Finding Your Reading Motivation: Tips to Help You Get Out of Your Reading Slump

I read five chapters I will be able to do this or I will be able to like have a doughnut I'll be able to like I don't know watch an episode of RuPaul I don't know just set yourself overboard so then it's something for you to look forward to when you do achieve that goal now your goals don't have to be page based or chapter based you can also set yourself a certain period of time that you want to read for so for example be like I'm gonna read for half an hour before bed every night that will be really helpful because you should try and build reading as a habit again so make it your habit that at 10 o'clock you are going to bed but you put away your phone you put away your laptop you put away all of that stuff and then you open up a book instead and that is what you do before you fall asleep so eventually you will condition yourself to put away your phone put away all that stuff and not even want to be reaching for it you will want to reach for that book before bed and before bed is always when I get a lot of reading done but you can also do this in the morning instead of checking your phone first thing you can read a chapter before you have to get ready for work or school or whatever it is you do or on your morning commute you can open a book instead of scrolling through your phone basically when you're gonna scroll through your phone try and reach for a book instead and when you're in a slump your attention might wander and it might be a little bit difficult at first but eventually it will get easier.

Another tip for finding what you are going to read is to reread something that you know that you love. If you're having trouble finding a new book that's quick and short and really capturing your attention, try revisiting a favorite story or series. This way, you're not getting introduced to a whole new world and characters, but rather revisiting something that you already enjoy. For many people, Harry Potter is an excellent choice for this, as it's a beloved series with a wealth of exciting stories to revisit.

Now, I want to share a tip that might seem a little odd at first, but trust me, it can be incredibly helpful: DNF (Do Not Finish) books if they're not working. This means giving up on a book before you finish it, and I don't feel bad about it because I believe that the name of the game is to read something that you enjoy. If you find yourself struggling to get through a book, it's okay to put it down and move on to something else. You can always come back to it later when you're feeling more enthusiastic about reading.

Finally, I want to talk about audiobooks! Audiobooks are amazing, and I love them. They're not for everyone, but if you haven't tried listening to one before, I highly encourage that you do. There's something special about having a narrator bring the story to life, and it can be incredibly engaging. One of my favorite things about audiobooks is being able to listen to them at any speed – I prefer to listen at twice the speed, which allows me to multitask while still getting through some of the books that I've been interested in.

Audiobooks are also a great way to get back into reading if you're feeling stuck or unmotivated. With services like Audible, it's easy to access a vast library of audiobooks and start listening right away. And as an added bonus, many of these services offer two free audiobooks when you sign up for a free trial – what better way to get started with audiobooks than by trying out some new ones?

In conclusion, I hope that these tips have been helpful in getting you out of your reading slump! Building habits, revisiting favorite stories, DNFing books if they're not working, and exploring the world of audiobooks can all be powerful tools for getting back into reading. So don't give up – keep trying, and remember that the most important thing is to find what works for you.

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso I'm assuming you came to this video for one of two reasons possible reason number one you were hoping that you would see my cats I'm sorry but they're all sleeping right now so they will not be making a cameo or possible reason number two you have found yourself in the grasp of a monster that is even more terrifying than Lord Voldemort himself a reading slump Oh have no fear Haley is here and I'm going to help you get out of your reading slump yeah everyone its Haley and as if you didn't know already today's video is going to be my guide for helping you get out of your reading slump so what I actually hadn't really been planning on filming this video anytime soon because it felt weird to me to be giving you guys some tips on how to get out of a reading slump when I myself have been in one for the past little bit but my reading slump is kind of more so induced by the fact that I've been writing so much so I find it really difficult to read a lot when I'm writing so much but I've been working on book of sisters my own book so I can't really delve into other books but then when I finish my first draft I ended up just playing Sims and not really reading anything so I do consider myself in a slump right now and it's just inevitable it happens I don't really know why it happens whether it's like reader bernal or whatever you want to call it even though my slump continues I haven't really been trying to get out of it I've just been kind of accepting it but I have been doing what I can to ensure that I am at least getting a little bit of reading done and it is a list of tips that have been tested by me and they are things that have really helped me in past slumps so I hope that they can help you as well so without further ado let's get into it so tip number one is for those of you out there that own a lot of books that you haven't read yet or as we like to call it on booktube but you have a massive TBR pile I've gone through a lot of phases