Create An Effective Reading Habit

1. Introduction : Hi there and welcome to the skill share to us on creating an effective reading habit. My name is Garvey mudra and I've always been an avid readers since childhood. Books have allowed me to experience locations and situations that I wouldn't have had a chance to explore otherwise. And today I want to share that joy with you. Whether you are someone who's just starting on your reading journey, or you're someone who wants to read more than you do right now, this class is going to help you understand what steps you need to take to make your dream a reality. I'm someone who ends up reading more than 50 books a year. But ultimately it's really not about the number. It's more about making that a habit so ingrained in your daily life that you end up doing it without even having to think about it. I figured a few templates for you today which you can fill out as we go through the next few lessons. So feel free to download them. Or if you can also use a blank piece of paper, whatever you're more comfortable with, but please do share your projects with me. I would love to see them and I'd also love to see your thoughts and your comments in the discussion board. I do wanna make this as interactive as possible. At the end of the lesson, you'll also see a bonus video which will have a list of book recommendations by genre. So stick around and let's get started. 2. Why you want to create a reading habit : Now the first step in creating your reading habit is to actually know down why you want to start this new habit. And this is true not just for reading, but for any habit that you want to introduce in your life, it's important to understand what was the motivation or the passion which kind of propelled you to start this habit in your life. And in terms of reading it, it doesn't have to be anything too complex. You know, maybe, maybe you want to read more because it's a productive hobby, or maybe you want to read because it's a refreshing breathe from your daily routine. Whatever it is, it's important to write it down because this is something that you can always refer back to for motivation, because life does get busy from time to time, Gray had other commitments which can come up and those times it's important to kind of have it written down as to unify this habit was important for you and what kind of motivated you to start this habit in your life. You can use the template that I've added for you called creating my reading journey. To take a couple of minutes just to, just to note this down, I've also added a few examples in there which are applicable from my own life. So I'm someone who really enjoys writing stories and reading actually helps me improve my own writing skills as well. For me, reading is also a refreshing break or who doesn't kind of enjoy just escaping to another world. But when alternate universe Australia. So I'm sure that's something which all of you readers can now can really relate to. So take a couple of minutes, just do just in jot this down and then we move on to our next class, which is on how you can inculcate this habit in your life. 3. How you can create a reading habit : Now, after the why, it's important to reflect on how you're gonna start this habit in your life. So in this particular step, it's important to think about the dying and the place when you are actually going to be reading. Now why is this important? When you actually get use to this hobby and it's something that you, you end up doing every day, then you wouldn't really have to think so much about a dry it, it'll come very naturally do, but in the beginning it's important to just be a little more mindful about it to carve out that extra time for reading so that you know that you will end up doing it regularly. Once again, this is something which you know, you should carve out based on your own schedule. So for example, you know, you can write down that maybe you want to read every day before you go to bed. So maybe half an hour every day before see bang. Or maybe you are very busy during the week days and you know, you don't have time to read every day, and that's perfectly fine as well. You should follow a schedule that's comfortable for you. And so in that case, you can make a note that maybe you listen to an audio book on the weekends when you're cleaning the house. So E, So you see, it's very easy to, you know, carve out these little times for yourself and also the place you can make it interesting. You can say that, you know, maybe you listen to an audio book when you're going for a walk every day. So it's very simple, but just a note this down because this is what will actually end up anchoring you back to the habit when life gets busy and when you feel like, you know, you're not able to stay on track. 4. Your favourite genres : Now this is when we actually start talking about genres. And this is something which I, which is always a favorite for me. I just love talking about all the different categories of books that are available in the world. And so in this particular glass, I kind of want to focus on helping you find those genres that you really enjoy. And maybe you are someone who already reads a lot of you already know your favorite genres, but in case you don't already know, I'd invite you to think a little bit about, you know, what you've enjoyed reading in the past. The kind of things which has always come naturally to you. And take a minute to jot these down. For, for example, I'll give you a brief overview of some of the genres just to get started so broadly, there are two genres, which is fiction and nonfiction. But even within these larger categories, there are many smaller subcategories. So within fiction, you know, you can have categories such as thrillers, suspends horror, romance, fantasy, literary fiction and so on. And within nonfiction you have genres, bus known development, business, memoirs and so on. So I think a little bit about what your favourite genres are. This step is important because you know, you actually start reading. It's important to kind of focus on the genres that you already enjoy. Because ultimately, the habit should be enjoyable, right? It's not something like a punishment which is being inflicted on you. And I'm so to make it enjoyable, it's important to start off with something which you are, which, you know, enjoy doing, which doesn't seem like a chore for you. And so in this particular class, I also want to mention that, you know, sometimes we hear things like, you know, certain jhanas. I'm not going to be that helpful. You know, we should read kinda types or genres if you want to