This Year I Read Over 17,000 Pages.. What I learned and how you too can join the #bookaweekchallenge

? A Book A Week for A Year ?

Curious how I get through a book a week? Inspired by big names like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet who find a way to prioritize reading in their own hectic schedules, I decided to take up this challenge a couple years ago & have stuck to it since. Not to mention, a little push from my own grandmother who reads constantly - she read 116 books in 2020!

One of the most common questions I get on LinkedIn is How do you get through a book a week? Well.. it is easier than you think! I work full-time at Google, I teach graduate level MBA courses at 2 universities and (pre-pandemic) I travel like crazy (55 countries and counting). Yet I still find time for reading.

In 2020, I finished exactly 52 books ? 17,839 pages total thus an average of 343 pages a week. Broken down further, it comes to 49 pages a day. The average reading speed is 200 to 250 words a minute, roughly 2 minutes per page, and at my slightly faster reading speed, I would say I finish a page every 1.5 minutes. This translates into approximately 70 minutes of reading a day, a little over an hour. It may sound like a lot, but how much time do you spend in front of the TV daily? What about mindlessly scrolling on Facebook? Try to quantify that and get back to me!

? Why? ?

I started this reading challenge as a personal goal that became a community effort, encouraging others to join the challenge and helping push others to read more and foster a continuous learning mindset. I had also noticed, from my daily commute on the metro, that we are turning into a zombie society attached to our phones and laptops. So I use my dedicated reading time to disconnect from screens.

I believe anyone can do it, but I acknowledge that some schedules may not be so forgiving. In 2021, I will be promoting both the #bookaweekchallenge and the #bookamonthchallenge. Although I will stick to reading a book a week, you can feel free to join the challenge that best suits your schedule. If you follow my tips and tricks below, there is no doubt you can get through at least a book a month!

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies.. the man who never reads lives only one." ~George R.R. Martin

? How? ?

1. Prioritize your reading ? If regular reading is going to happen, you must prioritize it. Until you do so, you will always make excuses to do something else, whether that be Netflix, HBO, Facebook or TikTok. We all have 24 hours in our day, it is ultimately up to you how you use your time.
2. Make it a habit ? Set aside blocks in your day when you can focus on reading. The beginning is the toughest but it takes time and discipline to make a habit stick. My personal preference is to start and end every day with a book. Daily, I enjoy my morning tea with a book and I settle into bed with a book each night. On weekends when I have more free time, I tend to spend extra hours during the day just reading.
3. Take books with you everywhere ? If you see me out and about, you will likely see a book in my hands or tucked away in my purse. Wherever I go, I have a book on me. Waiting in line at the doctor or commuting on the metro to work? Perfect time to knock out some daily reading! As a personal preference, I only read physical books so vacations abroad get complicated. But I do not use that as an excuse.. I spent the summer in Greece last year and packed away 8 books for the occasion!
4. Choose wisely ? Understand what genres you do and do not enjoy, but make sure to keep enough variety in your reading that you stay hooked. Read books that truly interest you, do not force yourself to read something just because it is a classic or a bestseller. Feeling pressured to read something that does not appeal to you leads to procrastination. Before buying any book, read lots of reviews online before making your final decision. And what happens if you start a book and do not like it? My golden rule is to give it a chance. I will read a book halfway through before I let myself put it down. This only happened to me ONCE in 2020 so I think I have gotten good at understanding my own reading tastes :)
5. Hold yourself accountable ? Write your reading goal down and stick to it. If you have to, plan it out in advance and set blocks in your calendar for reading. The best way to hold yourself accountable though is to tell others, be public about your goal. To help with this, I encourage you to post your reading journey on LinkedIn using either the #bookaweekchallenge or #bookamonthchallenge hashtag to share with others what your weekly or monthly books are and how you are coming along with your goal.
6. Create an out-home library ? Keep a wish list of books and go ahead and order 10-20 to start your at-home library. As I write this, I counted and I have 27 unread books on my shelf, so about half a year of reading. As soon as I finish a book, I browse my constantly growing library for my next read. I also make sure to have an ample supply of varying genres to appeal to my mood each week.
7. Track your reading via Goodreads.com ? Keep track of your reading by creating an account on Goodreads (my virtual shelf is here for ideas!). It is fantastic for helping you track your reading and keep a wish list. You can even join their yearly reading challenges which send you reminders to stay on track and quantify what you have read so far. Remember my grandmother that I mentioned earlier? I even taught her to use Goodreads (her virtual shelf is here).

So are you ready? I hope to have YOU onboard for the challenge and I look forward to seeing your recommendations through 2021!

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Join the #bookaweekchallenge

Join the #bookamonthchallenge

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