Among Americans’ most cited new year’s resolutions is the goal to spend more time reading. The benefits of immersing yourself in a book – as opposed to all those screens at our disposal – are well documented and include enhanced vocabulary, concentration and communication skills as well as sharper cognitive abilities and a broader worldview. In addition, swapping your phone or tablet for a book at bedtime will substantially improve the quality of your sleep.
Achieving the goal, however, requires a conscious effort to alter your habits and lifestyle. Here are a few strategies you can employ if you are looking to spend more time lost in the pages of a great book.
Combine Your Habits: Your first step is to identify times in your day you can free up for reading. One strategy is to consider parts of your daily routine you can enhance with a book. Do you always make coffee first thing in the morning? Try having a book on the counter and read a few pages while sipping your joe. Always have to wait on the same platform for your train? That’s a great time to put your nose in a book.
Entertain Yourself: Many non-readers eschew books because they see reading as something that needs to be intellectually stimulating. Nonsense! Try taking the page-turner route starting out and focus on books that are fun and entertaining – the reading equivalent of watching TV. Of course, lofty literary fiction or engrossing nonfiction is well worth your attention topo but there’s no crime in exploring the niches that get you excited, at least until you fully develop the habit.
Active Reading: It’s tempting to let the plot carry you down its winding path, particularly if you’re reading a page-turner. But there is also merit in slowing down and taking in every nuance through active reading. Read with a pen in your hand so you can note any questions you have, sentences you like or even just the occasional stray thought. Highlight, underline, question and comment – they all help keep the mind engaged.
Keep Books Everywhere: The old saying, “out of sight, out of mind” is all too true so it’s important to surround yourself with books if you’re looking to strengthen your reading habit. Never leave the house without a book to pass the time during life’s in-between moments and recognize that if you have a stack of books beside your bed, you’re more likely to pick one up. Wherever you are, books should be close at hand.
Embrace Many Formats: There’s more than one way to consume a book these days – you can read a physical book, listen to an audiobook or peruse an eBook. Each format has its own unique qualities and benefits so don’t fear trying them all, for example balancing an audiobook with a physical book. See which medium works best for you.
At Harmony Communities, we feel strongly that each resident has a sense of home. That they come home from work and feel pride in their environment and in their place in the greater community. That families are comfortable raising children in our neighborhoods, and that couples and singles know that they belong to something bigger than their four walls. In other words, we seek to create harmony within each community, making our communities not just passable, but peaceful, safe, functional, and beautiful.
