There are so many ways today for readers like me to consume content. You could check out an Audible subscription and, in turn, listen to some awesomely narrated audiobooks by celebrities, or check out some new releases. Or you could do it the old-fashioned way and head to your local bookstore to pick up the latest release. But for me, I’ve leaned more into e-reading.
Whether it’s on a Kindle, a computer, or my phone, I think having the technology to read wherever I want has changed the game. But in this day and age, where we are constantly trying to find better ways to read, my Kindle set-up was a little messy. Now, I’ve tried a much better setup that has me reading more than ever. Here are the steps I took.
I keep a minimal library
The fewer books, the better
This is probably the biggest thing I suggest you do—please keep your library minimal.
As someone who has experienced the rise of Kindle and how many books you can keep on it firsthand, I know it is very tempting as a reader to just keep adding. It’s even more tempting when you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription, and all you can think about is how many books are available to check out, including some of those famous books that are just openly available to read.
But I beg you not to add every single new book that you read or buy under the sun. In fact, I would suggest keeping only one book at a time, or no more than a few.
The reason I say this is that the ability of choice, as fortunate as it is, can also hinder us. Having that many options all at once can sometimes feel overwhelming, and too much choice can hinder the process of choosing.
Having one book to focus on makes it easier to lock into whatever new book you’re checking out. And then from there, you can at least put it on your shelf and go back to it once you’ve finished. But at least at that point, you have finished it, and it’s just smoke and mirrors in the back of your mind.
I disabled the Goodreads integration
Block out competition
Another big thing that I did was disable Goodreads on my Kindle.
Goodreads really is a great website. I personally don’t think it’s the best reading tracker out there, but I do believe that if you’re going to have an online database of readers who are going to share updates about what they’re reading, that’s the place to do it.
One would think that having Goodreads integrated on your Kindle—where it automatically updates your pages for you or whatever book you’re reading, or gives you notifications on other readers—would be great. But in reality, it’s not.
I think Goodreads is fantastic in small doses. But at a certain point, it can almost feel like a challenge to keep reading to keep up with your friends on the platform, and that can lead to burnout.
Disabling Goodreads and pop-up notifications of any kind will not only take away the pressure but also make it so much easier for you to focus on your book instead of trying to see what the next big novel is. Or what page your amazingly fast-reader friend might be on. It also eliminates decision fatigue, so you’re not focusing on everyone else’s books, and can instead focus on the one or two you already have downloaded.
I deleted anything that had nothing to do with reading
No more internet time
While Goodreads did have something to do with reading, one other thing I would suggest that you do (and that I did) is to disable anything that has nothing to do with reading.
Most popular e-readers aren’t the kind of tablets that are like an iPad and can do a ton of stuff. But there are still plenty of distractions on there that could keep you from reading as much. On the Kindle Scribe, even having the notebook feature could cause distractions from your reading. Or, on many Kindles, the ability to browse the internet is a dangerous feature.
If you struggle to have control over screentime when it comes to those features, it can be hard to bounce back and focus on reading. But thankfully, just a quick trip to the settings of these devices can disable their use so you can fully focus on reading.
Obviously, if you don’t struggle with this, you don’t have to disable features. But for someone like me, who does have some trouble from time to time, it’s really helped me focus much better.
I enabled the clock feature
Time to stay on track
I know this might not make sense at first, but hear me out.
The default settings on your Kindle don’t automatically show your clock. You have to go into the little settings area to turn it on (the “Aa button). But I have noticed that every time I turn on the clock, I get a substantial amount of reading done.
The key for me is to plan out reading blocks. When I have the clock right there in front of me, it’s so easy for me to look at the time, think about reading for an hour, and lock in so that I can take a quick glance at the clock to know what time it is. But because I dedicated that exact hour to it, I read more.
Aside from that, it also helps keep you on track with your daily tasks so that you don’t end up getting too lost in the world of reading. But since this is an article about how to read more, I’d say we can just let that slide for now.
There are so many ways to use your Kindle, but since it is an e-reader, we need to make sure we’re getting the most out of it. Let’s all hope we have better days of reading ahead of us.
- Storage
-
16GB
- Screen Size
-
6-inches
Even in the budget department, the Amazon Kindle is a stellar value, from its light and compact design, to its adjustable front light and 6-inch display.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
