Reading is a wonderful gift from God, and because it is something to be treasured, I make it my aim to read as much as possible. And my reading plan helps make that possible. While not everyone needs to read as much as I do (including me), if you want to get in the habit of reading regularly, I would encourage you to develop a plan of your own, use it, and stick with it. I think you’ll be surprised at how it changes your reading.

Whenever I share about what I’m reading, a question inevitably comes up: How do you read as much as you do? For whatever reason, I’m seen as a bit of an anomaly in that I consume a large number of books, finishing around 8-12 a month. But what if I told you that pretty much anyone could do this if they wanted to (and I’m not saying they should)?

Believe it or not, there are ways that anyone can read more books—and it doesn’t have to take a lot of effort.

Now, before I go any further: I’m not saying there’s anything particularly virtuous about reading lots of books. Reading one book a week (or one book a month) doesn’t make a person more or less godly than the individual who reads two or three a week. The point isn’t to read a lot necessarily, just to read as much as you will enjoy. So how do you do it? Simple: Plan.

My reading plan

Yes, I plan to read (though these days, it’s more ingrained as a habit than a laid out plan). Reading doesn’t happen by accident, especially if you’re someone who has a lot of demands on your life and schedule.

I generally aim to read for 30 minutes to an hour of reading every day, and I’ve rarely ever read less than this (some days, it’s actually been more). What does that look like?

1. I typically read for at least 10-15 minutes in the morning.
2. Throughout the day, I probably read for anywhere between 15 minutes and half an hour. I do this when I need a break at work, or I’ve got some quiet time before moving into the next activity with the kids, so it’s not typically a concentrated chunk of time.
3. I usually read for at least another 10-15 minutes before bed. This helps me to wind down when I’m getting ready to go to sleep, so I usually don’t read things that require a lot of thinking (though sometimes I read thinky books at this time, too).

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