10 Tips For Reading Resolutions
December 31, 2021
With the new year coming right up, it’s time for New Year’s Resolutions, and because we’re a library, and because this is appearing on a library web site, and because we do a lot of business in books, and because—
Okay, that’s enough, right?
We present you with a list of 10 Tips to help you with your reading resolution.
10. Don't Fight the Crowds
You know how they gyms are always packed in January? How frustrating is it to have to wait to jump on the dreadmill? Is there any sadder human condition than patiently waiting to do something you don’t even want to do!?
Reading in January can be a little like that, too. You might find that a lot of other folks put books YOU WANTED TO READ on hold for themselves, especially self-improvement stuff, fitness stuff, diet stuff, Kyle Starks comics (not really, but in my dream world, Kyle Starks comics are in short supply every January).
My advice to gym-goers is to be a little flexible in January. Can’t get on the stationary bike? Hit the elliptical or push a sled today. Somebody’s hogging up the squat cage to do curls? Change up the order you planned out and do something else first.
Same goes for books. Change up the order. Maybe you can’t get Book A right away, but you can get another book by the same author, and it might scratch the same itch. Maybe this is a good time to explore Hoopla, which allows multiple patrons to check out the same things.
9. Reading Can Be Fun
Reading doesn’t always have to be about self-improvement. It doesn’t always have to be homework. A lot of us put too much pressure on books and reading to make us complete, different people, and its good to step back and remember we can read something goofy, something thrilling, or something that’s entertaining but not life-altering.
If the goal is to be a better person, reading can help. If the goal is to read, let that goal stand alone.
8. Ambition Isn't Always Your Friend
You probably know if you’re the kind of person who is ambitious to a fault. The sort of person who sets out on Day 1 of a fitness journey by waking up at 4 AM, jogging for an hour, blending up some kale for breakfast, etc., and then waking up the next day sore, drained, and defeated.
With reading, if you set a goal of reading one book every week, and if we’re into February and you’re still on your first title, it feels like total failure.
Be ambitious, but be realistic. It’s okay to set a goal that ends up being a little too easy. And let’s face it: how often have you failed in your New Year’s Resolution because it was TOO EASY?
7. Leave Room For Spontaneity
Making a reading list is the most fun part of a reading resolution. It’s fast-paced, exciting…okay, is there a more book nerd thing out there than calling reading list building “fast-paced?
If you make your entire book list on January 1st, you’ll run into a problem by summer. See, publishers and authors you love are still working, and in a few months there will definitely be some new books you’d like to peek at.
6. Make Your Goal For The You of Today
Classic gym scenario: A guy in his 40’s walks in, sets his bag down, and immediately loads up a barbell with his PR bench weight from when he was 25. This…usually doesn’t end well.
Maybe you read A LOT in the past. Maybe you were reading a book a day at one point. But let’s not forget that maybe, at that point, you didn’t have a job or kids or global pandemic or a house where it seems like the gutters have to be cleaned out seven times a year. Do gutters have a purpose other than collecting leaves?
Set a goal for you, not you from 10 years ago.
5. Setting a Goal Means Setting Aside Time
There is always going to be something in your day that’s more urgent, more appealing, or that will feel better than reading. Always. You have to carve out reading time, make it something you MUST do, like brushing your teeth, not something you SHOULD do, like flossing (I’ve spoken to a dentist recently, I know most of you aren’t flossing every day).
4. Create Opportunity
One secret of elite runners is that they keep a pair of shoes and some running gear in the trunks of their cars. Why? Because opportunity strikes now and then, and you have to take advantage of it.
Put a book in the trunk of your car. Load up your phone with a couple eBooks. Next time you’re sitting in a parking lot or waiting for someone to finish their set at the gym (because you did a fitness goal AND a reading goal, you ambitious, wonderful person), read a couple pages.
People have written entire novels in 15-minute bursts. You can certainly read one that way.
3. Put Your Sweats On
I’m going to share with you the deepest, darkest secret of elite fitness folks: They don’t always want to do it.
Sometimes it’s cold. Or they’re hungry. Or they just aren’t in the mood. Sometimes they want to watch the next episode of Squid Games intead of hitting the road.
There’s a trick to get past it, something to tell yourself:
You don’t have to go for a run today. But you DO have to put on your sweats, lace up your shoes, and walk to the end of the street.
If you get dressed and get to the end of the street, you’ll always go a little further because you’ve done the hardest part, you’ve started.
Reading works the same way.
You don’t have to read 30 pages today. But you do have to sit down and read for 2 minutes.
2. Break Your Goal Into Seasons
One of the worst parts of exercise is that you never really “get there.” It’s not like you can exercise a lot for 6 months and then take the back half of the year off. It can make exercise feel endless, like one day’s workout just bleeds into the next. The trick is to set a short-term goal: “I’m gonna run Bolder Boulder this year, then take a week off.”
Break your reading goal into seasons, sessions, semesters, or something that gives you a distinct start and end point. Give yourself a week off between sessions. It’s handy because you can make one of your breaks during holidays or a summer vacation when you might not have as much control over your schedule. Plus, if you mess up one session, that’s okay, the next session is its own, distinct thing, and you can still start fresh and ace that one.
1. Make YOUR Goal For YOU
It’s tempting to look at the reading goals of others and bump yours up to compete.
Look…it’s disheartening to get passed on a running path. It always happens when you’re actually feeling pretty good about yourself. Everything is clicking, then *BOOM*, someone blows by you like you’re standing still.
First of all, don’t get down. It’s probably Captain America. It’s not reasonable to be upset when you get passed by Captain America. I don’t know who the Captain America of speed reading is…Nancy Pearl? There’s no shame in reading less than Nancy Pearl.
Second, your goal is for you and only you.
Don’t make a reading goal to impress your friends or your spouse or your coworkers. Make a reading goal because you want to read.