Make a list of five books that interest you. This will help guide your reading choices and assist you in finding enjoyable reading material.

If you already have your list of five options, you can pull one from that list.

Start with something reasonable, not a monster tome that you heard was a classic that everyone should read.

Remember that your reading goal is small, so it’ll take you a while to get through the book, and find something that you know you can set down and pick up repeatedly.

It’s really hard to start a new behavior. Your new reading habit will be the same.

Set aside a time each day that you’ll use for reading.

Create reminders for yourself on your phone, or do whatever kind of prompting you need to make yourself responsible for actually reading.

You know when you’re going to read, you know what you’re going to read and now you need a good place to read.

Put away your smartphone, your computer and any other digital distractions.

Don’t grab any food, get away from your children and find a quiet location completely on your own.

Therefore, you need to focus on your book and nothing else during your scheduled reading time.

Once you have met your goal, or even exceeded it, you need to reward yourself for making it to the finish line.

Whether a self-congratulatory pat on the back or watching your favorite sitcom, give yourself credit for meeting your goal.

You deserve it.

You may be tempted to increase your reading goal, but I can’t encourage you enough not to do this.

You’ll always be able to meet the small goal, but if you keep increasing it, the goal will eventually become so large that one day you’ll fail.

Failure is demoralizing, and you don’t need that in your reading habit. Stick to your small goal, and feel free to go beyond it whenever you want.