How to Develop the Habit of Reading Books: 4 Easy Practical Tips

Reading offers numerous benefits, from personal growth to improved mental health. (If you want to learn about the countless benefits reading offers, read my blog post “The Positives of Reading that You May Not Know“). However, developing the habit of reading books can be challenging. But this guide will help you make your literary journey smoother and more enjoyable.

So, dive right into it.

Before diving into developing reading habits, it’s essential to understand how habits are formed. Habit formation involves three key components: a cue, a routine, and a reward. This process is often described as the habit loop:

Cue (Trigger): This is the signal that initiates the habit. It can be anything from a specific time of day, an emotional state, a particular location, or the presence of certain people. The cue triggers your brain to initiate a behavior.

Routine (Behavior): This is the actual behavior or action you perform in response to the cue. It can be something simple like brushing your teeth, checking your phone, or exercising.

Reward: This is the positive outcome or benefit you receive after performing the routine. Rewards can be tangible, like a piece of chocolate, or intangible, like a sense of accomplishment or relief from stress. The reward reinforces the habit and makes it more likely to be repeated in the future.

The repetition of this loop strengthens the habit over time. For example, when we hear a notification sound (cue), we often check our phones (behavior), and the reward is the entertainment or social connection we receive. By frequently repeating this loop, checking your phone in response to notifications becomes an automatic habit.

If you want to learn more about habits, consider reading “Creating Healthy Habits” by Mark Manson or watch the YouTube video below which summarizes “Atomic Habits”.

With the knowledge of habit formation, we can tweak its three components (cue, behavior, and reward) to develop the reading habit.

Your environment significantly influences your behavior. You smoke because there’s a cigarette in your pocket or eat a cookie because it’s on the plate. Similarly, you can use environmental cues to spark your reading habits.

After making your bed, place a book on your pillow. The book will remind you to read a few pages when you go to bed.

Designate a comfortable, well-lit space in your room solely for reading. This space will serve as a constant reminder to read.

Install reading apps on your devices with notifications that remind you to read a little each day.

You get the idea. Like this, you can also introduce some cues for reading, which will trigger your reading habit.

Make reading easy to start. Begin with a goal of reading one page a day or for 10 minutes. Setting a goal to finish a whole book in a week can be overwhelming and more likely to fail. With this method, on many days, you will read more. On busy days, just focus on completing one page or reading for 10 minutes.

Certain behaviors stick because of the rewards they offer. Bad habits are easy to adopt because of their instant rewards, while good habits often offer delayed rewards. Instead of waiting for the long-term benefits of reading, treat yourself to a small reward after each reading session.

Premack’s principle suggests using a more desirable activity as a reward for a less desirable one. For example, if you enjoy browsing social media but find it hard to read, set a rule that you can only check it after reading for 30 minutes.

Tracking your reading habits can be highly motivating. Marking your progress on a calendar brings a sense of accomplishment and encourages you to keep reading.

Here is an important rule of thumb while tracking your reading habits: Aim for consistency, not perfection. Missing a day or two won’t ruin your chances of establishing a reading habit. For more on this, watch the video below.

Everyone is different, and strategies for adopting habits vary from person to person. Experiment with various approaches to find what works best for you.

Remember, the goal is to make reading a pleasurable and enriching part of your daily life.

Enjoy your reading journey!