This content originally appeared on DEV Community 👩💻👨💻 and was authored by Joonhyeok Ahn (Joon)
Content
- Intro
- Lessons from Atomic Habits
- A few more strategies
- List of books I read
- Conclusion
Intro
When I was a kid, I loved reading. I heard from my family that I was holding books even when I ate. Yet, I started losing interest in books over time. I had to study, graduate, and make a living. I made excuses. "I don't have enough time to read!". This year, I happened to read a book called "Atomic Habits" written by James Clear. After I finished reading it, I decided to bring my reading habits back to life.
Lessons from Atomic Habits
The author says there are four steps in any habit we do.
- cue
- craving
- response
- reward
Let's think about a typical example. You feel bored while waiting for a bus (cue & craving). Then you open SNS and you feel entertained (response & reward). For any habit, we can either make these four patterns work for reinforcing a good habit or stopping a bad one.
When looking back, I stopped reading not because I didn't have enough time. I stopped as there was more entertaining media - Youtube, Netflix, or SNS. To bring reading to life, I needed to work on two things.
- spend less time in entertaining media
- spend more time in reading
The author gives a few strategies for forming a habit.
- Make it obvious.
- Make it attractive.
- Make it easy.
- Make it satisfying.
These tactics were enough to reduce screen time. First, I removed Youtube, LinkedIn, and other social media from my phone and laptop. Second, I put my phone in different places while I'm working or spending time with family. By making the device boring and inaccessible, I felt I became less attached to it.
A few more strategies
While I'm working on less screen time, I need to make a routine for reading.
Set up reading time
I felt tired when I tried reading after work. Even when I had time after dinner, I didn't have the mental capacity to read through and take it in. So, I tried reading in the morning. It turned out wonderful. The obvious benefit was that my brain was ready for taking in what books offer after 7 hours of sleep. Another one was the tranquility that morning offers. When I woke up around 5 am, the whole world was silent. I didn't have to see the emails or messages. I only focus on what I'm reading. I slowly became addicted to this positive experience. For these reasons, I kept waking up early in the morning and staying in my den for reading.
Paper books are better
I used to read ebooks. You can read books regardless of your location and time. Yet, I noticed the phone is distracting. Alarms and notifications wait for the response. So, I started reading paper books. You have to carry the physical books and it costs more money. Yet, I found a few beautiful points while reading paper books. First, each book uses different textures and fonts. This gives a new experience for each book. Also, I involve more in reading by highlighting lines or scribbling. Lastly, I could remember more than ebooks after reading.
Languages don't matter
I thought I should read in English all the time if I wanted to improve my English skills over time. This led me not to read about novels, essays, or short forms as they include more descriptive and poetic expressions. Once I threw that bias about the languages, I could expand categories and read any forms if I'm interested.
Fight with biases
I did have biases about books. Here are a few you might be familiar with.
- You have to finish it once you start
- You have to read in order
- You have to read different categories
These biases made reading unattractive. So, I decided to take different approaches. Instead of obsessing about reading the entire book, I stopped reading when it starts boring or hard to read. I moved on to other books without feeling guilty. I also stopped obsessing about reading in order. I went to the index page and picked up the chapters that hooked my eyes. Finally, I stopped obsessing about reading in variety based on recommendations. Instead, I started reading that interested me.
I learned that there is no perfect way for reading books.
List of books I read
There might be books I missed. Yet.. here is the best I can remember.
Books written in English
- Atomic Habits
- Deep Work
- So Good They Can't Ignore You
- Essentialism
- Hooked
- Rework
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- The Miracle Morning
- The Almanack Of Naval Ravikant
- Wabi Sabi
- Ikigai
- Daily Stoic
- Courage Is Calling
- Ego Is Enemy
- Make Time
- How To Win Friends And Influence People
- How To Stop Worrying And Start Living
- The Psychology of Money
- Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less
- The Scout Mindset
- The 4 Hour Work Week
- Ultralearning
- This Is Marketing
- The Power Of Less
- On Writing Well
- The Manager Path
- Pragmatic Programmer
- The Go Programming Language
Books written in Korean
- 무뎌진 감정이 말을 걸어올 때
- 해변의 카프카
- 완전한 행복
- 인생은 소설이다
- 책의 역습
- 사이보그가 되다
- 언어의 온도
- 2인조
- 보통의 존재
- 울분
- 니체의 말
- 기억 1,2
- 죽음 1,2
- 문명 1,2
- 달러구트 꿈 백화점 1,2
- 미드나잇 라이브러리
- 하루의 취향
- 오늘 밤, 세계에서 이 사랑이 사라진다해도
- 오늘은 이만 좀 쉴게요
Conclusion
I didn't expect I could read this much when I started this year. I ended up reading more than 50 books. The numbers look amazing. The most beautiful thing is that books became the default mode. And I enjoy reading time more than screen time. So, if you want to make a habit of reading like me, don't overwhelm yourself with high expectations. Instead, start small. Start reading what you enjoy. And keep it. You can see the wonder over time.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community 👩💻👨💻 and was authored by Joonhyeok Ahn (Joon)
Joonhyeok Ahn (Joon) | Sciencx (2022-12-23T18:16:33+00:00) What books I read this year. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2022/12/23/what-books-i-read-this-year/
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