with my TBR piles so when I first started booktube I found a bunch of books that I hadn't heard about for really cheap and I bought a bunch of them and I read like maybe 10% of them so my TBR pile went from probably somewhere near 200 books all the way down to like 40 or something like that and then I started working at a bookstore and then my TBR pile went right back up again it's you like 200 books and then I recently did a bunch of unhaul videos and made it little bit more manageable for myself the bottom line is it's really easy to acquire a lot of books because there are so many new titles coming out all the time that I am really interested in and I do really want to read but I kind of just slapped myself and was like I didn't really slap myself but like metaphorically I slapped myself and I was just like you need to like snap out of this and just stop buying all these books because they sound interesting because there's no way I can ever have time to read all of them so I've recently since doing that unhaul been a lot more critical about what I am picking up and it has honestly been so liberating I don't feel like I have to read all these books I don't feel like my TBR is something that is so intimidating and it's not something that is like weighing me down which your TBR pile shouldn't be that the pile of books that you have should be books that you really want to read books that you are interested in because if you have some that you're like mildly interested in then that's not going to encourage you to pick up a book and try to read it if you only have like a little bit of interest in it it's actually even harder when you are a booktuber because you get sent all these books like unsolicited and stuff like that and they're books that I am interested in but like I just don't out the time so I need to make a list of what I really really want to read and that is why I am going to read and I totally understand not wanting to get rid of books because it is really hard but ultimately the way that I see it is that I'm giving them a new home where someone will actually be able to give that book the time that it deserves they will be able to completely dedicate themselves to that story and lose themselves in it so I'm obviously not saying throw your books out you can bring them to a used bookstore sell them back you can donate them to your library some libraries will take them I actually have a library that I put in at my old high school because they got rid of the libraries in my high school so it's just a little place where people can go and like get books that they want to read so just find them a better place where someone can really read them I really feel like not having so many books that you have to read will help to lift that weight off of you and make you excited about reading again but is ultimately a reading slump is where you're not excited about reading and you just can't get yourself motivated to do it so having a fresh outlook on your TBR can really help with that now my second tip is to put books in places that you frequent so I really like to have some books on my bedside table normally the only ones that I have there are books that I'm currently reading because I try not and read a lot which I also feel like that's helpful try to not start like five books so you're not in the middle of a bunch of them because then you'll feel like you're like trudging through so try and commit to one book for me that's not really hard I do one on audio and then one physically but I know a lot of people will be in the middle of like five books at a time which is just absolutely crazy to me so I don't think that that would really help with the readings love but if you haven't really started a book at that Ana put a like where you sit downstairs like I have a specific spot that I said in downstairs all the time so instead of watching TV I'll look beside me and have that book there and it's like staring me in the face and it's like read me read me so then I'm more encouraged to actually pick it up you can also put books in places that you frequent on the go so like put one in your bag like any bag that you're carrying anywhere you can put it in your car whatever just make sure that you are surrounding yourself with books that you would need to read and that might sound overwhelming but like it's more of a matter of if it's there and you're bored then you would be more likely to open up a book rather than scrolling on your phone tip number three is a little bit of advice for picking those books so make sure that you are trying to pick the right book so for example don't put like Game of Thrones name of the wind don't put those around don't try reading those because that's not going to be helpful those are really big chunky books that introduce you to a whole new world that you have to try and understand and for me and that's not the best when I'm in a reading slump mine say I need something that resembles my own life and is really quick and to the point and doesn't really have a lot going for it like it's just a straightforward fun story I think that is exactly what you need when you are in a reading slump obviously picking a book that you're really excited about is also going to be helpful but sometimes that's not enough of a motivator so just try and pick something that is super quick around like 200 pages tip number three is for when you actually start reading and my tip for this is to set small goals for yourself start small and then work your way up because you can't just cool turkey be like I'm gonna read a 500 page book today because that's just not realistic what you need to do is be like I'm going to read ten pages today I'm gonna read 20 pages the next day I'm gonna read thirty and then 40 and then 50 and then before you know it you're reading a thousand pages in a day I'm just kidding you will stop at a point what you're doing with this is you're just gradually taking on a