Hi friends,

I’ve been rethinking my framework when it comes to reading habits. Last year, I used the GoodReads app to make a goal of getting through a certain amount of books in the year, but I’ve come to realize that this is the wrong way to go about reading goals.

When your goal is based on reading X amount of books a year, you will inevitably turn toward shorter books and stray from longer and more dense books. But reading isn’t about completing a certain amount of books per year, it’s about enjoying the process and extracting wisdom along the way.

This year, my goal is to read 30 pages per day. You can pick however many pages you think you can realistically and consistently read each day. Say you choose to read 10 pages per day this year, and the average book you read has 300 pages, that means you will read 12 books this year!

After you pick the number of pages you want to read per day, you need to figure out when you will read. You don’t need to set aside one large block of time either. You can take 10 minutes in the morning and in the evening to focus on a book. Also, make good use of unexpected free time during the day. Always keep a book on you when you’re on the train, at work, or going to an appointment. You will get through more pages when you replace scrolling with reading.

One final tip—pick books that you truly want to read, not books you feel like you “should” read. And don’t be afraid to put a bad book away if you’re 30 pages in and find yourself struggling to turn the pages. You wouldn’t sit through a bad movie on Netflix, but somehow we think that once we start a book we have to finish it.

Reading should be fun and shouldn’t be felt as a chore. It is a way to learn new things, to entertain, and to gain new perspectives. I’d love to hear what your reading goals are for this year so feel free to respond to this email.

Until next week,

Kevin