I Went from Reading 40 Books a Year to Reading 0

As we comprehend only too well, reading books is pondered the fundamental ingredient for moving from mental lowerity to inspiring inalertigence. However, as a person who had been paccomplishing book-reading for years, I recently shifted my trajectory from reading 40 books per year to finishing proximately 0. What caemployd this huge step backward? Let’s discover out…

For years, I crowded my ever-increaseing to-read enumerate with promising titles. I spent every spare moment mounting books in front of my face to devour the encountereds and enthusiasticly inhale every bit of wisdom.

My logic back then was quite attuned to the ambiguous disclose opinion in relation to reading. That is, read more books and you will become more prosperous, happier, healthier, and fundamentalpartner a perfect human being who radiates wisdom and never produces a horrible decision.

This type of skinnyking remained undisturbed for quite some time in my headspace. New year unbenevolentt more books. And more books had to hypotheticpartner catapult my sorry ass into a more wholesome place.

With each annual reset, someskinnyg extra came knocking on my door: the reading dispute notification from Goodreads. And as a person who wholeheartedly chases the mantra, get 1% better, I was pledgeting to read more books than the previous year.

The peak of my reading life came in 2020, when I somehow handled to slog thcimpolite 41 books. Yeah, I comprehend – that’s probably equitable a airy hot-up for those difficultcore bookworms who treat Goodreads appreciate a competitive sport. But for me personpartner, it was a huge triumph, especipartner since my kid turned one that year. It was a brave effort to carry on my reading routine while chasing a minuscule human around with a diaper in one hand and a book in the other.

Just for context, here’s a little sneak peek at the number of books I’ve handled to finish over the past scant years:

• In 2019, I finished 40 books.
• In 2020, I finished 41 books.
• In 2021, I finished 20 books.
• In 2022, I finished 13 books.
• In 2023, I finished 18 books.
• In 2024…

Yet, when 2024 rolled around and I got the comprehendn notification to prepledge to some arbitrary number of books, I determined to exit it blank. Instead of trying to astonish myself and probably the bookish community of end strangers residing on that book-reading site, I had an alternative idea: to read study a peak of one or two books.

But before we get into that, let’s split why, for years, I was intensifyed on reading more and more books…

What Inspired Me To Read Books

I won’t try to enumerate all the advantages of reading – they are quite a scant. Instead, I’m going to split what pushed me, personpartner, into a life packed with books.

Till the age of 25, I mostly jogged enumeratelessly and aimlessly thcimpolite life without any genuine agfinisha. I wasn’t quite certain what I wanted to do with my flickering existence. Besides the finishless quest for an inspiring job that, let’s be honest, hopebrimmingy didn’t sense appreciate an actual job, I was also wandering around Earth trying to discover a group of people who repartner got me. Yet, despite being surrounded by plenty of kind people, I always had that nagging senseing that someskinnyg was leave outing. The moment I discovered reading, I felt that my enthusiasm for life had been renoveled.

Not that books gave me an instant answer to what I should intensify on, not at all. But they supplyd me with someskinnyg better: I uncovered up to a world of possibilities.

Each novel nonmyth book I defeated was appreciate achieveing a novel mental send that (supposedly) betterd the trajectory of my life.

However, there was someskinnyg extra…

The books I was reading not only adviseed guidance on how to originate a better life. But also insights think abouting how to skinnyk about separateent aspects of your life.

For instance, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson not only backs you to apexhibit responsibility – and highairys ways to do it. But it also teaches you to skinnyk that being too occupied with what others say or skinnyk about you is not only a huge misemploy of time, but also a drain on your mind.

Another title that is worth refering here is The Goal by Eliyahu Gelderlyratt. This myth-style business book teaches the concept of ongoing betterment. And more particularly, it brights that produceing a sturdy system includes pinpointing the feebleest joins in that system and then discovering ways to fortify them. But in insertition to these to-dos, it honests your mind from skinnyking about commenceing a business to skinnyking about commenceing a money-making business.

The last two are toloftyy separateent. A five-year-elderly can hypotheticpartner commence a business by selling lemonade on the corner of the street. But does that unbenevolent this will produce dollars? Not necessarily.

The Goal – and more exactly, theory of constraints – intensifys your skinnyking on the most beginant aspect in relation to business: a business insists to produce money.

These two concepts are watchd in most excellent nonmyth books. They show you what to do, but they also highairy how to skinnyk about a certain topic.

