Reading is a Great Development Tool: Set Your Reading Goals for the New Year Now
Reading is one of the best ways to manage and continue your own personal development. And when I say reading, I include audiobooks as well as reading articles and magazines. However, there is a tremendous amount of benefit that can come from specifically reading books on different subjects that can help you gain new perspectives in different areas.
Reading does not always have to be for learning. I state that as much as a reminder to myself as for any of you. You will no doubt see that my list of books read in 2023 below is heavily stacked to the side of ‘learning’ versus ‘fun.’ However, in my defense, many of the business books I have read, I would also qualify as general interest and fun, yet they are still considered non-fiction. I definitely agree that mixing in fictional reads is a good idea to find some balance in your reading habits.
Listening or reading
I am an audiobook person. It is much easier for me to listen to books than to physically read them. It also allows me to consume reading materials in different places. I find audiobooks much easier to manage for travel purposes (I can have any number of books with me and yet none of the weight or space considerations). I also listen to books in the car more than any place when looking at it across the entire year. I have about a 30-minute commute each way to work, five-days each week. I use that time almost exclusively for podcasts and audiobooks. Across the course of a year, that is a lot of time that I can dedicate to listening and learning.
It started with an Audible subscription
About eight years ago, I subscribed to Audible (from Amazon) for a monthly audiobook. Since that time, I have read/listened to at least twelve books each year. That was easily ten more each year than I had read in the previous five years. I think this is one of the best ways to set yourself up to read more each year. There is a little bit of obligation that goes with having that subscription and knowing that you are paying for a book per month (essentially).
Have a plan
All of that said, you do still need some type of plan for how you will build your reading goals. I have stayed fairly steady, and I am planning to set a goal of eighteen books read in 2024, with at least three of them fun or fiction books. Your time constraints and your options for reading or listening may influence your goals. Setting aside specific time for reading is the first step in moving towards having a goal you can achieve. Using time in your car, even if it is only fifteen minutes each day, is a good starting place. If you travel by train or bus, those are also excellent options for either reading or listening to books. Or make time each morning or evening to dedicate to reading.
One change I plan to make for 2024 is to dedicate at least 20 minutes three nights per week to reading just before bed. My hope is two-fold: add some additional reading time, and eliminate some time that is being spent on a device viewing something. Since I listen to books, I will still need to use my iPhone to start the book. But I can be intentional about how I go about that and avoid looking at other things. I can build this into my nightly ‘shut down routine’ and believe it will help me transition quicker into being ready for sleep.
Whether you like reading or listening to books, they are a great way to learn new things, gain fresh ideas, or perspectives, but also for an escape from the everyday world. I think one other thing to keep in mind when reading books, especially for business, is that you do not need to put everything you read into action. I have read many books, where regardless of the data or research they provided, I didn’t believe that it was possible to do. There is always an element of critical thinking that goes into reading, and honestly, that is where some of the best learning can come from.
Take a few minutes before the end of the year and write a reading goal for yourself. Start with an appropriate level of challenge based on your current reading habits and build from there. I have shared the books I read in 2023 as a potential starting point for ideas of some books you might read in the coming year. Happy reading.
What books are on your list for 2024?
2023 Reading List
Here is what I read in 2023 in case you would like to check out any of these.
By: Stephen M. R. Covey
By: Patrick M. Lencioni
By: Liz Wiseman
By: Michael Hyatt, Megan Hyatt Miller
By: Bill Eckstrom, Sarah Wirth
By: Mike Paton, Lisa González
By: Roger L. Martin
The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders
By: Daniel Harkavy
By: Chip Heath, Karla Starr
By: Bryce G. Hoffman
By: Alan Mullally, Adam Witty
By: Cal Newport
By: Tiago Forte
Radical Candor: Fully Revised & Updated Edition
By: Kim Scott
By: Tiago Forte
By: Randy J. Paterson PhD
By: Jay B. Barney, Manoel Amorim, Carlos Júlio
By: Jon Acuff
By: Dan Rockwell, John David Mann
By: Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky
Re-read
By: Simon Sinek
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
James Clear
Charles Duhigg
QBQ! The Question Behind the Question
By: John G. Miller
Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive FREE leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills all at no cost. JOIN NOW!
Photo by João Silas on Unsplash