With the world as fast-paced as it is, committing the time to sit down and read is beginning to feel like more and more effort. But there are ways to get out of a reading slump.
Particularly for students, picking up a book for pleasure can feel like an absolute no-go while poring over textbooks too. For a usually avid reader, this slump can be disheartening, but here are some ways to pick the habit of reading back up!
Read your favourite story
No matter how many times you’ve read it, never underestimate the power of your favourite book. It’s your favourite for a reason! Whether it’s your favourite childhood story, or even the book adaptation of your favourite film, it might just be the right thing to get you into books again.
Take a long train/bus ride
Committing time to reading often feels difficult, so work out the parts of ‘dead time’ in your day, where you have potential to make use of it. I love to take a book on my work commute; the wifi is shoddy so my phone stays in my bag, and before I realise it, I fall into the story that I’m reading. A commute, purposefully arriving early to meet someone, or a quiet coffee shop all usually work for me.
Read with a goal
As a society, we love numbers. So, put a number to your book intake. Having a goal is a great way of motivating yourself. Studies suggest that reading even for thirty minutes a week improves health and wellbeing.
Set your own goal. Twenty minutes a day, twenty books a year. Everyone’s goal is relative, and will need to be adapted.
Use apps
If scrolling mindlessly is stopping you from reading, make your scrolling useful. Use apps like Goodreads or Fable, which will put you in touch with likeminded people, and track your reading habits.
My personal fave: Romanticise the act of reading
On the subject of apps, failing to use BookTo or book-centred Isntagram accounts means that you are missing out! Scrolling through photos of cosy, candle-lit cafés and window seat nooks always makes me want to grab my book. If you’re not feeling even *slightly* like Rory Gilmore or Hermione Granger, you’re not doing it right. Candles lit, fluffy blankets out, cuppa in hand = bliss!
