The perpetual struggle for each of us is finding more time to read. Even for voracious readers, downtime with a good book can be elusive. 

Speed reading is certainly one way to read more books because it helps you read each book in less time. I have tried it myself; personally, I do not retain the information nearly as well, and it feels more like a cheap hack than a veritable method to learning more and reading more.

Reading goals like one book per week or 20 books per year help set the bar, and provide an aim for you to move towards in a productive manner; yet the step-by-step path of achieving a reading goal can often prove trying.

Some years ago, I made it a goal to read one book per week, 52 books in a year. And I failed. That first year, I tried to read a book per week, I only made it to around 30 total books. To instill more regular reading in my life, I did two things, which have since helped me surpass upwards of 60 books per year, multiple years in a row now. With implementing these two techniques, reading more books becomes automatic and a natural, unavoidable consequence.

Setting a time frame specifically reserved for reading each and every day is the single best thing to do to read more books. This creates a non-negotiable block of time which you can use to incrementally hack away at your reading goals for the week, month, and year; it provides the opportunity to read productively. Without scheduling regular reading time in, achieving reading goals is more difficult. Building this time block for reading will make reading a habit, such that it no longer becomes something you need to think about, plan, or worry over. The time block becomes a habit and the habit is what automates reading into your life as an inextricable piece to who you are and what you do.

Reading at the same time each and every day further ensures that you have no excuses to intrude upon your reading goals. Make that time sacred and untouchable – schedule meetings and social outings before or after that time block, but give priority to your allotted reading time.

For myself, I read first thing for one hour in the morning, every single morning – no intrusions, no interruptions, no exceptions. This allows me to read around one book per week. 

Consider the math: a book of around 200-300 pages takes about 5-7 hours to read on average, depending on reading speed. Blocking out one hour per day immediately puts you at one book per week for a typical-sized book at a typical reading speed.

Before I started listening to audiobooks, I was reading about one book per week and 52 books per year. About two years ago, I implemented audiobooks – that put me at around 65 books per year. I don’t listen to audiobooks that much or that often. Usually, I listen to one, maybe two, in a month. But that makes a difference of 10 to 15 books over the course of a year. When I’m walking or driving, I can fit in extra reading time by listening to an audiobook instead of radio or music. When I’m working out in the gym or going for a run, I can squeeze in a few chapters. Or even when I’m cooking, I can throw on an audiobook.

Each of us have a lot more time in the day than we realize, but that time can often get frittered away if used without intention. Audiobooks are a means of using time more intentionally and in a manner conducive to a reading goal. They fill in the downtime with books and reading. 

Most audiobooks are between 6 and 10 hours long, some of them push upwards of 12 to 15. But even for longer books, the total time is negligible when spread across weeks or months.

Consider the math once again: If you have a thirty-minute commute to work each way, that is potentially an hour per day to listen to a book. Or, if you only want to listen in the morning, for example, thirty minutes of extra reading per day remains excellent – you could get through nearly two, 8-hour audiobooks per month at thirty minutes a day. I would be remiss to ignore the small faction of readers who do not count audiobooks as “reading.” So here is me addressing them. Personally, I do count audiobooks as reading – a book read aloud is still a book.

By implementing a regular time block for reading each day, reading turns into a habit and becomes automated. Thinking about when you can “fit in” time to read no longer applies once it becomes a routine part of your day. Soon enough, it becomes an integral piece of your identity as well – you see yourself as a “reader” and so do others, which further motivates and compounds the habit of reading. Next, try out an audiobook. Give yourself a month to listen to one book, you’ll realize that you fly through the book much quicker than this. It’s a fun and leisurely way of reading more books. And who doesn’t like being read to by someone else?

With these two ideas, you and me and everyone else can actually read more books.