little bit more so it doesn't seem so overwhelming if you just use these small goals then you will eventually get to a bigger sense of achievement I guess I don't really know I kind of lost that sentence a little bit there no for your goals if you were a reward-based person then like set yourself a reward for when you get to a certain threshold so say I start at ten pages or I start at like one chapter and then I'm like okay when I read five chapters I will be able to do this or I will be able to like have a doughnut I'll be able to like I don't know watch an episode of RuPaul I don't know just set yourself overboard so then it's something for you to look forward to when you do achieve that goal now your goals don't have to be page based or chapter based you can also set yourself a certain period of time that you want to read for so for example be like I'm gonna read for half an hour before bed every night that will be really helpful because you should try and build reading as a habit again so make it your habit that at 10 o'clock you are going to bed but you put away your phone you put away your laptop you put away all of that stuff and then you open up a book instead and that is what you do before you fall asleep so eventually you will condition yourself to put away your phone put away all that stuff and not even want to be reaching for it you will want to reach for that book before bed and before bed is always when I get a lot of reading done but you can also do this in the morning instead of checking your phone first thing you can read a chapter before you have to get ready for work or school or whatever it is you do or on your morning commute you can open a book instead of scrolling through your phone basically when you're gonna scroll through your phone try and reach for a book instead and when you're in a slump your attention might wander and it might be a little bit difficult at first but eventually it will get easier my next tip is another one for finding what you are going to read so if you're having trouble finding a book that's quick and short and really capturing your attention try rereading something that you know that you love that way you aren't getting introduced to a whole new world and new characters and everything you're revisiting something that you are familiar with and it has to be a story that you really loved and enjoyed so then it gets you excited about reading again Harry Potter is generally a great one for that because a lot of people love it and it is a really exciting and fun story my next tip might seem a little bit odd to you but that is to DNF a book if it's not working so that means DNF is do not finish so if you're like a hundred pages into the story usually I like to give books 100 pages but like don't feel bad if you read 10 and then you put it down the name of the game is you want to be reading something you enjoy so then you're not trudging through it putting a book down doesn't necessarily mean that you're giving up on it entirely you can always revisit it when you're feeling a little bit less slumpy about your reading and my final tip is the reason that I have been reading recently and that is audiobooks audiobooks are amazing I love audiobooks they're not for everyone but like if you haven't tried it before I highly encourage that you do you can listen to them at any speed ey I listen to mine at twice the speed and in place of like listening to music or watching a TV show while I'm getting ready or doing whatever maybe like cooking basically every time that my ears are not occupied and I'm not trying to focus on anything else I will have an audio book on that way I'm still reading even though I'm not physically reading I am getting through some of the books that I have been interested in just in a different way if you had been thinking about trying out audiobooks for the first time audible is a service that I recommend I have a link down below that you can click and get two free audiobooks when you sign up for a free trial so those are all of my tips for helping you to hopefully get out of your reading slump I hope that it helps you and I hope that your slump will be over soon because it really does suck when you have a lot of books that you're excited about but you're just not feeling like reading it's so weird and so awful and I'm so sorry that you are in that situation but if you wanted more bookish recommendations and helpful tips then don't forget to click that subscribe button and then click that Bell icon so you'll be notified whenever I post I put up new videos every Wednesday and Friday and I'm also a part of the bookmarks live show which is held every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time I will leave the information for that down below for you guys you can also keep up with me on all of my social media I will have all my links and handles down below for you guys so thank you so so much for watching and I will see you guys in my next video byeso I'm assuming you came to this video for one of two reasons possible reason number one you were hoping that you would see my cats I'm sorry but they're all sleeping right now so they will not be making a cameo or possible reason number two you have found yourself in the grasp of a monster that is even more terrifying than Lord Voldemort himself a reading slump Oh have no fear Haley is here and I'm going to help you get out of your reading slump yeah everyone its Haley and as if you didn't know already today's video is going to be my guide for helping you get out of your reading slump so what I actually hadn't really been planning on filming this video anytime soon because it felt weird to me to be giving you guys some tips on how to get out of a reading slump when I myself have been in one for the past little bit but my reading slump is kind of more so induced by the fact that I've been writing so much so I find it really difficult to read a lot when I'm writing so much