expand our knowledge. But I'd say that you don't think about what others say. Just think about what do you enjoy? Reading? It can be anything at all. He doesn't even need to be fully novels, right? It can be short stories, it can even be articles in a magazine, and so on. So just think about what do you enjoy reading and then just note those down because that'll help you identify what you can get started on. 5. Discover new genres : Now I know in the previous video we spoke a little bit about identifying those genres that you enjoy are the categories that you enjoy reading. And in this class, I actually want to take that one step further. So once you really become comfortable with reading on a regular basis, it's always important to expand and diversify the category of books that you read. So for example, I really enjoy reading thrillers and suspense novels. But if those were the only kind of novels that I read, after a while, I get very bored. So I end up reading literary fiction from time to time. I read some fantasy, I read a personal development novels. And so it's important to diversify the genre as well. So it'll be good if you take a moment here to just write down some of the genres that you would like to explore in the future. Maybe these are not genres that interest you right now. Maybe for now you want to focus on the joiners which you, which you already enjoy, which you like, and you know that you've liked in the past. But it's important to have some of these other genres as well because over time, that's what keeps your reading journey exciting. That's what makes things challenging and helps you also widen your perspective in the long run. 6. Participate in the reading community : Now one of my favorite parts about the reading journey is actually being able to go on that journey with other people. So discussing the books that I've really enjoyed reading with other people is what makes the journey really, really rewarding for me. And I'm sure that's something you can relate to as well, right? So think about the last book which you read, but you'd really enjoy or even think about a movie which you really like watching. A lot of the aspects which you really enjoyed were actually discussing that later with other people, you know, hearing some talks which might not have occurred to you and really just understanding what the different perspectives were. And so in that respect, even when you're reading, it's really important to kind of, you know, get involved in a community who you can discuss your thoughts with. And in this video are actually going to share some avenues which can help you get involved a little more. And so one of the best avenues is to actually join a book club. So book clubs are a great way to meet new people. It's also a great way to stay accountable because you are reading a book along with a group of people and you know that a few weeks down the line, or maybe a month down the line, you'll be reading that, discussing that book along with others. Another common avenue is your local library. So if you actually read up on their library programs and events, you'll see that there are a lot of avenues through which you can get involved in those discussions. You know, maybe you can even facilitator discussion. So it was definitely look out for the programs which get boasted by our local library. And other thing which you can do in terms of remote options or virtual options is to actually look out for groups on social media networking sites like Facebook or Instagram. You know, there are a lot of influence those who hosted discussions from time to time. There are folks who share book recommendations and it's a great way for you to once again meet the other leaders and also discuss books which you, which you might have enjoyed reading. Another, a slightly different avenue is volunteering. So I think volunteering is actually a really great way to kind of give back to the community. And it's something which I enjoy a lot as well. So you can always look out for you, like reading options so that our organizations which you might post a need like they might need a reader to read out to children or maybe to seniors in the community. And so those are great, great opportunities for you through which you can get involved in the reading community more. So I hope that's helpful. That's not an entire list, but it's definitely a list which show, which can get you started in getting involved more with the community. 7. Explore different reading formats: Now you might have looked at the title of this class and taught what do I mean by reading formats? So when I say reading formats, I basically mean the medium or the mode which you used to read. So traditionally we've been used to paperbacks, but over time we have eBooks and now we also have audio books which are, you know, different like reading formats that you can use. So one of the ways to actually keep your reading journey exciting is to try out different formats from time to time. So when I grew up, I used to primarily read paperbacks. Slowly, I started reading eBooks, you know, because it's convenient when I'm commuting, for example, when I'm on the subway or when I'm on a flight, it's easier to read an e-book. And then now I've actually slowly become used to audiobooks as well. An audiobook is actually really versatile format drive. They can listen to an audio book when I'm walking or, you know, maybe when I'm doing some chores around the house. And so it's really important to kind of try out different formats from time to time because it actually makes the journey a lot more exciting. So if you're someone who you know just reads paper bags or you've been more accustomed to e-books from time to time. Try out an audiobook as well. I'll give you an example on, on when I actually ended up making the shift. So I read this really great book called Where the crawdad Sing by Dahlia. I actually listen to it on an audio book. And experience was really different from how it would have been had I read it. And that's what actually thought the geno, Some books are actually better in a different format. And that's when I actually decided to widened my perspective. So definitely do try out different formats from time to time. 8. Maintain a reading log : At the start of this lesson that I actually end up reading a lot of books during the year. But the interesting thing is that if you ask me at the end of the year, you know, which were my favorite reads, I'd completely blanked out just because there are so many and I'm sure this is something you can relate to as well, right? Like something which you read maybe six months