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  • Hey, how's it going, guys?

  • So in today's video we're gonna talk about

  • how to read more books.

  • Now, maybe you've already seen my video

  • on how to generally increase your reading speeds.

  • If you haven't, you can check it out right there.

  • But maybe you have, and maybe you've integrated

  • some of those tips into your life, which have helped you

  • get your reading speeds higher and higher,

  • maybe even up to that generally accepted cap

  • of 400 to 500 words per minute.

  • And yet, you haven't filled in the other part

  • of the equation, which is building a consistent

  • reading habit.

  • So this video is all about how to do that,

  • and I've got seven specific tips that will help you

  • become a more consistent reader.

  • So in my experience, the most important thing

  • you can do to read more consistently is to have

  • a certain number of pages you're going to read

  • every single day, and to turn it into a habit.

  • I was actually out in Colorado a couple of weeks ago

  • on a ski trip with a few friends, and we were in the Airbnb

  • one day after skiing ended, and I remember

  • my friends Matt and Ben were talking about books

  • they'd read recently, and both of them are entrepreneurs

  • so they're really busy, just like me, and yet they had

  • all this time to read all these books, and I was asking

  • like, dude, how do you guys find so much time to read

  • when you feel like you've got all these things to do?

  • And Matt told me, dude, I just wake up every morning

  • and I have my coffee, and I read 25 pages.

  • And after four days that's 100 pages, after 40 days

  • it's 1,000 pages.

  • It really adds up over time, and it works better than goals

  • like saying I'm gonna read one book a month

  • or two books a month, because then it's really easy

  • to justify pushing all your reading off later into the month

  • because you've got a lot of work to do right now.

  • Moving onto tips two and three, I'm gonna group

  • these two together because they have to do with how

  • you schedule your reading time.

  • Now, personally I know the later that it gets in the day,

  • the less likely it is for me to read.

  • My motivation starts to wane and other things start

  • to take up my attention, so I try to schedule

  • my reading time very early in the morning.

  • But, tip number three here, I do it after exercise.

  • And that's because the book I'm reading right now,

  • which is called Spark: The Revolutionary New Science

  • of Exercise and the Brain, talks a lot about how

  • exercise primes your brain for learning.

  • Exercise balances the levels of chemicals in your brain

  • known as neurotransmitters, which in turn improve

  • your ability to pay attention and prime your brain

  • to more efficiently absorb and remember new information.

  • And I take advantage of this by going to the gym

  • first thing in the morning, and then doing my reading.

  • Now tip number four is to do whatever you can

  • to make the process of reading as enjoyable as possible

  • because from what I've learned about how motivation

  • is affected by the rewards of tasks, rewards can really

  • be split into two different categories.

  • Number one, the reward you get at the end of the task,

  • whatever the result of the task is, but number two,

  • the enjoyment you get from doing the task itself.

  • So personally I go to a coffee shop and I get a latte

  • and I read while I have those things with me

  • and that makes the process much more enjoyable

  • than trying to do it at home.

  • Moving along to tip number five, now if you've chosen

  • to read after exercise, your ability to pay attention

  • and inhibit distractions is at it's peak, but you do

  • wanna cut out as many distractions as possible

  • just to give yourself the best possible chance

  • for focusing on your reading until you're done.

  • So, for me that means turning my phone onto

  • do not disturb mode, and packing it away in this bag

  • here, everything goes in this bag and it goes down

  • by my feet.

  • Everything is off the table except for the book

  • when I'm reading so it's just focused interaction

  • with the book and nothing else.

  • Now, distractions are one of the biggest things

  • that can derail your ability to get your reading done,

  • but there are certainly others, so tip number six

  • is to anticipate and remove as many barriers

  • to your success as possible.

  • For me that means making sure my bag is packed

  • every single night before I go to bed, and making sure

  • the book is in there, and also making sure I have

  • everything I need, like my book flags for making notes

  • and highlights, and my headphones just in case

  • the coffee shop is noisy.

  • Basically, I want to anticipate anything that could give

  • my brain an excuse to not read, and cut it out.

  • And, finally, tip number seven is to externalize

  • your motivation, and sort of take the choice of reading

  • out of your hands by making yourself accountable

  • to somebody else.

  • Now I do this in a couple different ways.

  • Number one is I have told my roommate Martin,

  • who reads way more books than me, that if I do not read

  • 25 pages a day every single day for at least the next

  • three months, I will pay him $100.

  • So if I skip even one day, I'm gonna lose out on a lot

  • of money.

  • And secondly, I have made a public page on my website

  • where I will be updating my progress every single day

  • in an embedded Google spreadsheet, so every day

  • I have to record how many pages I read,

  • and anybody can see that and call me out if I don't.

  • Now in last week's video we talked about why

  • it's a bad idea in general to tell people about your goals,

  • but I do think when you build accountability

  • into it, and you're talking to people about your progress,

  • rather than your big grand vision, it can actually be

  • much more motivating than if you kept it to yourself.

  • And I'd be curious to hear what your thoughts are on that.

  • Anyway, if you'd like to have a look at my progress

  • page, there'll be a link in the description down below,

  • and you can do this yourself even without being publicly

  • accountable by using a tool like Habitica or Coach.me.

  • There's lots of habit-tracking tools that can basically

  • get you the same result, but I have decided to be

  • publicly accountable about it.

  • Hopefully you enjoyed this video and found it helpful.

  • If you did, give it a like to support this channel,

  • and if you'd like to get new tips every single week

  • on being a more effective student, you can click

  • that big red subscribe button right down there.

  • I also wrote a book on how to earn better grades,

  • so if you'd like to get a free copy sent to your email

  • you can click the picture of the book.

  • And if you missed last week's video, we talked about why

  • in general it's a bad idea to tell people about your goals,

  • so check it out if you missed it.

  • You can check out the full article for this video

  • and get the link to my reading progress page

  • by clicking the orange button right there.

  • And, lastly, if you wanna connect, I'm on Instagram

  • and Twitter @TomFrankly, or you can leave

  • a comment down below.

  • Thanks for watching.

Hey, how's it going, guys?

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