Reading a book is one of the best ways of feeding your mind with information, inspiration and ideas. If we can find time to feed our body 3-5 times a day, we can surely find time to feed our mind at least once a day. If you want to keep yourself at maximum creative capacity, you have to make sure you are taking in new ideas and thoughts. If you are a professional, you need to stay up to date with the latest. If you are a parent, you need to set an example for your kids so they also develop a habit of reading and a love of learning. Few tips:

1. Set aside a time. It doesn’t have to be much but even a 10-minute commitment to yourself can make a difference. For me, it’s the commute, on flights and at night before going to sleep.
2. Keep a list. I recently read somewhere how keeping a list of what you have read and what you want to read can be so useful, and I have just started doing that.
3. Buy books. Why do you think the publishing industry continues to grow despite the increase in the amount of content available on the Internet? We can write another long list of benefits of reading a book compared to reading on the Internet. Think of the books that have had the biggest impact on you… could you look for similar stuff on the Internet?
4. It’s OK to give up. If you start reading a book, you don’t have to finish it. Every book is not going to be great. I think it’s OK to give up a book without finishing it and moving on to another one.

Please share your own tips through the comments.

[Photo taken by Sara while I was waiting/reading in the park outside the Loughbrough University. Apr 2008]