We all want to be able to pick up a book and read enough pages to bring us closer to finishing it. Granted, reading is not about finishing books but we can all agree that reading more pages than 2 or 3 can help us enjoy, learn and understand books a lot better.
The fact is that most people never get around to finishing books because they simply read books way to slow to warrant any consistency or any will to follow through.
SO what’s the remedy?
There’s a lot of information online about reading e.g. you should at least read 2 books a week or read 100 or 200 pages etc. The point I’m trying to make is that there’s enough information to confuse you and make you procrastinate reading even more.
This is why I wrote this article.
I’ve been reading books since I was a child and the best approach to reading books in my opinion is going 50 pages a day. Granted, 50 may not sound like a lot but it is actually enough to learn or just get some entertainment from.
With that said, let’s get into some of the ways in which you can about reading 50 pages a day:
Read intentionally, not randomly
Reading books is not just about how much you read it is more about what you read and it relates to your life in general. It is easier to read something you have a genuine interest or curiosity in. This is why the pre-requisite for being able to read at-least 50 pages and more is finding the right books i.e. books that are interesting to you.
Once you find the right book, it will be easier for you to read enough of it. However, if you still find it a challenge to read books you’re interested in due to a number of reasons, keep reading because I’ve got you covered.
Have digital and physical copy
In the age of tech, one of the advantages is that we have access to both information and the various ways to access it. One of the ways you can read 50 or more pages in a day is having the book in both soft copy and hard copy. Having the book in print can be appropriate when you’re home or in a park or wherever while having the book in soft copy can allow you to read it almost anywhere. So make sure to always have the book either as a pdf on your phone or have it in your kindle on your ipad or any other device you may be using.
Determine how much time you can dedicate to reading
As a person that wants to read more, you should be able to figure out how to fit reading into your every day schedule. If you’re a busy person then you have to find a way to make some time for reading. This may mean saying no to some commitments so you can spend time reading books. With that said, being conscious about time can be very challenging because most people use the word “busy” as an excuse.
The fact is that, we all can make time and if you find yourself busy then it’s time to rethink your time management.
So, determine how much time you need to read 50 pages. Spend an hour reading and see how many pages you read. If you manage to read only 5 pages then you know your reading rate is 5 pages per hour and therefore you need only divide 50 pages by the reading rate to figure out how many hours you need to spend on reading.
Hyper-focus
Hyper-focus is what you need to succeed not only at reading a lot but in any other areas of your life. Hyper focus according to my own definition just means focusing on one thing only with no exceptions or distractions.
If you intend to improve your reading, you need to find a good space to read in, free from any distractions like phones, computers, TV’s etc. It just needs to be you and the book.
Libraries are perfect if you want to channel your focus in a distraction free environment.
Develop a reading habit/schedule
Reading more than the average person requires a level of habit. Just like a pro basketball player practices every day, so should you with your reading. While the athlete will focus on things like strength, agility and accuracy you’ll focus on attention, focus, comprehension, reading speed and the like.
My point is that for you to be able to read at least 50 pages a day you’ll need to develop a habit of reading every day. You don’t have to read 50 pages right away. For now focus on reading every day. Even it’s a page a day or 10. Just do it daily.
Once you consistently do it for at least 3 days, up the number of pages you read per day until you arrive at 50.
Read a consistent number of pages (consistency) per period
Other than developing the habit of reading, one other thing you should do is read a consistent number of pages per day to establish some sort of pattern. So, right now, I want you to decide on the number of pages that you feel is manageable for you. I’d advise you to start from 10 pages a day at the very least. 5 being the lowest you go.
Once you consistently read 10 pages a day for around 4 days, double the number of pages and start doing 20 pages a day for 3 days, then start doing 30 pages a day for a week. Then finally move to 50 pages a day.
Compress time allotted to completion
Most people under-estimate what they could do in an hour and over-estimate what they can do in a day. If you want to read 50 pages per day consistently you need to be able to brutally focus your attention by compressing the time you spend on reading a specific number of pages.
For example, say I read maybe 10 pages in 10 hours, my goal should be compressing those 10 hours into 1 hour. This would then mean I’d spend only an hour reading 10 pages.
Before you say this is impossible, it’s not. People tend to finish tasks in the time allotted to the task. If an exam has 2 hours duration, more than 85% of the students will usually finish it in that 2 hours. If the exam is in 30 minutes, they’ll finish in 30 minutes.
That’s just the reality.
So, ensure that you compress how much time you spend reading a specific number of pages because this will help you narrow your focus and get rid of any distractions that may get in the way.
Read first thing in the morning or last thing at night
Doing and conquering challenging things first thing in the morning is the best way to start the day.
If you’re a busy person looking to read more; consider reading first thing in the morning. Get up early if you have to. Dedicate an hour to reading before you even turn on your computer or check your emails in the morning.
This will make your brain more accepting to any reading that you may want to carry out in the rest of the day.
Reading last thing at night can also be a great way to get some pages in for the day. However, it’s not for everyone. Some find this challenging especially after a long day. Therefore, unless you have the energy to read at night, stick to reading during day time.
Read before a meal
Also try and read before eating a meal because most people tend to feel lazy after eating, especially if it was a heavy meal like lunch or supper. Its best to read when you’re comfortable and energetic.
