Build a Reading Habit from the Ground Up

In a world where we're glued to screens, scrolling through endless social feeds and bingeing the latest series, reading feels… slow. But reading is so much more than a pastime. It’s your ticket to expanding your mind, boosting brainpower, and finding a much-needed escape from the chaos of everyday life. A regular reading habit doesn’t just transport you to new worlds; it sharpens your focus, calms your nerves, and seriously ups your overall well-being.

↳ Timestamps

00:00 - Introduction
00:52 - The Science of Habit Formation: Why Reading Feels Hard to Start
02:05 - The Problem with the "All-or-Nothing" Mentality
03:44 - Mindful Reading: How to Build a Reading Habit Without the Hustle
03:52 - Start with Your “Why”
04:16 - Set a Manageable Goal
06:44 - Make It a Ritual
07:27 - Be Kind to Yourself
08:17 - Join a Community of Readers
08:58 - Conclusion and Key Takeaways

↳ Links and Resources

↳ Credits

✽ Editing: @MaryAmongStories
✽ Stock imagery and footage provided by Ground News
✽ Music provided by Epidemic Sound

↳ Connect With Me

☰ FTC Disclaimer
This video is sponsored by Brilliant

[TadParker]

Goodreads has really helped me to develop a daily reading habit. I've made it a point to log in daily and track my progress in terms of the percentage of the book I've read each day. And the best part is that everything is public. Anyone can log in and see my progress, which I think is what motivates me the most. And this is despite the fact that I have no friends there! But the page is open, and anyone can come and see, which is enough for me. Today will be the 640th day of continuous reading!
Oh, and another interesting fact is that I am reading all this in a non-native language, English, which I am still learning.🙂

[impastomusic]

Wonderful advice! One Goodreads/Storygraph hack that I use to track my reading progress is this: at the begging of the year I set my goal to 5 books. Once I’ve read 5 books, I increase my goal by another 5 books. Rinse and repeat! This way I avoid setting an unattainable annual goal and getting discouraged, and I also get a little dopamine hit fairly regularly throughout the year. And I can celebrate whatever the final count happens to be!

[nadeshikoshindo]

I've taken the habit of reading during commuting to work. Not a lot, but with 10-15 pages a day, I do finish some books !

[patatrah]

Really good tips! I started reading frequently again 4 years ago and what helped me the most was to have a realistic goal (6 books the first year) and to read in short sessions rather than for hours. It's easier to find 15 min than 2 hours! Now I read around 25 books a year (5x my inital goal)!

[MUK-yfsw]

Just so you know, i have been subbed to you since 2016

[dleon]

This was exactly what I needed to hear. I started reading articles on Medium and I found you there but seems the articles you have are in Portuguese. Still, loving the content.

[s.annehancock]

So glad I stumbled onto this wonderful channel! Thank you for the great advice.

[toranshaw]

I really need to start reading more, not only with books but the many articles that I've saved to my 'read later' app, that I never get around to!

[esemac]

And how do you become a faster reader? 😔 I’ve hit a reading slump since the change in season. Help please 😅

[WondershareEdrawsoft]

Hi ! Love your content ! Interested in collab? :)

[juliegolick]

I'm on track to read 100 books this year, or very close to it. My biggest tip would be to find places in your life where you have downtime – for me, this was taking the bus. Swapping from social media to reading on public transit means I have at least an hour a day for reading. I also grab snatches of time while I'm in line, in waiting rooms, waiting for my tea to boil, etc. It's all time that I otherwise wouldn't be doing anything with, so it doesn't feel like I'm "missing" anything else. If you're a fan of audiobooks, you can also listen to books while doing chores like cleaning or dishes.