How Do I Regain Interest In Reading?

To regain interest in reading, start by assessing and tackling why you lost interest in reading. Then, make a conscientious effort to read regularly. Start with reading what you love and take in the material little by little. You could also join a book club or take a reading course.

You may lose interest in reading because of poor comprehension, stress, or weighty responsibilities. Alternative entertainment options like music and movies could also make reading seem boring.

But there are many benefits of reading, like preventing cognitive decline. 

Knowing this, people are always searching for ways to regain interest in reading.

Are you one of these people? 

Read on to find out the practical steps that you can take to regain interest in reading.

Assess and tackle why you lost interest in reading

Understanding the root cause of losing interest in reading allows you to properly tackle the problem and solve it to regain your interest.

For example, reading a book requires a lot from you, such as your time, attention, emotions, and more. If you do not have these to give, you just will be unable to read even if you try.

To properly solve a problem, you must know what caused it. 

So, suppose a look at the situation reveals that something stressing you distracts you from giving your attention to books. In that case, you have to de-stress and take care of yourself psychologically to regain interest in reading.

If the assessment reveals that you don’t have time to read, then you need to make time to read to regain interest. You may have to cut back on time spent on social media and watching movies.

Plan to Read

Factor reading into your daily schedule. Task yourself to read at least 30 minutes each day, and plan this for when there’s the least distraction.

Just like you set out times each day to work out or do yoga, you should set out time to read. 

When it’s that time of the day to read, you should get yourself up, pick up a book and read.

Sometimes, it’s not easy to make something part of your lifestyle. But with a dedicated effort, you can be successful.

Set out a time to read, and stick to it. Only extraordinary circumstances should make you miss reading when it’s the set reading time.

The time of the day that you’ll set for reading is also an important consideration. 

Plan your reading time for when there’ll be the least distraction, like bedtime.

Start with reading what you love

Starting with reading something that you love or care about will get you into the swing of reading. So, determine the subjects/ topics that you love or care very much about. Then find books on those subjects/ topics.

Always remember that if you do not care about something, you will not enjoy reading about it. Especially when you have to push yourself to read, the last thing you need is forcing in an undesirable material.

Starting with what you love is one way of overcoming reader’s block – the inability to read past the first page. 

Set realistic reading targets

To make things easy, you may start with reading small books and not heavy volumes. Don’t try to cover too much material at one time. Take in the material little by little.

It is admirable that you want to complete a book in 2 days. But setting such goals when you’re trying to regain interest in reading is setting yourself up for failure.

Even when the book you pick up is about something you love, it is important to take things slow and not to take in too much, at least initially.

People who lose interest in reading do not stop reading entirely. 

Most of the time, long-form reading (reading books) is replaced by short-piece reading (online articles, news articles, social media posts, etc.).

So, an immediate dive to long-piece reading after a long period of short-piece reading will be weary.

Just like you have to learn to crawl before you walk. Read small portions at a time. 

Then with time, you can increase how much material you cover.

Before long, you’ll be finishing books straight-up. 

Take a look at these book recommendations to find something that you can start with.

Practice active reading

Active reading is a top reading technique that involves asking yourself questions as you read. As you read, question the material and reflecting on those questions will help you stay motivated to read more. 

For example, as you read, if you come across a detail, ask yourself why the author put that information there. You’ll want to know why, and that automatically motivates you to read on.

Active reading does more than motivate you to read. It will also increase your comprehension and retention of the material.

When you ask questions and reflect on them, you forage on to seek answers. 

Importantly, you’ll see how different parts of the material connects. Reflecting gives you a better understanding of the material.

Active reading is always recommended for academic reading. However, it’s also great for pleasure reading, especially if you want to “lose yourself in a book.”

For example, when reading a story, ruminate over the story and speculate what happens next. You’ll be itching to flip the page, and when you’re done reading, you’ll remember the story longer.

Join a book club

A book club brings people together to read a book and discuss it. Reading the same book as a group and discussing it can make reading fun and interesting.

The obvious advantage of a book club is the community support it provides. 

You’ll meet different people with varying degrees of interest in reading. Everyone supports one another to develop a reading habit.

Also, book clubs give a deadline to read a book before discussing it, so they will give you that extra nudge to complete the book.

The informal setting when discussing books is usually fun. The discussions are also always pleasurable. You’ll know what other people think about parts of the book or the book as a whole, and you can compare these to what you think.

Book clubs will also introduce you to new genres, and you just might find that a book you ordinarily will not pick up is excellent.

Attend classes

Attending special classes will help you boost your interest in reading. You’ll learn such things as how to avoid reader’s block, how to stay motivated, how to improve your overall focus, and how to improve memory.

Sometimes regaining your interest in reading is about finding the right tutor and taking the right courses.

You can improve in anything you do by learning more, and this includes reading. 

There are special courses designed to identify and attack things that work against achieving your reading goals.

For example, many people do not read because of endlessly procrastinating, while others cannot find the motivation to read after a grueling workday. 

The Personal Productivity Course by Iris Reading is specifically designed to help avoid procrastination, stay motivated, and improve focus while reading.

Also, knowing that many people lose interest in reading because of not comprehending or retaining the information, the Maximizing Memory course is specifically designed to help you improve your memory.

Conclusion

To regain interest in reading, find and address the root cause of losing interest. Additionally, plan to read, start with what you love, practice active reading, and join a book club. Also, take special courses designed to help you with reading more and comprehension.

There is this special Iris Reading course designed to improve your memory. If you are a student or a working professional, you don’t want to miss it. 

The Iris Method focuses on speed, comprehension, and retention. We aim to give you the ability to read quickly, understand it better, and remember it more to boost your productivity.

Sign up for this course and get practical techniques to help you easily recall what you read.