The annual reports on the state of readership published often provoke lively discussions as to how we read in Poland. The data for 2022 shows that 34% of the respondents over the age of 15 have read at least one book. At the other end of the spectrum are those for whom the first day of January marks two traditions: figuring out their reading goal for the upcoming year and watching the Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Concert.
Apart from the possibility of visiting alternative worlds or exploring the surrounging reality in greater depth, reading offers a number of advantages that cannot be ignored. Why is it worth reading books? Vocabulary enrichment, stress reduction, salutary effects on memory and concentration are just some of the benefits. Although nowadays it is difficult to find a moment to relax with a book, in today’s article we will give you some tips on how to read more.
The main challenge: how to find time for reading?
The most common reasons for not reading include lack of time or fatigue; in the latter case, sometimes a nap or a walk is a better choice, but the former one can be remedied in most cases. Let’s look at the time spent on watching films or series on streaming platforms or scrolling through social media. Many experts recommend putting phones and tablets away for at least an hour before bedtime – it’s a perfect opportunity to read at least a few pages of a book.
Although getting around by public transport can be a questionable pleasure, it undeniably provides some time for reading. Commuting to work or school means at least a couple of minutes a day that we can devote to a book. And if you read a lot, consider buying an e-reader; that way you will always have your entire library with you and, if you feel like it, you will be able to read while waiting in a queue, for a bus, late friends or a doctor’s appointment.
It is also worth giving audiobooks a chance. They allow us to read during various household chores not requiring our full attention. Saturday cleaning, meal preparation or going for a walk can be combined with listening to a few chapters of a book. Here you can also find the answer to the question of how to read faster – record-breakers listen to audiobooks at 3.0 speed!
How to stay focused while reading?
We already know how reading books affects people and how to set aside time for this activity. However, many people struggle to concentrate, and long reading is effectively thwarted by distractions such as TV series and social media. There are some pretty simple solutions to this: you can change your surroundings and try reading in a café, park or library. Reading more consciously also helps: use markers, highlight interesting passages, take notes. This will not only make it easier to concentrate on the activity itself, but you will also gain as much as possible from the book.
If your biggest enemy is your phone, you can put it out of reach or install one of the apps that promote focus on specific activities. Some of them not only keep the user focused, but also provide the opportunity to plant a real tree: the longer we refrain from glancing at our phone, the more impressive our virtual forest, which can then be transferred to the real world. Thanks to one of such apps, more than one million trees have already been planted!
Simple solutions to get out of a reading slump
If you read a lot, but for a while you’ve been struggling to find pleasure in reading, it’s worth just… waiting for it to pass. Perhaps this is not an activity that will allow you to relax right now? People who work professionally with text on a daily basis are also in a more difficult position. It’s hard to muster even a little bit of enthusiasm when you’ve been busy reading all day – and sometimes it’s just better to relax in other ways and wait for the desire to read to come back.
Getting over a reading slump can also be achieved by short books or collections of short stories, which guarantee the quick satisfaction of the story learned. We also should take more time to carefully select books to read; a wrong choice is likely to make us even more discouraged. It’s also worth seeking out other readers, local book clubs (which have been experiencing a renaissance in recent years), or looking for dedicated book accounts on social media. They are a great motivator and an endless source of bookish inspiration!
