Reading a Lot of Books is Easy When You Understand This Mindset Hack

If you have found BYIZZYLILY, the chances are, reading a lot of books is important to you. And because of that, i’m so pleased to have you here.

This post was inspired by a struggle I had a few years ago…

A Long Old Intro About My Childhood

I have always been a reader and I have always loved books. As a child I was OBSESSED with Harry Potter, and I used to re read the whole series most summer breaks. I would hide books in the library so I could return to them because I had borrowed my ‘book limit’.

As a teenager I was obsessed with romance and dystopian fantasy. I remember vividly staying up all night to finish ‘Anna and the French Kiss,’ and later ‘The Mortal Instruments’ series. Books and reading were a big part of my life, and I began to see them as part of my identity.

I would read for hours every day during the busier reading seasons of my early adolesense.

At some point fantasy turned to classics, and I became obsessed with writer’s like Shirley Jackson. Then, I was applying to study English Literature at University.

While studying I read books such as ‘The Iliad’ translated by Hammond?? which, by the way, is another of my favourite reads.

Losing Myself

But somewhere along the line I stopped loving it. And this was confusing for me, because I saw so much of my identity entangled with reading that I would keep buying books, and starting them but having no interest in finishing them.

I was 21, I was losing my sense of identity, I had no routines and no direction, and I was beginning to feel… lost.

If you are there, if you find that you can no longer finish books or get excited about reading, this post is for you.

Career

At 23 I started working in a school as an English Learning mentor. I work with children, a lot of whom have had tough upbringings, and struggle with academia.

I read with these children. I teach them everything I can and everything I know, but I realised, to be better and learn better, reading has to be something you enjoy.

I put on funny voices, I ask lots of questions and I lend out my favourite pens. But through teaching them, I taught myself a lesson I hope I never forget again. Reading helps you think, and thinking helps you become.

And reading, and how I view reading, makes sense again.

The Hack to Reading a Lot of Books

Now bare with me. It’s going to sound obvious at first but you need to hear me out.

To Read More Books You Have To Read More.

And by that I mean, to identify as a reader you need to make time for it. Books won’t read themselves. And, reading 5 pages a day doesn’t work. If you do that, in 3 months, you may finish one book.

But you can use this logic to your advantage. Something I started doing in recent years is planning out how much I need to read each day in order to finish my book within a week.

But, Why a Week?

If it takes me more than a week, in most cases to do with fiction, I then lose interest in whatever i’m reading. This is because I’ve lost momentum.

What I do to avoid this is I see how many pages there are in the book, and then I divide this by 7. Then, I put sticky tabs to divide up the pages so I know how much I need to read in a day to finish my book in a good amount of time.

For example, right now I am reading the first part of ‘The Second Sex’. The first part is 250 pages which means I need to read around 35 pages a day. This is something I can do easily, so I have upped how many pages I wish to read in a day to 50.

It doesn’t mean I stop reading at each sticky tab, but it’s a helpful guideline.

You NEED to Carve Out Time to Read.

My FAVOURITE thing to do is plan a day of just reading. Nothing else is expected of me on these days. Maybe i’ll even treat myself to a takeaway, and an evening movie.

I see this as the ultimate treat/ self care day. And these are days I really, really look forward to. I will mark these days on my calendar and I might even buy a new book. On these days I will accept that I will drink my body weight in coffee and hot chocolate. Sometimes I put on a facemask, but always I read on the sofa with blankets and put on ambience on the TV in the form of YouTube ‘haunted house sounds’.

Morning Reading.

Waking up extra early to read is an act of self love, it gives me time to wake up slower in the mornings too, which is a bonus. I used to be so actively against waking up earlier than necessary because I really value my sleep, especially after reading ‘Why We Sleep’. I thought I would end up being more tired and struggle to wake up even more, but it turns out the opposite is true.

I feel like I have time in the morning to wake up properly before leaving the house, and as a result I am less tired and less stressed and better read.

Everyone has different habits that work for them, but I will not read in the evening if I don’t first read in the morning. That is because it feels like more effort than it’s worth if i’m not already excited to read.

Reading in the morning ensures I read a little everyday. And, it opens up more opportunities to read later in the day. This, then, becomes about self love and enjoyment rather than something I feel I have to do.

Audiobooks Are Your Friend

Audiobooks are not cheating. I listen to audiobooks a lot, especially when i’m commuting, or when I am doing house chores that I need a bit of distraction to do (dishes).

The Joy of Coffeshops

My final thing I do that helps me read a lot of books is I read outside of the house. After work I often treat myself to a coffee, where I will sit in the coffee shop for a while and read. If I go straight home I run the risk of watching re runs of ‘Friends’.

This in between space provides me with a space of time carved out to enjoy the things which are important to me.

Reading a Lot of Books is Easy When You Understand This Mindset Hack