One of the most common advice I am asked for in my coaching and consulting sessions is, “How can I read more?’, ’Suggest some good books.’
Earlier, I would simply mention the names of a few books that I recalled from the top of my mind. However, I delved a little deeper and sought to understand how people categorized ‘good books’ and what exactly is ‘reading more’.
Numerous conversations and observations later, I have come to realize that people who aspire to read ‘more’ are generally not the ones who read regularly in the first place. Also, a ‘good book’ is one that they are successfully able to finish. Exactly like the people who aspire to go to the gym just to go to the gym rather than getting fit. They keep looking for the ‘right’ gym.
However, reading is a habit and habits are not easy to form. So while my suggestion always is to actually just start reading and get into it, there is one thing that helped me read 42 books in a year.
Smartphone Reading.
I can imagine a lot of people shaking their heads in disagreement. But it works! I know some people prefer reading a physical book. Oh, the feel of the book in your hand and the smell of the pages, it’s divine! It is the ideal way of reading for some. Some prefer the Kindle. Yes, it is made just for reading and reading and reading! A few of you might even prefer the iPad to read. When I asked people what mode of reading they preferred, everyone gave one of the above three responses. Almost nobody chose the beloved smartphone as their most preferred mode to read books and understandably so, perhaps.
Stop and ask yourself – what is your objective?
To read more or to find the ideal way of reading? The ideal way of reading may certainly be a book in your hand or the ergonomic grip of the Kindle. So, if for a moment we put aside our most preferred mode of reading and look at the practical aspects of how one could read more, we shall realize that our smartphone stands out as the most practical mode to read more.
Our smartphone may not be our most preferred mode to do shopping, buy groceries, or even operate banking but being the most practical, we have learnt to use it to our advantage. Similarly, for reading too it may not be our ideal mode but being the most practical, we must learn to adapt.
In my own experience, adapting to read on my phone has increased the quantum of reading multifold as the phone is almost always with me. Now, instead of scrolling through social media timelines, I have adapted to quickly reading a chapter of a book. Smartphones today have pretty large screens and fit as much reading matter on one screen as a normal Kindle gadget would. In addition, there are numerous fonts, colours, font sizes, background options to choose from.
So, the one tip is to give reading on your smartphone a try and share your experience. Please do write if you may need any help to get started.
Authored Article by Vineet Sethi
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