A record number of students and professionals attended our Speed Reading, Memory & Productivity Courses this year.
Many of the workshops took place by virtual instruction since the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to temporarily postpone our monthly in-person class schedule in over 100 cities worldwide. No big deal.
I always like to ask participants what their motivation was when they signed up. The most common reply is, “I just want to get more reading done.”
Now here you are. It is once again that time of year where you determine your New Year’s Resolutions. Aside from “eating healthier” and “losing weight,” one of the most popular resolutions is “reading more.”
Does this include you?
If so, I challenge you to read more this coming year than ever before!
Below you’ll find a few different challenges to choose from.
This is definitely not a “one size fits all” approach, so choose what feels like the best fit for you.
Here are the challenges from most difficult to least difficult:
Feel like all of these challenges are too difficult?
Maybe you’re too busy. Or…
“Maybe you’re just making excuses.”
-Michael Jordan, GOAT
Solution: Skip to the bottom of this post to learn How To Read Faster.
This is the most difficult challenge.
A book each day… For an entire month!
But it can be done if you are willing to allocate enough of one of your most precious resources: TIME
It also helps if you have strong discipline and efficient reading skills. If you need to speed up your reading, consider taking one of our speed reading and memory courses to help you:
We organized this Winter Book Challenge in the past (Can You Read 30 Books in 30 Days?) with the help of our free speed-reading tool: AccelaReader.
It’s important to chunk specific timeframes during the day that you can consistently dedicate towards reading. Consider utilizing Audiobooks to make the most of your time. Audible has a free trial that allows you to get 1 free book each month and other exclusive discounts through this link.
Want to develop a strong and consistent reading habit for the entire year?
It’s not too difficult to read a book per week. It takes some discipline, dedication and effective time-management, but it can be done even at the average reading speed level.
Start by creating a reading list. You may already have a stack of books in mind. If not, don’t worry. Check out these book recommendations for some ideas.
You should make reading a daily habit. It might be an hour each morning or perhaps you can allocate an hour at night before you go to sleep.
Try reading during your commute to work or school. Listen to an Audiobook while doing chores. Time is valuable. Any small bits of downtime can be utilized. Replace any binge-watching of TV Shows or Movies with a good book. You’ll be amazed at how much reading you get done.
If you’re extremely busy, this challenge might be for you.
Most people read less than 4 books per year. Even though this challenge “only” requires you to read 12 books the entire year, that’s still 3X better than the average. So make them count!
Decide which books are most important to you. You’ll need to hold yourself accountable and pace yourself. Most books have less than 30 chapters, so remember a chapter per day goes a long way.
Make It A Habit!
You’ll be surprised at what you’re actually capable of and probably end up reading more than you intended.
This might be the easiest challenge from those listed above. If you are strapped for time and still want to achieve a personal milestone, this book is for you.
War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, is considered by many to be one of the greatest novels ever written. Most editions have more than a thousand pages, but don’t let that scare you.
You can accomplish this challenge by pacing yourself to read one chapter per day for an entire year. In fact, there is an amazing community on Reddit (r/ayearofwarandpeace) dedicated to pursuing this challenge!
There you will find a reading schedule, daily discussion and an awesome podcast that discusses each chapter.
Given the length of the book, be mindful that there are many characters to remember.
Do you have trouble remembering names?
What if you could read 2-3 times faster with better comprehension?
Imagine how many more books you could get through and how much knowledge you would accumulate. Boosting your reading speed takes practice and dedicated training.
We developed a variety of online courses to help you read faster, remember more and boost your productivity:
- Level 1: Speed Reading Foundation
- Level 2: Speed Reading Mastery
- Level 3: Advanced Comprehension & Memory
Register Here
I hope this post inspires you to get more reading done this coming year.
Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel to receive exclusive access to our new video library of content and Comment On This Video to tell us which Reading Challenge you plan on pursuing.
Happy New Year!
Paul Nowak is the Founder & CEO of IRIS, the largest and most trusted provider of speed reading and memory training. He has been a guest speaker at universities that include Harvard, Stanford, University of Chicago, Berkeley, NYU and Columbia University. His programs have been taught worldwide to over 1 Million students, executives and lifelong learners, including at companies such as NASA, Google, Fidelity Investments, Gilead Sciences, among other prestigious research institutions.