What you read is who you become
How I created a consistent reading habit
In February 2022, I received a newsletter from Förster und Kreuz (German authors and speakers) with a nudge to read more books because writers read a lot, they said.
The challenge was to read 30 books a year.
If you are not an avid reader like I was, then this sounds pretty daunting. But If you did the math and broke it down, you'd have to invest only about 30 minutes of your precious time each day.
Reframing a big challenge into daily time blocks makes things look much more feasible. The task gets easier to grasp and helps to visualize the return on investment (reward).
But the act of reading felt static and trying. I had to block out time to sit down and do the homework. That was quite limiting thus, and I opted for the audiobook version. This changed everything.
After twelve months, I read (listened) to 86 books
The advantage of listening instead of reading
Untether yourself: not having to stare at a screen or a book lets you move around freely and even do shallow tasks like cooking, eating, ironing, commuting, walking, maintaining the drive train of your gravel bike, etc.
Time management: if you follow a side hustle besides your 9–5, work out, and do the chores yourself, you must get creative to free up some time.
Even if you don't have any time left over, you will have lunch or dinner to not starve to death— use that time slot to listen to an audiobook.Active downtime: some people watch TV or doom scroll their social media feeds. These are nasty habits that can really fuck up your game. I recommend replacing your big TV with an extensive library.
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