Another one of my goals this year is to read more often. I used to make goals to read a certain number of books a year. As a surprise to no one... I usually failed. Most years I would start strong and then fade over the spring or would get busy and that time I spent reading would go to something else (looking at you, Twitter). 

This year I am trying a new way to engage with reading. It’s so simple that I can’t mess it up. I just keep a book with me all the time and read when I think about it or have time. I have a book in my backpack, a book on my beside table, and a series of books loaded on my iPad / iPhone on the Kindle and Books apps so I can just pick up a device or read something wherever I am. 

Last week I went to eat lunch at a local sushi restaurant and took a book inside and read for half an hour while I ate sushi. It was honestly so much more fun than mindlessly scrolling through my phone. I’m finding time to read sitting in the carpool line or while I drink coffee in the morning. The more I read, the more I want to read. 

I don’t know how many pages I have read. I keep track of what I’m reading currently and what I have on deck next. But I’m not even worried about how many pages I read, I am just focusing on whether I am reading or not. If I’m not, I adjust what I am doing and make it a priority the next week. 

This fits into my year of routines. I’m working on building routines and then letting those routines bring about results. I’m focusing on my personal routines and letting the results come as a byproduct of my work. Pablo Picasso  
said, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” As I do the work (reading, writing, filling my life with value, spending time with my family) the results will come naturally. 

I’m excited to see where I land in December of 2021. I hope I read more books than I ever have in a year. But that number won’t define me. I am going to be defined as a person who reads.