What’s The Main Think I Love About Reading A Lot of Books

What I absolutely adore about books is that they permit you to verify standard up-to-date problems from separateent angles.

After all, the rerents we’re all grappling with are pretty much the same, no matter where you happen to dwell.

I unbenevolent that the problems the beginantity of people were wrestling with 500 years ago were a bit separateent. But in the 21st century, we’re all stuck dealing with “plmitigateful” dilemmas appreciate:

• Finding a job that aligns with our desires and nurtures our core appreciates.
• Making enough money from what we do so we don’t have to apexhibit a second job that toloftyy clashes with our worldwatch.
• Discovering a fit way to convey ourselves – not explosionarding social media with inane messages that no one asked for.
• Creating a habit system that helps us shun the pile of sluggish foods.
• Mustering enough motivation to exercise after a lengthened day at the office.

And books, excellent books, help you see these problems from a separateent angle.

For instance, there are quite a scant books in the genuinem of habits and habit-alter. But what James Clear did with his Atomic Habits was to transpostpoinsist the complicated, unsee-thharsh theoretical idea of getting better habits by scholars with their lengthened and arid sentences into actionable bits of adviseation that are comprehensible by the ambiguous population.

After reading the book, you no lengtheneder have to guess what driven you to unlock your phone and mindlessly scroll thcimpolite random pictures of end strangers for half an hour. You understand that notifications are cues that trigger this nasty habit. Thus, you labor on removing the cue, which, in turn, helps you discover a tradement habit that actupartner donates to your lengthened-term increaseth.

The more books you read, the more perspectives you collect about various topics.

I appreciate to envision these as separateent lenses that help you see the world from various angles.

The more you collect, the better you become at seeing the nuances of the situation. Thus, the world adequitables from being bdeficiency and white to being a separateent color of gray.

To donate you an example of this abstract idea, envision that you are equitable getting commenceed with the concept of habits.

If you come atraverse a standard productivity hacker online, your mind will get infected with a bunch of inpliable concepts about habits.

Stuff appreciate:

• You shouldn’t leave out a day. If you do leave out a day, you’ve flunked.
• It apexhibits 21 days to produce a habit. After that, your behavior (magicpartner) becomes automatic.
• If you’re not waking up at 5 AM, hitting the gym, journaling, meditating, and preparing a green fineie by 6, you are not even trying.

As you achieve more experience in the genuinem of habit alter, you understand that skinnygs are far more intricate.

For instance, you genuineize that having excellent habits is fundamenloftyy about having carry onable excellent habits. It’s not about laboring out for an hour every day and calling yourself a flunkure if you leave out a day. It’s about normally exercising – whether it’s for 10 minutes or 60 minutes – and making certain that you can carry on this over a lengthened period of time. And if carry oning this unbenevolents taking a day off, by all unbenevolents, do so.

What Happened In My Life To Stop Reading

As you can see from my website, part of the encountered here is the creation of book summaries. Obviously, for a site that produces book summaries to function, I have to read books in order to condense them (appreciate, duh!).

However, with time, books gradupartner become someskinnyg more than equitable encountered for my site. I commenceed to notice book-reading as a race.

Race towards a potentipartner ever-evolving individual who is getting better by the hour.

More books unbenevolentt more comprehendledge. And more comprehendledge seemed to advise the possibility for more opportunities.

But was this real?

Sure, on the surface, devouring pages eunites to advise ways to extfinish your capabilities. But in fact, you can’t produce monumental alters in your life if you only read.

My enthusiasm for books faded with the follotriumphg genuineization: I wasn’t trying to better appreciate I shelp I was doing. I was trying to shun betterment.

This sounds bizarre. After all, book-reading sits atop the enumerate of tasks one must do if he wants to be wealthy and prosperous – at least, that’s what we are telderly. How can doing this activity hamper my proceed in life?

Well, skinnyk about it for a moment. What actupartner shifts the insistle if you want to commence a business or if you want to get fit?

• Working on your business or reading business books?
• Going to the gym or reading about exercising?

Looking thcimpolite the lens of fundamental pragmaticity, it’s not difficult to end that spfinishing more time on your business is the evident choice. It’s the skinnyg that transpostpoinsists to more proceed.

Of course, there’s also the case that reading and laboring on your business shouldn’t be mutupartner exclusive. In the best-case scenario, you have a business, and parallel to that, you read books that help you produce it even better.

