this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2024
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[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

(Ignore for all of this that most of my volume is audiobooks. Those habits are different, but this is referring to physical or ebooks.)

I get his premise that there are a lot of small segments in the day where you could read a couple pages, and there's definite merit to replacing random dopamine trap social media stuff with those.

For me personally, I need longer sessions to really enjoy most content. The suggestion I received somewhere, and I have found helpful, is kind of the opposite. If you, every day, make a point of picking up a book and reading 2-3 pages, or 5 minutes, or whatever. Some days you won't be feeling it and won't do more than that. Some days you will. But the habit of breaking inertia and starting will make you a lot more likely to read a lot more.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

If you, every day, make a point of picking up a book and reading 2-3 pages, or 5 minutes, or whatever. Some days you won’t be feeling it and won’t do more than that. Some days you will. But the habit of breaking inertia and starting will make you a lot more likely to read a lot more.

This! Gotta do the work, even if only a little. Motivation follows action.

[–] jordanlund 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Why limit it to printed pages though?

Counting digital content I'm probably 500 pages a day, easy.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I think the thought is that a lot of internet stuff is more negative value than positive.

Actual substantial articles are perfectly reasonable. But is skimming through hundreds of short lemmy comments meeting your goals?

Ultimately, what counts and how you measure are up to you. They're to service what you want to do. I certainly wouldn't agree with his aversion to e-readers, for example. So use your own judgement to determine what you value.

Personally, I do track books read, but only on the first read. I don't distinguish audio vs physical/ebook, and I don't track re-reads. I do give goodreads a goal so it will display the number it tracks for the year, but I deliberately make it absurdly high or low so it doesn't actually feel like I'm "succeeding"/"failing" if I do/don't reach it. It's just for my own curiosity, because ultimately, reading is because I want to. I do try to strengthen the habit, but for me, chasing numbers isn't the point. I don't want to be scared to read Wind and Truth because it's 1500 pages and it will throw me off my pace. I don't want to be scared to read 30 Miss Fortunes in a row because it feels like cheating. I read because I like reading, and the numbers are just there.