Do you have big reading goals for the summer? Do your #summerreadinggoals often seem unattainable by the last few weeks of summer? They don’t have to seem difficult if you take a closer look at your goal before you commit to it. Sure, we all know it’s important to get our kids to read during the summer months, too, but moms also need to keep our brains active! Besides, what better way to spend your time at the pool while the kids swim and play? That’s why I’m going to show you how to set a goal for summer reading.
Set an easy goal
Rather than setting a goal that seems just inside the limits of attainable, set a goal that you’re 75% sure you can reach. Set a goal that will challenge you, but not stress you out. I know when I have a goal that feels attainable, I don’t feel stressed. I don’t worry, “Will I be able to finish all these books?” Instead, I’m relaxed. I enjoy reading more because I’m not anxious to get to the next one for the sake of meeting my goal. Once you’ve reached your goal, push yourself to read just one more book. It’s always easier when we tell ourselves, “Just one more cookie,” right? So why not try it with books!
Start small
Starting with a daunting 500-page book may not be the best way to set the tone for your summer reading. It could take a while to finish it, leading to disappointment and possibly giving up. Instead, start with an average or even shorter book to encourage you to read more. Finishing a book quickly boosts our confidence to pick up the next book and so on.
Reward yourself
Right after you set your goal for how many books you’d like to read this summer, think long and hard about how you’d like to reward yourself when you’ve met that goal. Go out on a date with the hubs? Bake brownies for yourself? Get your nails done? What will drive you to want to meet your goal? Another thing to keep in mind when deciding on a reward is how the reward keeps you from moving on to the next thing without pausing to take in the fact that you met your goal! It’s something to celebrate and it shouldn’t go unnoticed.
Deadlines
Give yourself deadlines to meet your reading goal. A couple ideas are telling yourself to read a certain amount of pages each day. Or choosing which books you’d like to read and putting the titles on the calendar to mark your intended finished dates. Deadlines are sure to keep you on track and motivated. If you don’t feel you can meet one of the deadlines, try switching the books around or lowering the amount of daily pages. The deadlines don’t have to be unmovable, they’re only on the calendar to help.
Make a list
Before you set your sights on a certain goal, pick out some books that will keep you excited to read throughout the summer. What’s the hugely popular book you can’t seem to stop thinking about? Or the book that came highly recommended from a friend? Make a list and realistically think about just how many you’d be able to read this summer. Then keep that list around when you make your decision on what to read next. If there are plenty of great books to choose from each time you finish another book, you’re sure to keep coming back for more books!
Remove those roadblocks
What’s stopping you from reading? What makes it difficult to start reading? Keep a book near your favorite spot on the couch. Set time limits for social media on your phone. Make reading a reward for finishing chores. The important thing here is to consider what may stop you from reading and how best to address that obstacle.
Make it a habit
We may have fallen off the bandwagon during the rest of the year, but the summer is the best time to reset our reading habit. Consider what’s the best time to read during the day? When do you have 30 minutes to yourself to read for a bit? Is there a specific time of day you have a ritual or routine? Such as, having a cup of tea before bed each night. By adding reading to that time, you could signal to your brain that it’s time to read when you sit down with a hot mug of tea. In the summer, maybe it’s a tall glass of lemonade or iced tea in the afternoon. Whatever helps you create a habit of reading to make it easier to meet your summer reading goals.
Now that you have all the tools you need on how to set a goal for summer reading, it’s time to set a goal and get excited about reading! Make that goal easy, exciting, and best of all turn it into a habit. As a mom, it’s not just our children’s continued development that we need to consider, but our own as well.
If you enjoyed this article on how to set a goal for summer reading, be sure to share it! You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. You might also like my article, 7 Tips to Raise Readers. It’s about how you can help your kids become better readers today.