but I've been working on book of sisters my own book so I can't really delve into other books but then when I finish my first draft I ended up just playing Sims and not really reading anything so I do consider myself in a slump right now and it's just inevitable it happens I don't really know why it happens whether it's like reader bernal or whatever you want to call it even though my slump continues I haven't really been trying to get out of it I've just been kind of accepting it but I have been doing what I can to ensure that I am at least getting a little bit of reading done and it is a list of tips that have been tested by me and they are things that have really helped me in past slumps so I hope that they can help you as well so without further ado let's get into it so tip number one is for those of you out there that own a lot of books that you haven't read yet or as we like to call it on booktube but you have a massive TBR pile I've gone through a lot of phases with my TBR piles so when I first started booktube I found a bunch of books that I hadn't heard about for really cheap and I bought a bunch of them and I read like maybe 10% of them so my TBR pile went from probably somewhere near 200 books all the way down to like 40 or something like that and then I started working at a bookstore and then my TBR pile went right back up again it's you like 200 books and then I recently did a bunch of unhaul videos and made it little bit more manageable for myself the bottom line is it's really easy to acquire a lot of books because there are so many new titles coming out all the time that I am really interested in and I do really want to read but I kind of just slapped myself and was like I didn't really slap myself but like metaphorically I slapped myself and I was just like you need to like snap out of this and just stop buying all these books because they sound interesting because there's no way I can ever have time to read all of them so I've recently since doing that unhaul been a lot more critical about what I am picking up and it has honestly been so liberating I don't feel like I have to read all these books I don't feel like my TBR is something that is so intimidating and it's not something that is like weighing me down which your TBR pile shouldn't be that the pile of books that you have should be books that you really want to read books that you are interested in because if you have some that you're like mildly interested in then that's not going to encourage you to pick up a book and try to read it if you only have like a little bit of interest in it it's actually even harder when you are a booktuber because you get sent all these books like unsolicited and stuff like that and they're books that I am interested in but like I just don't out the time so I need to make a list of what I really really want to read and that is why I am going to read and I totally understand not wanting to get rid of books because it is really hard but ultimately the way that I see it is that I'm giving them a new home where someone will actually be able to give that book the time that it deserves they will be able to completely dedicate themselves to that story and lose themselves in it so I'm obviously not saying throw your books out you can bring them to a used bookstore sell them back you can donate them to your library some libraries will take them I actually have a library that I put in at my old high school because they got rid of the libraries in my high school so it's just a little place where people can go and like get books that they want to read so just find them a better place where someone can really read them I really feel like not having so many books that you have to read will help to lift that weight off of you and make you excited about reading again but is ultimately a reading slump is where you're not excited about reading and you just can't get yourself motivated to do it so having a fresh outlook on your TBR can really help with that now my second tip is to put books in places that you frequent so I really like to have some books on my bedside table normally the only ones that I have there are books that I'm currently reading because I try not and read a lot which I also feel like that's helpful try to not start like five books so you're not in the middle of a bunch of them because then you'll feel like you're like trudging through so try and commit to one book for me that's not really hard I do one on audio and then one physically but I know a lot of people will be in the middle of like five books at a time which is just absolutely crazy to me so I don't think that that would really help with the readings love but if you haven't really started a book at that Ana put a like where you sit downstairs like I have a specific spot that I said in downstairs all the time so instead of watching TV I'll look beside me and have that book there and it's like staring me in the face and it's like read me read me so then I'm more encouraged to actually pick it up you can also put books in places that you frequent on the go so like put one in your bag like any bag that you're carrying anywhere you can put it in your car whatever just make sure that you are surrounding yourself with books that you would need to read and that might sound overwhelming but like it's more of a matter of if it's there and you're bored then you would be more likely to open up a book rather than scrolling on your phone tip number three is a little bit of advice for picking those books so make sure that you are trying to pick the right book so for example don't put like Game of Thrones name of the wind don't put those around don't try reading those because that's not going to be helpful those are really big chunky books that introduce you to a whole new world that you have to try and understand and for me and that's not the best when I'm in a reading slump mine say I need something that resembles my own life and