Rekindling the reading habit
How I’ve supercharged my desire to read books
At the beginning of 2024, I set a goal for myself to read 20 books. I wanted to go for 24 in ‘24, but two books per months seemed too daunting of a task.
I ended up reading 8 that year.
A success rate right on par with most of our New Year’s Resolutions I imagine.
A decade of data on my reading habits
I read a good bit coming out of college in the early 2010’s. As a young pastor, I was trying to learn as much as I could. Staff readings were helpful. I also found myself interested in things like marketing and communication, and I really enjoyed books like Creativity, Inc, Steve Jobs’ biography, and similar interesting reads.
A new job in 2019, a pandemic in 2020, a new baby boy in 2021 and a slew of other factors cratered my reading habit into nonexistence. More than anything, the doomscrolling, algorithm-driven culture of content consumption had fully sunk its teeth into me. Sure, part of staying up with the trends is my job, but it had gone far beyond that.
The murder of my attention span
I’ve always enjoyed reading.
I’ve always loved the idea of reading.
Well, I’ve at least always love the idea of being a reader.
So, I tried. I tried to read books. Megan and I would frequent local bookstores when we traveled and never missed a stop at Barnes & Noble when there was one we went by. I often picked up a book that looked intriguing. I would look so forward to cracking it open and being transformed by whatever new insights I would glean from the book.
But then I would try to read. I would get distracted. Bored even. My bookshelf a literal graveyard of unread books that I had left behind. By sheer force of will I finished one here and there. I devoured Shoe Dog by Phil Knight in two evenings during this time. But I never stuck with it. I couldn’t read for more than a few minutes at a time without finding myself distracted once again.
The funny thing is that I spent most of that time scrolling trying to learn and grow. Looking up things I’m interested in. Following pseudo-influencers deliver micro-content. It felt like learning…and I suppose it was…but my technology habits were short-circuiting other habits that are important to me.
Willpower and floundering goals
So I tried real hard to read. Like really hard.
I ended up reading 8 books in 2024 and improved to 13 in 2025.
Not quite up to my 2024 goal even in 2025, but I was back to building a more consistent habit.
Looking back, I’m intrigued by my thought process.
I wanted to “reignite my love for reading.”
And while I didn’t quite get there in 2024 or 2025, I can honestly say that the passion for reading is more prevalent today than it has ever been in my life.
I’m on pace to read as many books in 2026 (47 so far through 6 months) as I had previously in the entire time I’ve tracked in Goodreads the last decade (78ish since 2015).
How Jimmy got his (reading) groove back
A friend asked me recently how I find the time to read. I gave her the honest answers:
I’ve (mostly) replaced my phone and pre-bedtime scrolling with my kindle and late night reading.
I’ve learned to enjoy walking in a safe space while having my latest kindle reading open.
I look for opportunities throughout the day such as at lunchtime, before work, or a few minutes when I wake up in the morning.
I’ve endeavored to listen to one audio book per month.
I’ve carefully curated my to read list to include things that I want to come back to, that ignite my imagination and inspire me.
I alternate between fiction and nonfiction, flank longer more laborious reading with more breezier reads.
I’ve meticulously built my to read list through personal recommendations and algorithmic suggestions.
Utilizing the Libby app through the local library to get books free.
All of this has helped me gain a sense of momentum. To build habits. To get me reaching for the kindle instead of the phone when I have a few spare moments.
The battle for my attention.
I could outline dozens of ways that my reading habit this year has improved my life.
I could tell you several reasons why this practice is important to me.
I have much I want to learn (and read about!) attention spans, the power of reading and the connection to our overall well being.
But all of those ideas can be unpacked later down the road.
For now I’m focused on cultivating this habit of reading alongside my habit of writing. How to keep up my quality inputs while also cultivating the way I think with what I’m learning.
I’ve found the allure of the algorithms to be enticing. And as I replace some of my reading time with writing time, I want to make sure I keep the momentum of reading going…for the sake of my attention span and for the sake of my life.
The key to rekindling my reading habit was never trying harder. It was making it easier to reach for the things that mattered more to me.