also, if you don’t mind listening to calm background music , go ahead and give it a shot. It doesn’t hurt to make your reading session as fun as possible. You will not only enjoy your reading, but also make your reading time productive.

Top 5 Beginner Personal Development Books to read

We have discussed the various things that you need to do to make your reading routine effective. Therefore, the next step is to choose the best books to read just like I stated in the first three points. I created a comprehensive guide of  best beginner personal development books that I have read. They are not only beginner friendly, but also short which wouldn’t intimidate you when you are new to reading.

Download the guide down below by letting me know where to send it to you.