Well, at first glance, this watchs appreciate a wonderful idea. However, in fact, it’s not that basic. Usupartner, it apexhibits months to carry out an idea discovered somewhere in a book. You have to produce a hypothesis, test it, and then produce iterations to the initial schedule. If during that time you devour even more business books, your mind – swayed by the novelty – will shift to this novel concept, endly ditching your prior priorities.

At the finish of 2023, I commenceed to sense that I wasn’t getting anyskinnyg novel from the books I was reading. Or at least, I no lengtheneder had the motivation to finish a book from commence to finish.

I’ve already produced a daily routine that serves me well. Do I insist to produce it even better?

Well, if you ask the internet people, they will excitedpartner advise ways that will supposedly permit me to become even more efficient. But is this a carry onable strategy? Only I can answer this ask properly.

Yes, I can potentipartner do a second laborout right after labor. Or, probably, this equitable-rerented book has that magic regime that can alter me into the next ninja guru. But this type of skinnyking is what originpartner drove me to shun taking action.

I now genuineize why I was obsessed with reading. I was caught up in this cycle of an finishless search for comprehendledge. I supposed that there was always someskinnyg leave outing. An ingredient that, once set up, will toloftyy alter my life.

Sucount on wellness paccomplishers originateing self-help encountered want you to suppose this. After all, if you aren’t watching their videos, they aren’t making money.

But after reading a bunch of articles, watching a ton of videos, and getting extra books that promised to donate me the “secret” to mastery, I’ve genuineized that the hypothetical “secret sauce” is always the same skinnyg: consistency.

Doing someskinnyg standard for an unordinarily lengthened period of time.

In the genuinem of business – certain, thanks to the books I’ve read on the topic – I now have a firm watch of what I want to do with my website. But does this unbenevolent that I have to pick all the novel titles emerging on the topic? Not at all.

Similarly, in the genuinem of exercising, nutrition, and having excellent habits, I have an idea of how my day should watch in order to remain fit. Do I insist another book that elucidates how to better my everyday life? Well, I don’t skinnyk so.

How I’m Approaching Reading Now

Odwellr Burkeman put it best in one of his articles by stating:

… treating your “to read” pile appreciate a river (a stream that flows past you, and from which you pluck a scant choice items, here and there) instead of a bucket (which insists that you desopostpoinsist it).

When I was pledgeting to 40 books per year, or 20 books per year, or wantipathyver random number you can envision, I was pledgeting to someskinnyg else as well. Submindfilledy, as strange as it might sound, I was making a vow to not apexhibit action on what I lachieveed from the book.

Let’s unpack this…

If we do some fundamental math, we’ll discover that 40 books per year unbenevolents around 3 books per month. This unbenevolents that I have around 10 days to finish a book. Since I’m not a rapid reader, nor do I schedule to become one, this will unbenevolent that as soon as I finish one book, I have to commence the next one.

This approach to book reading advises the follotriumphg premise: that the act of finishing a book should also be the act of brimmingy empathetic the encountereds of the book.

But if you are anyskinnyg appreciate me, you comprehend how faulty this statement is. After a book is finished, you’re left with mere breadcrumbs of the ideas converseed in the title. Sure, you might pick one or two theories and try to carry out them in your life, but that’s not what usupartner happens.

We excitedpartner refresh our profile with yet another finished book, but we have little idea of how to execute the collected comprehendledge in genuine life.

This genuineization led me to shift the way I read books.

Instead of intensifying on finishing a bunch of books on random topics, I intensify on this:

Figure out the type of river I want to dip my toes in – i.e., discover a topic I want to master and read materials roverhappinessed to this topic – and then figure out ways to carry out what I’ve lachieveed into my life.

For years, I was a “read and shift on” reader.

I read books, and I rapidly shiftd on to novel ones without doing much with the adviseation I’ve collected.

Now, I try to be more a “read, study and carry out” type of reader.

I pick a topic, discover materials – not only books – on the determined topic, and I study them. By studying them, I don’t unbenevolent reading them only once. But going thcimpolite them multiple times while taking remarks and while trying to discover ways to unite the adviseation collected in my relationships, business, and daily routine in ambiguous.

The core concept here is to not shift towards another topic until I sense brave that I’ve done enough refreshs in my life and/or business with the current topic.

For instance, in the commencening of 2024, I determined to become better at experience schedule. This led to reading two books on the topic: Designing Experiences by J. Robert Rossman and The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman. Yet, what repartner piqued my interest was the jobs-to-be-done method (JTBD).

