You Probably Have More Time Than You Think
The most common reason people give for not reading is that they don't have time. But for most people, the honest truth is that the time exists — it's just going elsewhere. Recapturing even a fraction of the time currently spent doomscrolling or watching low-quality TV would be enough to read dozens of books a year.
This isn't about guilt. It's about awareness — and then a few practical shifts.
Strategy 1: Attach Reading to Existing Habits
The most reliable way to build any new habit is to attach it to something you already do consistently. This is called "habit stacking." For reading, this might look like:
- Reading for 15 minutes immediately after making your morning coffee.
- Keeping a book on your bedside table and reading before sleep instead of picking up your phone.
- Listening to audiobooks during your commute, exercise, or household chores.
None of these require carving out large new blocks of time — they repurpose time you already have.
Strategy 2: Always Have a Book Ready
One surprisingly effective trick: eliminate the friction between you and reading. If your current book is buried in a bag or sitting on a shelf in another room, you're unlikely to pick it up during a spare five minutes. If it's on your phone's lock screen, sitting on your desk, or in your pocket, you are.
A Kindle or reading app means you always have your book with you. Physical book readers: keep your current read visible and accessible.
Strategy 3: Give Yourself Permission to Quit
One of the biggest blockers to reading more is being stuck in a book you're not enjoying but feel obligated to finish. Life is too short — and your reading list is too long — for that. If a book isn't holding your interest by a reasonable point in, it's completely fine to move on.
Giving yourself this permission removes the sense of reading as a chore, and keeps it feeling like the pleasure it should be.
Strategy 4: Lower the Bar for What Counts
Some people don't feel like "real" readers because they prefer genre fiction, short story collections, or graphic novels over literary classics. That's entirely arbitrary. Reading is reading. The cognitive and enjoyment benefits don't require you to be working through canonical literature.
Read what you actually enjoy, and you'll naturally read more of it.
Strategy 5: Use Audiobooks Without Guilt
Audiobooks count. They engage with the same stories and ideas as print. For people who find it hard to sit and read, or who have long commutes or active lifestyles, audiobooks are an excellent way to consume books that would otherwise go unread. Many libraries offer free audiobook access through apps — worth checking before paying for a subscription.
A Simple Weekly Target
Rather than setting a lofty annual goal that feels abstract, try a weekly reading target instead. Even 30 minutes a day — broken across a morning session and an evening session — adds up to roughly a book every two to three weeks, depending on length.
| Daily Reading Time | Approximate Books Per Year |
|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 10–12 books |
| 30 minutes | 20–24 books |
| 45 minutes | 30+ books |
Start small, stay consistent, and let the habit build naturally. Reading more isn't about discipline — it's about making reading easy and enjoyable enough that you actually want to do it.