Hola, welcome to #PlanningSunday series on the blog.

When I was growing up, I devoured books like candy – around 15 a week, or maybe more! Life was simpler back then, right? All we had to do was go to school, finish our homework, study for exams, and maybe do a bit of house chores before heading out to play with friends! While other time (mostly), my mother would sit with us and read books together. Fast forward to my twenties, dancing and hiking took the spotlight, and my reading dipped to about 15 books a year, or maybe just 5, who knows!

Since 2019, I met a colleague turned friend at work who happens to love writing and reading! I ended up finishing 7 books that year. Then, the world pandemic happened, so I picked up the habit again. My average now is 39 books a year, with 30 on the horizon for this year. My TBR is way past 3 digits, to be honest; we will get to that for sure (don’t we all, bookworms have this issue?). But to me, for this year, my take is slightly different; it's not about the numbers; it's about savoring each book.

How did I start reading again?

How did I read more from none to 5 books a year to 30 plus a year today?

How do I even know what to read?

You might have these questions in your head right now. Or maybe, each time you come to the realization that you want to be more literate and start a reading hobby?

If you are thinking of starting a reading journey this month (Hello, happy February friends!) and have no idea how to start? Or perhaps, you just find yourself lost in the world of books, saving all those book lists recommendations for your next read, TBRs mounted, but you lost track and feel so disorganized?

I’ll answer that with a few solutions for you, so keep reading…

A plan.

You need a plan.

You need a reading plan, to be specific.

So let's chat about creating a plan.

What is a Reading Plan?

It's like a magical list of carefully chosen books that align with your goals, keep you motivated, and add a sprinkle of focus to your reading adventure. I will spill the beans on how I keep mine in Notion (you can have peek at mine in the next section below)

#1 Reading Journal

Now, go get a notebook to write down your plan, get a cute one if you like. Or maybe write it out on Google docs. Make it personal.

This is where you will brainstorm everything about your reading, keep a list of book recommendations from friends, from your own research etc.

#2 Come Up with a Reading Goal

Now that you have your reading journal ready, it’s time to think of the goal.

There are other things than number of books that you can consider in your reading plan. You can consider to ask yourself the following :

What do I want to learn this year? For instance, you want to learn about empathy

What do I want to feel this year? For instance, you just want to feel intellectually stimulated while transported into a fantasy realm.

What am I interested in? For instance, you like a book that can help you learn and feel <depending on the above answers> through a fictional story (or a non-fiction).

These are the very first questions and important decision when creating a plan. The option can be limitless but answering these questions can help you prioritise.

#3 Research and Select Books to Read

Next, if you haven’t already head to Goodreads and create your profile and search for those books you want to read. If you are new to this, Goodreads can be a good place to get you started. Let’s be friends on Goodreads, add me there so that we can know what each others are reading, it’ll be fun!

Other options are Story Graph, or just Google book blog to discover books that align with your goals.

#4 Book Format Can Be Anything!

This is one of those bookish things that sparks controversy in the book community. So, I'm carving out this space to make it safe for any type of reader – whether you love the feel of physical books, prefer the convenience of e-books on your Kindle while traveling, or enjoy the immersive experience of audiobooks during daily chores, walks, workouts, or just relaxing with a facial mask on.

For these reasons, I set up different titles for each of the three book formats. Choose what works best for us. After all, we are reading for the love of books and to improve our literacy.

Here’s where you can shop your books : Kinokuniya Malaysia | Amazon Books | Kindle Books | Audible Audiobooks

To read Kindle books, you will need a Kindle, you can consider to order : Shop in Malaysia | Shop from Amazon

#5 Set a Schedule to Read

Every month, I sit down with a calendar to sketch out my reading time. I normally do this while I am planning my monthly schedule on Bullet Journal. I normally personalize it according to my schedule of the month. For instance, I will try to match the reading genre with the vibe of the place am travelling to ~ beach reads, or the woods! Or maybe I will match it with the mood that I am in for the month ~ feel good and low stake, academia, cultural or even seasons!

Like I said, it’s limitless …

#6 Know Your Reading Speed

Think for a second, are you a fast reader or slow reader? Roughly how long did you take to finish reading a page in an A5 size? Now, don’t judge yourself and based on that time, have a look at your reading goal and your alloted time to read - when can you finish the book? or if you are on a number goals, how many books can you read within a month?

There’s mathematic calculation that you can do to amp your reading plan; I’ll share about it in details in my next blog post.

#7 Reading Accessories

Index tabs, bookmarks, pens, post-it notes, and a reading journal – my reading essentials. Oh, and a clip light for those bedtime reading.

I usually have them ready with extra supply at home so that I can easily bring it on the go whenever I start reading a new book.

Once I have the stacks of physical books ready, I’ll make sure I set up its individual index tab, book marks too. This is so that I could mark pages, quotes, plot and characters that I love from the book later.

Now, with your own plan ready, dive into those pages.

If all this is still overwhelming for you, make use of today (if you are reading on a Sunday) and just go to a bookstore - pick up a book that’s screaming your name to start reading it. Give it a go to see how it goes, it doesn’t matter even if you are only reading a page a day. Before something becomes your life style, it is first habit that you need to cultivate. The fact that you are reading this blog to explore ways to kickstart your reading journey, it’s one step forward to a start of a your literacy journey!

Let’s make February as the month you starting a reading hobby. Happy #PlanningSunday and happy reading friends, till next time! 📚

P.S.: Next time, let's chat about how to make a fun reading experience with some easy tips on marking up your books.

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If you’re thinking of buying the same journal I use, order yours using this link : 🛒 Order 'Dotted Journal'

You can also explore my favourite bookish accessories and more on my curated shopping list on 🛒 Products I love!

Explore my other blog posts about Goal Setting & Planning where you can find more tips on how I use my bullet journal

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