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MissHBee t1_ivu2wjc wrote

I have a reading goal, because for the past several years I've done reading challenges where there are 52 prompts. But it's not what I use to motivate myself to read - it's not a "stretch" goal, it's under the number of books I read in a typical year.

I find that it's more useful for me to change my reading habits if I want to read more, rather than setting goals. For example, reading at certain parts of the day (before bed, while eating breakfast, etc.), putting the Kindle app on my phone so I can read a few pages while waiting for a meeting to start rather than scrolling through social media, always having a plan for what I'm excited to read next after I finish the book I'm currently reading, allowing myself to put aside books that I'm not enjoying, reading two different books at once so I always have something I'm in the mood for (I do this especially for nonfiction and short story collections - they take longer for me to read, so I like to have a faster paced thing to read at the same time). One big thing I've noticed is that for me, the length of a book is not what slows me down, it's more about the pacing and my interest. I can fly through a 600 page book if I love it and a 300 page book can take me weeks if I don't like it much.

I used to have goals for certain types of books, like "I want to read 10 nonfiction books this year" or "I want to read 5 books in translation this year" but I've kind of stopped doing that. I do keep track of those numbers, but again, I've found that it works better to change my habits: instead of making goals, I follow people who recommend the kind of books I'd like to read more, so I get excited about them and add them to my TBR. Then I read more of that kind of book naturally.

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