time spent offline

The benefits of reading are countless and impressive. Reading involves several of our brain functions, including visual and auditory processes, phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension. In doing so, it increases our attention spans, focus, and concentration, and stimulates our mental processes that help us preserve our memory skills as we grow older. In other words, reading puts our brain to work. When I first became serious about (re)discovering the pleasures of the offline world, reading for leisure as an alternative to digital entertainment was the first activity I took on seriously. Throughout the years, and many, many, many books later, I have learned three practical tips to make reading an immensely enjoyable activity, and not just another to-do item on the list.

1. Quit books you don’t like

Prior to discovering this simple idea, I used to feel guilty about not finishing a book I have started. I would feel especially guilty if the book was considered a classic or a must-read, blaming myself for not being smart enough or interesting enough to enjoy something regarded so highly. How many times have you picked up a book because it’s a bestseller or “a classic,” only to find it tedious to get through a chapter let alone the whole thing? How often do you feel obliged to finish a book you’re not enjoying at all because you have already wasted time reading the first 50 pages?

In how to choose books you’ll actually read, Rosie Leizrowice advises us to be choosy about the books we read. Reading, especially reading for leisure, should be a delightful activity. The truth is when you find a book you truly enjoy you will know it because you won’t be able to put it down. You won’t find yourself constantly zoning out and not remembering the last few paragraphs you just read. In fact, you look forward to picking up where you left off to find out more about the characters and in the storyline; and you think about what could have happened long after the story ends on the last page. Since realizing this, I have been ruthless when it comes to the books I choose to read. I could be half-way through a book and if it starts to feel tedious, I leave it alone. If a book doesn’t grab my attention a few pages in, I don’t bother with it: Maybe I will try again another time. I only read books written in the first-person perspective, with very few exceptions, because that is what I enjoy the most.

Here is another perspective. Tim is a 34-year-old man who reads about 5 books a year. If Tim lived to be 90, he only got 300 more books left to read in his lifetime; out of the millions of books available. According to Tim, “even though it feels like I’ll read an endless number of books in the future, I actually have to choose only 300 of all the books out there to read and accept that I’ll sign off for eternity without knowing what goes on in all the rest.” In other words, don’t waste your time reading books you find tiresome. Your time is limited; dedicate it to books you truly enjoy. As Austin Kleon puts it very eloquently, “every hour you spend inching through a boring book is an hour you could’ve spent plowing through a brilliant one.” Choose books that excite you and discard the ones that feel like a chore to read. It will significantly improve your reading habit.

2. Cut out distractions

Distractions are everywhere, and they get in the way of cultivating high quality leisure. Big data alone is constantly hijacking our attention to keep us glued to our screens. Then, there is the kids, spouse, bills to pay, friends to see, chores to complete. Since the kids, spouse, friends, bills and chores are harder to avoid, it is better to focus on cutting out distractions that are just fun to waste time on: Digital distractions. Even the best books you find are no match for the dopamine boost one gets from the likes, comments, and tweets of the digital world.

I read the most books during the times I killed my phone. Without digital temptations, whenever I got bored, or had time to kill, I read instead of scrolling through time-wasting websites. Reading a page here and a chapter there adds up over time. I also read a lot more when I put my phone away and bring a book to bed instead. The additional benefit of this is, of course, better quality sleep. I could have doubled the number of books I read last year if I were even more diligent in removing online distractions.

3. Remove frictions

I discovered this idea from the podcast episode Creatures Of Habit: How Habits Shape Who We Are — And Who We Become. If not obvious by the title, the episode was on how to build better habits, and an important ingredient for habit change is removing frictions— Friction is the amount of effort required to perform any given action. When it comes to implementing a new habit, it is important to remove or minimize friction by reducing the amount of effort required to perform the action. Psychology Professor Windy Wood wears her workout clothes to sleep so when she wakes up she is ready to go for a run. In doing so, she has minimized the effort required to go for a run in the morning— changing into her workout clothes.

I keep an e-book or two going at all times so I always have something to read even if I don’t have a physical book available. I also maintain a to-read list so when I’m done with a book and don’t know what to read next, I can always refer to that list. I signed up to receive weekly book recommendations from my local library to add to my book list. Life is full of excuses not to do the things we would like to do; often things that are good for us. Prepare for your future self’s excuses by putting a plan in place to remove frictions.