It was 1987.

At 6, I was snatched from my 1st grade class and dropped off for testing. As I read the test questions, G’s cartwheeled and I’s balanced upside down like a seal on an inky beach ball. You know, a normal day of reading.

I was diagnosed with Dyslexia that afternoon.

But Fast-Forward to Today

Despite early challenges reading became my replacement to cable.

Over the past few years I’ve averaged reading 76 books a year. No, not on Audible. My reading is now effortless because I created a sustainable reading habit. Today, the average US adult barely reads 12 books a year. What’s scary is for half the country only 4 is peak performance.

That’s one book per quarter.

Well, I am sure you can guess the obligatory cliche coming.  If I can make reading easy, then you can.

You set the pace and how many books to read. 

Reading has been shown to improve memory,  vocabulary, and your ability to focus.  Consider it exercise for your brain, the most important muscle.  And you benefit from exercise by getting better sleep and reducing stress.  But the real hidden gem is you feed your brain. 

Reading is the best way to stimulate creativity.

So if you’ve found yourself asking how can I improve my reading skills? How can I improve my reading comprehension? And how can I make reading easier?

Here Are 8 Core Tips For An Easy Daily Reading Habit

1. Make it a Priority

   Which means you’ll have to sacrifice something.

   But this is a positive, not a negative. Most of us aren’t perfect and have a few habits we’re trying to drop. My students all said they could give up an hour of gaming. My girlfriend generously offered an hour of Netflix.  I jumped at the chance to stop scrolling on  social media.

   Picking something you were trying to drop already is a cheat code.

2. Lower the Bar
   
   Start small.

   You can go as low as 5 minutes. Then work your way up in chunks.  As long as you have a daily reading practice, you’ve already won. Bit by bit, 10 minutes today eventually becomes an hour tomorrow. The average reader glides through 30 pages every 60 minutes, and most books are roughly 250 pages long.

   At 1 hour a day, you are averaging 43 books a year

3. Be Patient.
   
   Anything new takes time to become a habit.

   Accepting that fact now will make it easier when things feel slow early.  Because your growth compounds. This is about an effort you can sustain.

   Patience is everything.

4. Read with a Pencil to Guide Your Eyes

   It may sound hard to believe.

   But, there is reasoning behind this.  Your eyes naturally do not move very smoothly.  And a pencil or finger helps reduce the tendency to reread words or sentences.

   Using a pointer makes it easier to focus on what’s being read.

5. Always carry a book

   Keep books with you.

   You can have them in the car or at work. Or carry your entire library with you on your iPad like me. The bottom line is you need a book to do any reading.

   Be prepared.

6. Read multiple books

   Reading more than one book makes it easier to have a book ready.

   And it can allow you to be flexible with where you read. You can have a book waiting for you where you’ll be.  This can allow you to match what you read to your current mood. Some topics take more energy to read than others.  Sometimes, a new book gives energy. Switching books is like passing the baton to a new runner.

   Fresh topic, fresh legs.

7. Focus on Interest

   Most people have the wrong idea about reading. 

   They think the faster I get this information in my brain, the better.  They get caught up thinking about how fast I can get this in my head.  The faster I can read the faster I can use this information.  The truth is speed burns gas. It gobbles it up.

   Interest IS the gas. 

   Increase your curiosity to supercharge the energy source to your daily reading habit.

8. Stop Reading Boring Books
   
   If speed burns gas. 

   Boredom nullifies gas. If there’s boredom, consider your gas worthless.  But fixing boredom is easy. First, choose better books. Listen to author interviews and book summaries to find out if there is any interest.  Next, and the easiest to do, stop reading boring books. Done!

   Save your time and attention for the good ones.

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