The average nonfiction book , however , is far less of a commitment . My book , for example , which is just over 220 pages long , requires just 4.5 hours to finish . The average page length for a nonfiction book is 250 pages , putting its reading time at about five hours .
That means that if you can commit as little as forty-five minutes a day to reading a nonfiction book , you ’ ll manage to finish a book a week ( this is a pace I ’ ve been able to maintain for about ten years now ).
“ But , Jeff ,” you say . “ Where am I going to find forty-five extra minutes every day to read ?” I get it . Maybe 45 minutes sounds like a lot .
But when you think about the choices you ’ re likely making currently with regard to your time , 45 minutes is relatively easy to find .
Whether at breakfast , during lunch , other breaks , waiting in line , or your commute if you have one , and combining these pockets of time with awakening a few minutes earlier than you do now , you might be surprised by the extra time you have .
Apart from taking advantage of time that might otherwise be going to waste , you have another option .
This takes us to strategy number two in freeing up more time to read .
Commit to Make Reading a Priority
If you ’ re struggling at this point in your career to make reading a habit , it has little to do with
58 your abilities and everything to do with your priorities .
Put another way , before reading can become a habit , you have to be willing to schedule your reading time . This assumes , of course , that the things you carve out time for on your calendar are things you actually follow through with .
Therefore , if you want to move beyond being only an aspiring reader , take a moment right now to carve out , in your calendar , dedicated times to read . Then , list the specific sections or chapters you ’ d like to read during each of those times and add them to your to-do list .
Don ’ t get frustrated if you set aside time to read in the hopes of , say , finishing an entire chapter , but run out of time before you finish . What ’ s more important than how many pages you ended up reading , is whether you actually read for the amount of time you scheduled .
It ’ s important to recognize that your goals are often more about the journey and who you become along the way than a particular destination .
Say ‘ No ’ When You Know You Say ‘ Yes ’ Too Often
Scheduling time to read is about making an appointment with ourselves . But because it ’ s an appointment with just ourselves , the tendency
“ Say ‘ no ’ when you know you say ‘ yes ’ too often .”