previously as if I asked you about it today, you know, you might not be able to remember the title. And that's why it's a fun activity to actually keep track of the books that you lead. Just, it's, it's more of something just an informal record, you know, like for yourself, it's motivating to actually, you know, look back at it after urine, see that, you know, you made such a great progress rate over the year. And so actually created a template for you here as well. But you can start to use, you can use to kind of track the books that you read. But dumb, it doesn't have to be handwritten. You know, you can always go online and unifying some online logs that you want to use. There are also websites such as GoodReads, which allow you to easily track the books that you've read. So I'd encourage you to unify and find a mode which works for you, but definitely do keep track of the books that you read because it's always encouraging to just go back and see how many books you ended up reading. What were your favorite reads, and so on. And actually I'm an interesting story to share here. So I have an Instagram account on which I published book reviews. And initially I started that account actually to travel the books which I read. Now it's grown and I use it, I use it to connect with other readers and I use it to share my reviews with others. But, but that's actually one mode which are used initially to track the books which I read. So it can be any more that all you know, you should follow them all which virtue of reform? But it's definitely fun to keep track of your reads through audio. 9. Reflect on the books you read: I mentioned this before about, you know, how, it's never about how many books you read, but it's really more about going on that journey and being mindful about it. And so one of the things generally enjoy doing is to actually reflect on the books that I read. If I only read one book after another without, you know, thinking at all about how the book impacted me, my journey wouldn't be rewarding at all. And so I've created another complete here which you know, you might want to use to fill out your thoughts after a book which you really enjoy or a book which is in fact to do. But it talks about different things which, but you can kind of like node down. Like did you enjoy the book? What did you not like about the book? Would you like to recommend the book to somebody else? Were you able to relate to some of the characters? How did the book really affect you? It's important to them, but I am just kind of slow bam, slow down. Look back on your reading experience and just ignore down some of these because it makes the reading journey a lot more reward. 10. Beat the reading slump : All right, and now we finally come to how do we beat the reading slump? So, sure this is something all of you are worried about, or you, or you might have encountered it in the past. But whenever you start a new journey, you know, you're all excited about it. But after a few weeks or few months, like life kind of goes back to usual, things get busy, you have so many other commitments. So one of the questions which I get asked a lot is, How do I get back into reading one? Some of, you know, kind of gone to Islam. And Islam can mean anything like Islam can be that you know, and you're reading books which you are just not enjoying or you don't feel like reading at all. So my first of advice here is that take a break rate. So if you really are diode and you feel like you're in Islam, give yourself a break because the reason you're tired is because you know, your brain is probably exhausted and can't consume anymore information. So I know in today's world languages very accustomed to always being busy doing one thing or the other, but it's totally fine to just take a break. You know, you don't have to read for a few days. Just step away from it, you know, do something else. If however you see that, you know, you're reading slump is getting really long and you're just not able to get back into reading again, there are a few things which you can actually do to kind of get you back on track. Again. One is you can read our favorite book that you've read in the past. So it's actually really delightful to reread older books or books that you've enjoyed in the bars because it kinda brings those memories back and really makes you feel those things which you'd enjoyed in this dark. So have a few books which you know, you know, you always love to read and pick those up again when, when you're going through a slump. Another option is to get a reading buddy. So I mentioned previously about a book clubs, but maybe you don't want to discuss a book with a bigger group, but you can always just find a reading buddy, right? Like another friend who wants to read something and then just join up with them and, you know, read a book together. That's a lot of fun. Another way to actually get out of a slump is to read something shorter. So you don't always have to read novels or longest stories, right? You can read short stories, you can read articles, you can read anything at all to kind of get back into the reading mode again, another thing which you can do is to actually diversify, right? So you can read some of these other genres which I spoke about. So like I said, you know, sometimes boredom happens because you are reading a lot of the same kind of books. But overtime human just diversify, find out the genres which you think you might enjoy. And that will also kind of help you get back on track. 11. Congratulations and book recommendations: Oh my God, congratulations on completing this lesson. I'm so excited about it and I hope you are as well. I would love to see all of your class projects, your thoughts and your comments. This is actually my first skill share class. And I'd really appreciate any feedback that you have. If you want to stay connected with me, you can always follow me and you'll be notified about any future lessons that i also AP, I promised to share a couple of book recommendations in this video and so I'm gonna do that right now. So if you're looking for a thriller lead, I highly recommend the bush by Ashley Adrienne. If you're looking for a literary fiction read, I highly recommend riders and lovers by leaking in GIS or looking for a personal development book. I loved reading atomic habits by GM's clear. If you want to see more of my book reviews and stay connected with me, you can also follow me on Instagram. I've shared the link below. I always love connecting with fellow readers and I don't think there's anything I enjoy more than discussing books. So a Daguerre and have a great day.