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How to read more when you don’t feel like it
Published 14 days ago • 3 min read
Too tired to read? Same. Here’s how I deal with it.
Hello Reader,
Let’s talk about reading motivation.
Should we worry when our motivation crashes and burns? I don’t think so. There are days when I absolutely do not want to read. Why? Because I’m tired. My chutzpah is out of go-go juice. I’ve got too many irons in the fire—and they’re burning the whole house down. Pick a problem, and it’s probably the reason my motivation fell apart.
Here’s what I’ve learned: motivation is an unfaithful friend. There are tons of things I want to do in life, but my motivation? It comes and goes. It’s a fickle friend that disappears when you need it and stabs you in the back when you’re not looking.
So how do people build reading habits that actually stick?
One thing that helps me is a cue—a signal to the brain that it’s time to begin a habit. Your brain links certain behaviors with specific environments. My desk is where I write. My bedroom… well, that’s where bedroom stuff happens. The backyard is for hanging out with the kids or friends. And the back room with all the books that I walk through daily? That’s my reading zone. Maybe your zone is the commute to work or the cafe where you eat lunch.
Pick an environment you’re already in every day, and make it your reading space. That way, when you enter that space, your brain says, “Ah, it’s time to do that reading thing.”
But what if your motivation is completely gone? 😰
Easy. Just open your book and read one sentence. That’s it. Ten to fifteen words. You can handle that, right? Then go back to the Very Important Things you were doing. But here’s the trick: after that first sentence, your brain starts to soften. It thinks, “Hmm… maybe one more won’t hurt.” Before you know it, you’ve read a few pages.
That’s all it has to be. You don’t need to read 50 pages a day. Just build the habit.
Step one: Pick a reading space. Step two: When motivation is gone, read one sentence.
The rest will follow.
👋 Until next time, read slowly – take notes – apply the ideas.
-Eddy
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We learned that dopamine doesn’t just make us feel good—it fuels our motivation and disappoints us regularly. And maybe most unsettling: the same brain regions involved in planning your grocery list are active when deciding whether to sacrifice one person to save five in a trolley problem.
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Feel free to respond to this email. Let me know how I can make your experience in our reading community better, or if you have questions, I'm all ears.
As always, read slowly - take notes - apply the ideas.
-Eddy
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Subscribe to my newsletter for tips on close reading, detailed note-taking, and applying bookish wisdom to your life. I talk about fiction and non-fiction, interview literary experts, and host The Read Well Podcast. Subscribe today and build better reading habits.