After over a decade of choosing very broad words that applied to a variety of areas I wanted to improve, this year’s word is very specific. It’s practically a traditional New Year’s Resolution, except that I’m not aiming for a specific, measurable goal. I am, however, very much looking forward to having an actual, concrete number to comment on this time next year.
My 2025 word is READ
Over the past year, I’ve finally gotten back into the habit of reading, after struggling to do so for years. Much of that reading has been motivated by my participation in the Governerds Insider book club and now I finally feel like I have the time and brain space to read beyond the books for each semester.
Below is my reading summary from 2024, generated by the StoryGraph app – which I highly recommend.
Some things I plan to try this year:
- having an “upstairs book” to read before bed and a “downstairs book” to read when I have downtime but need to be available to my family. My kids are finally big enough to leave other people’s things alone and having a book within my sights might remind me to actually pick it up.
- bringing a book to places where I’m waiting – kid’s swim and guitar lessons, doctor’s appointments – instead of relying on my phone.
- using the Bible app to read and listen to the The Bible Recap Bible-in-a-year plan (note: I have tried some version of this for the past several years and I never make it through the whole year, but it’s worth giving another try).
- Changing my phone’s lock screen to an image that reminds me to read.
- Listening to more audiobooks through Spotify and my library, though this is a struggle with my many podcast subscriptions and short commute.
- Sharing my reading on Instagram account and using StoryGraph more actively.
Let me know if you have other suggestions! I’m excited to share what I read in my December 2025 reflection post.
I’ve embraced digital books as of 2020 by using the Libby and Kindle app on my phone. I read much more with a book always present (since I keep my phone close).
At the moment I have created a morning routine that involves reading a difficult/required text for at least 25 minutes, after my other AM tasks of making coffee, putting away dishes, reading the BibleApp. Easier to do, as I am the first person up, and can count on 2 hour most mornings of solitude.
Since 2020 I have embraced books on my phone with the Libby and Kindle app. I always have a book with me now, as I keep my phone quite close.
During my sabbatical this year I have set up a morning routine that goes a little like this: scroll, coffee put away dishes, journal, read a difficult book for 25 minutes, then get on with the day. A routine can work wonders for getting in more reading. I’ve also been able to read some books that I had accumulated but never found time for that way. I’ve also been pleasantly surprised how with a little less stress in my life, I haven’t just romance novels, but also some better fiction in the evenings.
I have also found having a theme to be helpful in some areas of life to focus, although I generally don’t have one for reading.
I think it’s also helpful to think about the constraints of a goal, if you want to read ‘more’ what are you going to remove from your life? Reading does take time. Some of those substitutions might not be worth it. I also like podcasts, but at the moment, I’m listening to fewer in favor of more reading.