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How to Actually Read More

Reading, reading, reading — sometimes that feels like all you do, right? But at the end of the day, you feel like you haven't actually read anything! Here are some tips on how to actually read more.

If you've ever read the same paragraph four times and still had no idea what it said, welcome to the club. College reading is denser and longer than anything most of us did in high school, and our phones are built to win every fight for our attention. Here's what has actually worked for me and the students I coach.

Shirk the goal until it feels silly

"Read an hour a day" sounds great and lasts until you get burned out. Ten pages, or fifteen minutes, is small enough that you'll actually do it, and on good days you'll keep going.

• Tie reading to something you already do, like your morning coffee or the bus ride to campus.
• Put the phone in another room, or at least face down across the table.
• Always have something on you. A book in your bag beats scrolling in a waiting room.
• Track it. A simple tally of days you read is weirdly motivating.

Consistency beats intensity. Fifteen minutes a day is over ninety hours a year.

Read with a pencil in your hand

Passive reading is why the words slide right off your brain. Give yourself a job while you read and you'll remember far more.

• Underline with purpose. If everything is highlighted, nothing is.
• Write questions in the margins, like "why?" or "is that true?"
• At the end of each section, write one sentence in your own words about what it said.
• Circle words you don't know and wait to look up their definitions after you're done reading.

In philosophy we say you haven't really read an argument until you could explain it to someone who disagrees with it. That works for every subject.

Read assigned texts out of order

For a dense class reading, the beginning is the best place to start.

1. Read the introduction and the conclusion.
2. Skim the headings and the first sentence of each paragraph.
3. Ask yourself what the author is trying to prove.
4. Now read the whole thing, looking for how they prove it.

This takes maybe ten extra minutes and saves you from getting lost on page three. It also means you'll have something to say in class discussions.

Read something just for you

The fastest way to become a better reader is to read things you actually enjoy. Fantasy, graphic novels, memoirs, cookbooks, it all counts. You're building the habit and the attention span, and both carry over to your coursework.

Quit reading books you hate. Life is too short, and a bad book is the number one reason people stop reading altogether. The campus library and your public library card are free, and audiobooks count too.

Pick one challenge from this post and try it this week. Just one!

Catch you later, Wildcats!