How to Read When You Hate Reading - 5 Tips and Tricks

If you're anything like me, you like the idea of reading. But when it actually comes time to buckle down, sit on a chair, pick up a book, and read, you have a hard time focusing, let alone really enjoying it. And maybe you've thought to yourself, "Well, I guess I'm just not a reader. I'm more of an action-based learner, you know, I learn by doing." But deep down you know that by not reading books, you're missing out on some of the important, in-depth, and profound insights ever recorded.

So how can people like us—people who aren't naturally bookworms—actually read books, retain their information, and actually learn to enjoy it? Well, in this video I'm going over five powerful strategies that will help you not only read more but find that you enjoy reading more than you ever possibly thought you ever could.

Tip number one: If you want to start reading, don't overachieve. It's very easy to say, "Yeah, I'm gonna read a book a week from now on." But your past is telling. You're not going to. So in order to break into the habit of reading, you need to set your standards almost comically low. I'm talking one page a day.

Reading one page only takes about 60 seconds if you're an average-speed reader, and, well, it's an extremely easy task. But remember: It's just as easy not to do, so make sure you do it. Don't make not doing it an option. And if you want to keep reading after you've read your daily page—go for it—but the important thing is to get that one page in.

Tip number two is: Read before going on the internet. You don't need me to tell you that the internet is an ADHD-inducing place full of cheap dopamine highs and shallow thinking. Checking your Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Reddit before reading a good book is like binge eating Skittles before tasting a fine wine. The wine will taste way worse, and you'll feel too sick to drink it anyways.

Point being—read books before your brain is zapped by the internet. A great way to do this, obviously, is to read first thing in the morning. Which brings me right to my next tip.

Tip number three is: Bunch your habits. Habit bunching is when you pair an already existing habit that you enjoy doing with a habit that you're trying to work on. If it's a habit for you to drink a nice hot cup of coffee in the morning, then pair that habit with reading. An easy way to do this is to put the book you want to read next to your coffee maker in the morning so when you get up and make yourself a cup of coffee, you'll see the book, and you'll grab it and go.

By bunching an already existing habit with one you're trying to work on, not only will it be easier to work on that new habit, but the enjoyability of the first habit may even rub off on the second one.

Tip number four is: Try audiobooks. Listening to audiobooks is a great way to soak in the information of a book while still being able to multitask. One of my favorite things to do, especially if I have to read a book for school, is to listen to the book while I'm working out. If you enjoy working out like I do, this counts as habit bunching.

My camera just overheated. Where was I? Audible is my personal favorite place to get audiobooks, and while the subscription isn't free... oh yeah! So if you find yourself at about a book-a-month pace, then Audible's free book system pays for itself. I think that math checks out.

My fifth and final tip is: Change your attitude. And this tip, while it may seem not very practical or hands-on, is probably the most important. Because if you self-identify as someone who hates reading, you're building up unnecessary mental resistance towards something you're trying to do more of. That's dumb.

So if you start identifying as someone who enjoys reading, you'll break down mental barriers, and you'll find the previous four tips a lot easier to do.

So there you go! Hopefully, you find these tips as useful as I currently do. I used to be someone who didn't like reading... Reading is not a hard activity in and of itself because you're just kind of looking and understanding paper. But in this day and age, with so many distractions—especially because of the internet—it definitely is a lot more difficult to eliminate those distractions and just focus on doing something a little slower-paced for a while.

And while I'm definitely not a bookworm right now, these tips definitely helped me get to a point where I'm regularly reading good books, making myself smarter, and I feel a lot better because of it. If you liked this video, be sure to hit that like button. If you like videos like these in general, hit that subscribe button.

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Thanks for watching, and we'll catch you in the next video.