How many books do you read in a year? 
How can you find time to read more?

Five years ago, I read fewer books per year than I could count on one hand. Then it became over 12 books a year. Then over 20. This year, I’ve set a goal to read 40 books.

I’ve always loved reading, but in the past, I often told myself, “I don’t have time to read.”

So how do I make more time to read — without extending the day to 25 or 27 hours?

Here’s how I do it.

The Mindset Shift

The first and most important thing is mindset. You have to believe that reading books is important — a must-do, not just a nice-to-have. For me, it’s the first task on my daily to-do list. Once that belief is strong, making time becomes a lot easier.

The internal game is always the hardest. But once you win it, the rest becomes simpler.

Creating the Time

The next step is building a habit.

I started by setting aside 30 minutes each morning to read. It felt small at first. But over time, I increased it to 45 minutes. And now, I often read for an hour. The key is consistency and gradual process.

But beyond mornings, you can also find time throughout the day. How?

To make time for something, you have two approaches:

1. Do your main tasks more productively.
2. Cut time spent on other activities.

What can you not cut?

• Eating? No
• Sleeping? No
• Time with loved one? Definitely No.

But what about time spent scrolling social media, reading the news, or checking email constantly? Yes. That’s where the hidden time is — time we often don’t count.

Track your day. Note how much time you spend on these things. Then start cutting them gradually. I learned this from Shane Parrish — the author of Clear Thinking and founder of Farnam Street. We all have the same 24 hours. If I want more time to read, I have to cut time from somewhere — news, emails, social media.

Cutting Time from Social Media, Email, and News — Know the Traps

In the past, I spent a lot of time on social media, especially Facebook. I removed apps from my phone completely. I’ve been off social media for more than two years now.

Then, I shifted to checking emails constantly — especially work emails. Eventually, I deleted Outlook app from my phone too. I only kept personal email for essential things.

As James Clear says in Atomic Habits, you need to change your environment to make bad habits harder. So I made those distractions harder to access — and I filled that time with books instead.

But then came another trap: the news.

When I had 10–15 minutes of waiting time, I’d tell myself, “That’s not enough time to read a book. Let me just check the news.” That’s the trap. These short waits add up. You not only lose your reading time — you also build the habit of checking the news compulsively. And that habit is even more dangerous.

Now, I bring a book with me anytime I know I might have to wait. I remind myself, just open the book. Even 10 or 15 minutes of reading counts. I learned this from David Kadavy — the author of The Heart to Start.

I set a rule for myself: I don’t read the news on weekdays. I allow myself to read it only on weekends.

It’s not always easy. Still, sometimes, when I’m tired, my “monkey mind” (as Jay Shetty calls it in Think Like a Monk) takes over and I scroll through headlines. It happens. But I get back on track.

My husband has a great strategy. He uses two phones:

• One for weekdays — with all distracting apps, including Chrome, deleted.
• One for weekends — when he allows himself to read the news.

It works really well for him.

Not reading the news during the week has actually made my life happier.

News is designed to shock us, stir fear, and grab our attention. But I’ve found that when I catch up on weekends, I can read everything important from the whole week in one sitting. It’s not necessary to check every day.

You might fear of missing out (FOMO). But in reality? You’re not missing much.

Let it go.

I also used the Digital Wellbeing app on my phone to tract my screen time, especially Google Chrome. If I spend less than 1 hour a week on it, I’m happy with that.

When I cut distraction and use that time to read.

I broaden my perspective.

I work more productively.

I create more time.

And I read even more.

It becomes a virtuous cycle.