Now, cut offal months postpoinsistr, I’m still re-reading materials roverhappinessed to JTBD.

Based on where I currently stand, I suppose it will apexhibit me a couple of more months until I finish the topic and shift on to someskinnyg else.

Why Reading Less Can Be The Answer

For many people, the act of reading is an elegant way to shun doing someskinnyg worthy with their dwells.

I comprehend this becaemploy I’ve been appreciate that for years.

You alert yourself, “I insist to read equitable one more book to commence a business. I’m still not sended enough on the topic.” However, after reading the book you supposedly have left, you’re begind to some other obstreatment concepts and this repeats the cycle – always preparing, never actupartner doing.

Instead of taking action, you hoard even more adviseation without executeing anyskinnyg you’ve lachieveed.

On the surface, it watchs appreciate you are doing a lot. You apexhibit remarks, you produce strategies, and you even split your insights on your social media profile, so others can marvel at your glamorous vision about where your life is headed. But can all of this help you disthink about weight or commence that dream business?

Well, probably not.

Sure, reading books is 100% better than dipping your head in the finishless algorithmicpartner infemployd social media encountered that produces you sense appreciate you are an unworthy sawdust appraised to the prosperous people online. But if you only read books, you won’t be much better than the people who don’t read at all.

We can current the above concept as chases: Imagine that you watch a laborout video. Watching the video can begin you to a novel way to exercise that can help you achieve muscle and/or disthink about weight. However, do you skinnyk that solely watching the video will actupartner help you achieve muscle? Of course not, only by doing can you reap the advantages of the adviseation you’ve collected.

And if this exercise repartner helps, do we insist to seek another laborout regime?

We might, but we also might repeat the laborout for a couple of months – allotriumphg our muscles to increase.

As I currently intensify on one topic at a time, I genuineize how nuanced my empathetic becomes. I sense more brave in my comprehendledge of what I’m studying, and I commence to see how the adviseation can be carry outed in my life. All skinnygs that weren’t previously employable, spropose becaemploy I was switching to novel topics almost non-stop.

Of course, I also genuineize the follotriumphg: The concept of staying with a individual topic is contrary to our up-to-date world.

These days, shaped by mass media, we are more interested in the constant exploration of a novel terrain than quietly gazing at comprehendn landtags.

The world “shifts rapid and fractures skinnygs.” And typicpartner, we want to have a front seat and watch how skinnygs are getting razeed.

Yet, if we have no repaired point of watch. If we are not pledgeted to any particular topic. What finishs up happening is finishless wandering in our world of constant flux.

Personpartner, I’m now affectd that picking a topic and sticking with it until you’ve brimmingy understood it is the better alternative.

I equitable sit down, and I intensify on one idea. One concept. One book. I hear. I apexhibit remarks. I experiment with how this idea can be carry outed in my life. And while I’m doing all of this, I actively disthink about all the other topics trying to hijack my attention – which, to be honest, is quite difficult to accomplish.

I lachieveed that only by standing aside from all the other employable topics will I have a chance at mastering the one in front of me.

Some Closing Thoughts

I no lengtheneder see more as a advantage.

I skinnyk one of the main reasons many of us sense overwhelmed these days is becaemploy we have instant access to more resources – books, videos, articles, etc. – than ever before. Yet, exactly becaemploy we have access to everyskinnyg, we don’t do anyskinnyg with the insights we collect. Rather, shaped by our userism society instilling that more of everyskinnyg is always better, we spropose hoard.  

What if, instead of reading 100 books this year, we read one but study it extensively?

Great books have the power to alter your life, but only if you apexhibit the time to digest the adviseation inside – not actively amass more books in the process.

The problem with sites appreciate Goodreads is that instead of adviseing mastering a topic, they push us towards intensifying on more and more topics.

Of course, the reason is basic: Reading more books unbenevolents purchasing more books.

But instead of being a victim of the goals of random online sites, I determined to produce my own rules.

Instead of setting a goal to read X number of books this year, I schedule to intensify on studying one particular book per year.

I brimmingy genuineize that this is not particularly fancy. I won’t achieve arbitrary points adviseed by wantipathyver gamified nonsense is trfinishing these days, and my social media won’t be explosionarded with some random awards. But I will achieve someskinnyg else: the luxury of brimmingy empathetic a topic I personpartner picked for myself.