I research and write about happiness, so every year before Jan. 1, I ask people, “What resolutions will you make this year?” With reliable frequency, people tell me, “I want to read more.”
Perhaps that’s not surprising. Most of us have the sense that reading is good for us—like getting enough sleep or eating more vegetables. And it’s absolutely true. Research shows that reading benefits mental health, gives us more empathy for others, mitigates stress, sharpens memory, helps us learn, and increases our tolerance for uncertainty (particularly useful these days). One study even showed that reading books helps us live longer.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]But, to be honest, while I’m gratified to know that my favorite activity is good for me, I don’t really care that it’s healthy. I read because it’s fun. To me, reading is more fun than practically anything else. It’s like listening to music or hiking—the benefits are great, but that’s not why I do it.
I’ve played hooky from work to finish a novel (Stephen King’s The Stand). I’ve given 12 friends a copy of the same book (Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language). I’ve re-read the same novel 10 times, understanding it differently every time (Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway). I’ve picked up one novel by an author, then raced to read everything else that writer published (Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed). My favorite thing to do on a Saturday or Sunday is to binge-read for hours.
So, from a happiness-boosting perspective, it’s both healthful and enjoyable to resolve to try to read more, but “I want to read more” isn’t an effective way to frame that resolution. I love to read, and even someone like me benefits from setting habits around reading.
So what’s a better way to tackle that aim?
Every year on the Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast, I suggest an annual challenge. This challenge is designed to help people stick to one particular habit consistently, for an entire year, so that it truly becomes part of our lives. For a bit of whimsy, the annual challenge is always based on the calendar year. For instance, in 2020, the annual challenge was “Walk 20 minutes a day in ’20.”
For 2025, the challenge is “Read 25 in ’25”: read for at least 25 minutes every day in 2025. (And yes, listening to an audiobook counts.)
We’re more likely to keep our resolutions when they’re concrete and measurable. “No screens 6:00-9:00 p.m.” works better than “reduce my screen time.” Also—and this may seem counterintuitive—it’s often easier to keep a resolution when we do an action every day than when we do it sometimes. Habits form best when we do an activity often and consistently, so by reading for 25 minutes each day, we’re more likely to make it a habit. We’re exploiting the power of the “streak”—and maintaining a streak is so satisfying. As Andy Warhol observed, “If you do something once it’s exciting, and if you do it every day it’s exciting.”
Committing to doing something every day also eliminates the decision fatigue of asking ourselves, “Today or tomorrow?” “Do I deserve a day off?” “I’m traveling, do I have to do it?” Like brushing our teeth, reading can become a daily activity that doesn’t spark any internal debate or procrastination.
Discover: The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
“Read for 25 in ’25” is concrete. It’s measurable. It’s manageable; 25 minutes of reading is realistic, even for a busy person. And over the course of a year, we can read a lot of books in our 9,125 minutes—that’s more than 152 hours of reading time.
Here are some tips that have helped me read consistently.
- Quit reading a boring book. I used to force myself to finish any book I started. No more. Life is short, and there are too many great books to enjoy.
- Always have something to read. I keep a stack and a to-be-read list on hand so I’m never caught between books.
- Use the library. It’s free!
- Browse in bookstores to get fresh ideas for books and authors you might want to try out.
- Take advantage of odd moments. I read in a dentist’s waiting room or in a long check-out line. If you always have a book with you, you’ll always have something that’s both productive and entertaining to do.
- Follow your inclinations. I read what I feel like reading, not what I “should” read, and I don’t feel obligated to read a book that I receive as a gift.
- Replace social-media time and doomscrolling with reading. One of my friends swapped her favorite social-media app for an e-reader app, so every time her finger automatically went to tap that corner of her homescreen, she was prompted to read.
An observation I’ve made over the years is that something that can be done at any time is often done at no time. By committing to 25 minutes of reading every single day for the year of 2025, we can make reading a regular habit. How many other ways can we reap so many extraordinary benefits—while also indulging in one of life’s greatest pleasures?
Gretchen Rubin is an author, speaker, blogger, and podcaster. She has partnered with Bookshop.org to challenge individuals to read 25 minutes a day in 2025.
