At the end of every year, I like to sit down and review/create my yearly goals. These goals apply to my business for sure, but I also have a few that are specifically for personal development.

And for 2019, one of those goals was to read 60 books, following the statistic that successful CEOs read about 60 books a year (while the average person reads 1). And while I typically read more than the average person (which, isn’t hard apparently), reading 5 (or more!) books a month can present a challenge!

So here are a few things I learned along the way of achieving my reading goal, which will hopefully help and inspire you to do the same!

Building a habit

The biggest takeaway from spending 2019 intentionally reading (and getting to that 60 books a year number) was that reading had to become a habit. I couldn’t just read when I had a free hour in the day, because that basically would just never happen. I had to intentionally allocate time in the morning and evening to sit down with a book. I tried doing it before the kids woke up in the morning, but seeing as I was already getting up at 6am to make them lunches, a 5:30am wakeup didn’t last too long. So instead, I put aside time after they got on the school bus (7:20am) and before I officially started my work day at 8 or 9am.

Taking even 15 minutes to read in the morning really focused my mind, reminded me what’s important (pursuit of knowledge, not daily noise), and allowed me to enjoy some actual quiet. And it was enjoyable! It was time just for me. And that is something I’m still learning to be okay with - putting myself first once in a while.

In the evenings, I read between 8 and 9pm (so after the kids -hopefully- went to bed, and before I turned in for the night). It didn’t happen every day, but when things went according to plan, I was able to fall asleep better after reading than if I spent that time watching TV.

Interest mattered

I found that I could fly through books if the subject I was reading about was interesting to me. It was a feeling, a sort of hunger and urgency, that expanded and grew when I stumbled upon a topic I just had to learn more about. This happened with gardening and composting in the spring/summer. I took out at least 10 books on the various natural and organic gardening methods, Connecticut-native plants, and composting because I had a dream of starting my own little garden in the back yard (that’s the plan for 2020, btw). I also spent a lot of time reading books on time management, productivity, building a business, mindset, and mindfulness... Things I didn’t quite know about but desperately wanted to learn. I also know that I need to read about a topic several times, from several sources, in order to fully understand it.. so it worked out well to raid a specific shelf for books along the same theme.

Permission to give up

But there were also books that didn’t quite work out. In the past, I would try to force myself to finish. My reading would essentially come to a halt as I avoided whatever book I was trying to get through that week. It took me way too long to give myself permission to simply give up on it and start something else.. but with a goal to read 60 books, I simply had to move on, abandon the languishing book, and pick up another!

Varying genres and lengths

I don’t think any person can spend the entire year reading within one genre without getting bored, overwhelmed, or simply overloaded with that one topic or approach. I love my non-fiction, but sometimes it’s fun to just read a NY Times Bestseller, too. If I spent 2 weeks reading a 500-page book, I would then follow it up with a couple of shorter ones that took a day or two so I would still feel motivated. My goal wasn’t about reading the biggest brainy novels for a year straight, it was about exploring and learning. I also found that I enjoyed reading business-related books in the morning and fiction at night, which makes perfect sense!

The Library

If I didn’t have the library (or in my case, several well-stocked libraries), it would have cost nearly a thousand dollars in books if I went out and bought everything I read (and tried to read but gave up). Not only that, I would also then have to figure out where to keep those books in my house, which isn’t going to work in the Marie Kondo world of keeping our homes tidy (and yes, I read all her books, and way before she got uber-famous in the US). The library is an incredibly valuable resource and I am so grateful to have it available to me - plus Hoopla, which has a bunch of audio books. And even though there are less books at the local library than at a Barnes & Noble, the informational quality of those books tends to be much better. Plus, you can find some really great older books that are no longer in print, but still very relevant.

What I had to give up

While this title may be a bit misleading, there were definitely things I had to “give up” and habits I had to reshape in order to read almost every day. I stopped watching TV. Instead of spending evenings with a screen, I spent them reading. I deleted a bunch of apps on my phone and put everything distracting into folders a few screens in, hidden and hard to get to. I stopped looking at Facebook and my Instagram usage went way down, too. I still use my phone a bunch, but mostly for work, and any time spent watching a movie or show is intentional and enjoyed with undivided attention.

There is so much knowledge out there, filling pages and pages of books, that all that entertainment I no longer enjoy wasn’t really missed!

Some of my favorite books that I read in 2019

Will I continue reading the same amount of books in 2020? I’d like to think so! I did find it a bit stressful to strive for a specific quota, so I probably won’t have a specific number I’m trying to get to.. but the habit of reading is definitely here to stay!

And if there’s a great book you’re reading or have read this year, let me know in the comments! I’m always up for some good recommendations!