How to Set Up an Ideal Reading Cycle

Written by Joanna Zuno. 06/13/2021

There are those of us that made resolutions to read more this year. Some of us complied with ten, some of us idealized that we can read up to 100 by the end. Well, it’s already been half a year gone, and let’s admit that we haven’t really reached near half of our goals. So let’s take the time to self-reflect and look at how we can make a better reading cycle and move forward.

Step One: Set Realistic Expectations

Okay, ideally we all want to strive as real go-getters and amaze ourselves that we can go to 100 books. That can happen, but let’s put reality into focus. We must include all things in our lives that impact the amount of time that we have on a daily occurrence: work, family, home, self-care. Work especially, depending on where you are or what you do, does take it out of you. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t to disway you by any means, but putting a high expectation like 100 will seem unachievable and negatively impact your aim to read a book. I’ll admit that I have made the mistake of giving myself an impossible ‘quota,’ if you will, of finishing this amount of books during a 40 hour work week, with expectations of working overtime. With how I generally worked I couldn’t even find myself finishing two chapters during the week. It was then I realized, individually, we’re all different from our own circumstances, and by the amount that I could read in my schedule, it was generally best to set my goal starting at finishing at least one book per month. So, to be generally put, be fair to yourself, start low then gradually move higher in book count when you feel like you can balance it more.

Step Two: Analyze the Month

Going back to step one, examine the amount of hours you have to yourself on a weekly basis. That includes your time before work, your time after work and your days off. When I realized I started working more than 50 hours per week, and also including commuting, shopping and other errands, at most I can ideally give myself thirty minutes a day. That’s mostly 15 minutes during my commute, and 15 minutes before bed. In those respective times, I counted the average of pages I can read, which became my average per day, then total by week. Then I did a second week of averaging pages read in those fifteen-minute intervals, then adding per day and totaling by the end of the second week, and compared to the first week. They were a bit different, but I was trying to realize my reading per week. I did the same for weeks three and four and confirmed averaging was the same. With the amount of pages read within my schedule, I knew I could only average a book per month.

Step Three: It’s Okay to Take Breaks, But Not Too Many

Was today exhausting? Do you just want to “veg” out in front of the T.V. and forget about everything? Is it straining on the eyes to read? Well, that’s okay. Again, the path to being a consistent reader is to make yourself comfortable without feeling like you’re doing an extra chore. So skipping one day is okay. There are times I find myself too exhausted from the whole daunting day alone, I immediately crash and surrender to whatever’s on T.V. and just want to find another way to transport myself. However, and I say this by experience, if you skip more and more days you’ll be putting off your reading cycle, and will forget where you left off nor will you be as enthusiastic about finishing that novel you were in the middle of.

Step Four: No One Expects You to Read Lengthy Novels

Again, the goal of having a consistent reading cycle is to be comfortable while foraging yourself as an avid reader. Therefore there should be no expectations to what you read, but only that you can finish what you enjoy. If you’re beginning a constant reading cycle then feel free to choose what pleases you material-wise than an expectation. Not everyone has to read someone else’s reading list, or meet a critic's expectation. Even in the moment of constant work, this writer prefers the escape of S.D. Perry’s novelization of Resident Evil  (which is 238 pages altogether), then a very lengthy piece of classical literature. In the long run, reading small novels will help with your attention and be more encouraging to reading more books, especially those lengthy ones. The point is to build the momentum to read consistently. 

We at Vialchemy hope that this article helps you on your way to being a more well-improved reader. Please check out the rest of our self-improvement articles on our website.