Img source: enterpreneur.com
Neil Pasricha wrote an article about 8 ways that can help one read a lot more during the year. Among the things that he mentioned one advice made me ponder a bit more than the others: Reapply the 10,000 steps rule.
The idea behind this advice is making the most out of those few moments that we have in our lives and not let them fade away unproductively. The author mentions that his friend told him about a seemingly strange routine of the prolific author, Stephen King.
His [Stephen King’s] nose was in a book the whole time in line. When they got into the theater, Stephen King was still reading as the lights dimmed. When the lights came up, he pulled his book open right away. He even read as he was leaving.
I have previously written about ways of reading more, but this is an overly neglected thing by most of us.
According to Neil, his friend mentions that Stephen King used to advice people to read five hours a day, and we can see how Stephen King could manage to read so much.
I agree that it can be a bit difficult to always read a book and not waste any spare moment without investing it in reading, but I want to emphasize the fact that those few moments could be used more effectively instead of filling them with totally worthless activities.
Rather than just sitting in a bus and staring the other cars passing by, it is better to read a book. Rather than getting involved in gossips about celebrities, or backbiting your colleagues, it is better to have a book aside and read a few lines.
You do not have to carry a heavy physical book all the time, as you can read a book in your smartphone, or Kindle as well. The real key here is to develop the habit of reading books no matter for how long. You can read a few lines while you are in a queue at a grocery’s shop, or a lot of lines when you arrived half an hour earlier before a meeting.
This habit can be difficult to be applied, but it is something that deserves at least a try. You do not have to always be reading, but at least try to replace some of those few unproductive moments with reading books.