is really quick and to the point and doesn't really have a lot going for it like it's just a straightforward fun story I think that is exactly what you need when you are in a reading slump obviously picking a book that you're really excited about is also going to be helpful but sometimes that's not enough of a motivator so just try and pick something that is super quick around like 200 pages tip number three is for when you actually start reading and my tip for this is to set small goals for yourself start small and then work your way up because you can't just cool turkey be like I'm gonna read a 500 page book today because that's just not realistic what you need to do is be like I'm going to read ten pages today I'm gonna read 20 pages the next day I'm gonna read thirty and then 40 and then 50 and then before you know it you're reading a thousand pages in a day I'm just kidding you will stop at a point what you're doing with this is you're just gradually taking on a little bit more so it doesn't seem so overwhelming if you just use these small goals then you will eventually get to a bigger sense of achievement I guess I don't really know I kind of lost that sentence a little bit there no for your goals if you were a reward-based person then like set yourself a reward for when you get to a certain threshold so say I start at ten pages or I start at like one chapter and then I'm like okay when I read five chapters I will be able to do this or I will be able to like have a doughnut I'll be able to like I don't know watch an episode of RuPaul I don't know just set yourself overboard so then it's something for you to look forward to when you do achieve that goal now your goals don't have to be page based or chapter based you can also set yourself a certain period of time that you want to read for so for example be like I'm gonna read for half an hour before bed every night that will be really helpful because you should try and build reading as a habit again so make it your habit that at 10 o'clock you are going to bed but you put away your phone you put away your laptop you put away all of that stuff and then you open up a book instead and that is what you do before you fall asleep so eventually you will condition yourself to put away your phone put away all that stuff and not even want to be reaching for it you will want to reach for that book before bed and before bed is always when I get a lot of reading done but you can also do this in the morning instead of checking your phone first thing you can read a chapter before you have to get ready for work or school or whatever it is you do or on your morning commute you can open a book instead of scrolling through your phone basically when you're gonna scroll through your phone try and reach for a book instead and when you're in a slump your attention might wander and it might be a little bit difficult at first but eventually it will get easier my next tip is another one for finding what you are going to read so if you're having trouble finding a book that's quick and short and really capturing your attention try rereading something that you know that you love that way you aren't getting introduced to a whole new world and new characters and everything you're revisiting something that you are familiar with and it has to be a story that you really loved and enjoyed so then it gets you excited about reading again Harry Potter is generally a great one for that because a lot of people love it and it is a really exciting and fun story my next tip might seem a little bit odd to you but that is to DNF a book if it's not working so that means DNF is do not finish so if you're like a hundred pages into the story usually I like to give books 100 pages but like don't feel bad if you read 10 and then you put it down the name of the game is you want to be reading something you enjoy so then you're not trudging through it putting a book down doesn't necessarily mean that you're giving up on it entirely you can always revisit it when you're feeling a little bit less slumpy about your reading and my final tip is the reason that I have been reading recently and that is audiobooks audiobooks are amazing I love audiobooks they're not for everyone but like if you haven't tried it before I highly encourage that you do you can listen to them at any speed ey I listen to mine at twice the speed and in place of like listening to music or watching a TV show while I'm getting ready or doing whatever maybe like cooking basically every time that my ears are not occupied and I'm not trying to focus on anything else I will have an audio book on that way I'm still reading even though I'm not physically reading I am getting through some of the books that I have been interested in just in a different way if you had been thinking about trying out audiobooks for the first time audible is a service that I recommend I have a link down below that you can click and get two free audiobooks when you sign up for a free trial so those are all of my tips for helping you to hopefully get out of your reading slump I hope that it helps you and I hope that your slump will be over soon because it really does suck when you have a lot of books that you're excited about but you're just not feeling like reading it's so weird and so awful and I'm so sorry that you are in that situation but if you wanted more bookish recommendations and helpful tips then don't forget to click that subscribe button and then click that Bell icon so you'll be notified whenever I post I put up new videos every Wednesday and Friday and I'm also a part of the bookmarks live show which is held every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time I will leave the information for that down below for you guys you can also keep up with me on all of my social media I will have all my links and handles down below for you guys so thank you so so much for watching and I will see you guys in my next video bye\n"