Did you set your reading goals for 2021?
At the start of a new year, professionals feel compelled to assess their goals. The goals they often look at include career, relationships, and finance. And of course, one of the top resolutions is to read more books.
Unfortunately, after a few weeks, many people abandon their goals and resolutions for one reason or another.
Reasons Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail
Before we explore setting your reading goals and achieving them, I wanted to talk about resolutions and why they fail. In the Forbes article, “The Top 3 Reasons New Year’s Resolutions Fail And How Yours Can Succeed by Kathy Caprino,” she says that the reasons are:
- You have to first work on your mindset if you want something different to happen.
- No accountability structure in place.
- Sabotage yourself because you’re scared of achieving a big goal.
Read more on Forbes: The Top 3 Reasons New Year’s Resolutions Fail And How Yours Can Succeed
The global pandemic forced many people to reassess their lives. And I’m no different from you. I did a lot of work on myself, going through a healing process. I’m in a mastermind group, so I have an accountability structure in place. I’d like to think that I have a growth mindset. Where I’ve been messing up though, is the third reason. I’ve always worked behind the scenes, and I’ve tended to hold myself back. But the pandemic allowed me to step up in a very big way.
I’ve shied away from being in the spotlight for so long, that working behind the scenes has been comforting, like a well-loved and used blanket. Luckily, I participated in a name your year challenge, and my name for 2021 is stepping boldly into the spotlight. Which of the three reasons hold you back from achieving your goals?
New Year’s Resolution Statistics
While conducting research for this article, I found a recent study on new year’s resolutions that Finder conducted. Catherine Choi documented the findings in the article, “New Year’s resolution statistics.” The statistics are American, but one can still draw conclusions from the findings.
“An estimated 188.9 million adult Americans (74.02% of the population) say they’re determined to learn something new, make a lifestyle change or set a personal goal in an effort to better themselves in 2021, a 15.17% increase from the previous year. The top six categories that keep us to this holiday tradition relate to money, health, career, self-improvement, family, and love.”
“According to our survey, an estimated 23.1 million Americans — or 12.23% of all Americans with resolutions — don’t believe that meeting their resolution is within reach. Compare that to 141.4 million optimists, or 74.72% of all Americans with resolutions, who feel that next year’s resolution is in the bag. Sitting somewhere in the middle of resolution completion is nearly 24.7 million Americans, about 13.06% of adults with resolutions the population, who think it’s possible — but they aren’t entirely confident are neutral about the outcome of their resolutions.”
Pay special attention to the reasons people attribute to not achieving their resolutions.
Read More on Finder: New Year’s resolution statistics
Set Your Reading Goals for 2021
Changes such as a global pandemic and automation impacts all of us. But in very different ways. To thrive during times of major change and upheaval, requires that you make reading and learning a priority. Your objective is to identify ideas and strategies to implement to ensure sustainability. I created and now manage the Facebook Group, Reading Rocks: Read a Book, Discover Solutions, Change the World. One of the questions I ask people when they want to join the group is what prevents them from achieving their reading goals. And not surprising, time is a frequent response.
Have you read?
How to Carve Out the Time to Read More Books
Why Not Gamify Your Reading To Read More Books this Year
Read More Books Now! Why Not Start Your Learning Journey
Set Your Reading Goals: You Have Time to Read More Books
Digest 30 Books in 30 DaysYou have time to read more books if you change your definition of what it means to read a book. You’re not meant to read the average non-fiction book from cover-to-cover. There are lots of articles talking about how many books CEOs read and so on. And I used to quote some of those statistics, until I discovered something for myself.
I now view most nonfiction books as problem solving tools. They have the information I need to do a specific task. That means, when I dive into one of those books, I’m looking for answers. To find what I need in the book, I have to preview it first to find out where to look to find what I need.
What You Need to Know to Read More Books
Four things to keep in mind when reading nonfiction books.
- Francis Bacon Quote: “Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” Sir Francis Bacon
- Traditional Publishers Have Word Counts: That often means an author has to pad a book to get to the word count. How many case studies do you need to understand the text in a book?
- Follow the 80/20 Principle: You can understand 80 percent of the text by reading only 20 percent. The trick is to know which 20 percent to read.
- While taking the PhotoReading course, I learned that only four to 11 percent of the text on a page is important information.
Before you read, prepare your mind. Do a search to find mind gym exercises. These exercises engage both sides of the brain. You want to familiarize yourself with them because you’re going to do them every day.
Set Your Reading Goals: Target to Read 26 Books In 2021
Set a target to read a book every other week for a total of 26 books for the year. Always write down your one-sentence purpose for reading every book. Preview every nonfiction book before you start to read it. This should take less than 60 minutes. Set a timer for 60 minutes. Here’s what previewing a book entails:
- Read the Preface, Foreword, Introduction.
- Review the Table of Contents.
- Place a check mark beside the chapters and sectors that you want to explore more deeply. You also want to read the sections that align with your reason for reading the book. That’s why having a purpose is so important.
- Scan the Index. The terms with the most references tell you what the author considers important.
- Read the Book Description.
- Write down the main idea of the book and everything you know about the topic.
- Read sections of the book that you think needs further exploration.
- Tie what you’re reading to what you already know.
- Decision time. Does the book need further exploration?
One More Tip About Reading More Books
Some people may scoff at this tip I’m going to give you. You’re using a book as a problem solving tool. And you’re reading to learn. With that in mind, read a summary of the book before you read it. This does two things. One, you’ll know quickly if you want to read the book. And two, you’ll have a familiarity of the book’s content and can zero in on what you want from it.
Reading a book summary is an excellent way to get the key concepts from business books. It’s also a great way to decide which books to buy to explore more deeply. Click the Readitforme link to join. Think of this subscription as your speed-reading superpower. You read the summary therefore, you can digest and process the book faster. Additionally, read a summary a day to develop your idea muscles.
Subscribe to my Bookish Notes.
Set Your Reading Goals for 2021: Let Us Help You!
Do you see how you’ll have time to read more books if you read the way I instruct you? Without a plan and a support system, 55% of Americans will break their new year’s resolutions, says the research firm Ipsos. We have the knowledge, experience, and networks to help you achieve your reading goals, whatever they may be. Commit to a happy and prosperous new year.
On January 13, 2021, 10 Books in 30 Days starts. You’ll be reading a book every three days. I’ll be hosting Facebook Lives and there are others who will be going on this journey with you. Get a friend to join you on your learning journey. Join my Facebook Group, Reading Rocks: Read a Book, Discover Solutions, Change the World where the event is taking place.
You’re more likely to achieve your reading goals if you’re held accountable. I’m here to mentor you every step of the way.
Action Steps to Take
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- Join my Facebook Group, Reading Rocks: Read a Book, Discover Solutions, Change the World
- Buy my book, Digest 30 Books in 30 Days: Reading Makeover Challenge
- Join MoreReads Individual Leadership Development Six-Month Program
If someone clicks on a link and buys something from Amazon, the company will pay me a small commission.
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