Tips for developing a-book-a-week reading habit & the 10 books I gift most.

Book club

Aug 27

I’m an old-fashioned type of gal.

Today’s digital diaries leave me scheduling meetings in the night instead of day. I prefer the clouds in the sky rather than as invisible storage vaults & for the love of god Apple, please design immediate jumpstart leads for your gizmos!

As for my trusty thesaurus Alexa, we are on speaking terms. Albeit she knows better than to try to tempt me with her confusing buffet of capabilities. She tests my waters, she increases the likelihood of her being launched as a projectile from my study window.

The mysterious 6th sense microchipped in today’s Gen Z appears to have escaped my genetic motherboard. “Artificially Incompetent” the more appropriate definition for AI when it comes to this anxious noggin.

Yep, keeping pace & translating our digital world spins my skull like a gravitron in sideshow alley making my mind giddy.

My reprieve? Simple primitive pleasures. Those that anchor me to the moment & keep my mind a slow & considered rotating carousel in a world of tummy churning mental rollercoasters.

It’s the little things. The tactile sensation of my leaded pencil shaping cursive words on quality paper - always my medium of choice. Invisible borders around my screen filled hours offering the days mental takings to roam freely & settle in my mind. Instrumental music from centuries past that place no demands to recall the words.

Then there are the books.

Reading has changed the pace of my life. Not fonts on screens demanding my fingers to flick through the pages like a Tinda menu. (Apparently that’s how it works!) Nor having the words punched into my brain via my ear canals. Nope, my mind repels anything other than words on paper. As much as I’ve tried.

The first steps to rebuilding life after burnout was working through my core values & putting their boundary minders in place.

Then the time came to get off the couch & be reintroduced to society. I had to learn to control my mind. To be present in the moment rather than leap into the future or clutch onto the past. I had to retrain my weak, atrophied concentration muscle.

Reading became my saviour & still is. Real books I can hold & scribble on. The meaning of books for me far from 2 dimensional.

Books fulfil my ravenous appetite for learning, they train my concentration muscle, spark ideas for opportunity.

Books inspire the content I share & still my thoughts on days my mind becomes a mental wildfire.

Books teach me to be present as I digest the meaning of each word & act as mental circuit breakers in my day.

Books offer company & connection in moments of loneliness. They never run out of battery. Nor do they rely on WIFI

Books generate conversation amongst strangers & in their preloved form are a currency that connects people.

Books are the guardians to reading & reading offers growth.

Many readers of My Beautiful Mess have commented she was the first book they had read from front to back in years. It was a very humbling compliment. Up until 3 years ago, I would have said exactly the same.

Today, I read a book a week. It’s evolved from a practised habit to a disciplined mental fitness regime I’m lost without.

I started my non-fiction, Book a Week challenge on Instagram as a way of keeping myself accountable. Today, it has gathered a small following & morphed into a wonderful way to give back to those I serve.

Many, reach out for recommendations or with questions. This is what I am asked most;

How do I find books I’m interested in?

For years I neglected my personal growth & learning of any kind outside of what I ingested from real life. I found myself fascinated by stories like my own. Tales of people who had lost their way in life & needed to find a way back to happiness. Our commonality made me feel not alone. Like I was sitting on the couch with a dear friend who understood what I was going through.

Follow the energy & find the great storytellers. Our inner energy is sparked by curiosity & what we love. Stories, easy for our mind to relate to. It’s a winning combination.

How did I go from 0 to 52 books a year?

I started with 10 pages, no more. This wasn’t a competition or a challenge. It was an exercise in growth & self-love & would only be effective if I was kind to me. If I wanted to read on, I would. If not, that was fine too.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself

When do I read?

I learnt following my burn out episode to manage my diary by energy not time. I schedule reading into my day when my energy levels are low. Generally, after lunch for an hour or two. It’s a circuit breaker for the day & an effective use of that time.

Schedule reading into your day or week as you would any appointment

How do I remember the content of what I read?

I read with highlighters, pencils & notebooks. What jumps out is highlighted. What leaps off the page is noted & that note stapled to the front cover so I can reference it quickly. My library is a constant source of reference for my daily work- coaching, writing blogs & keynotes.

Write down what resonates strongly & staple to the front cover for ease of reference.

Do I finish every book?

Pretty much. There is the occasional book that becomes too tedious, too many big words!! (these don’t make my Instagram #bookaweekchallenge) If that’s the case, I skim through & pull out what jumps out. There is always a reason I purchased it in the first place. I don’t beat myself up if I don’t read every word.

If it’s too hard, let it go. No-one is judging you.

Do I read fiction?

Very, very occasionally. Perhaps one per year & generally on holiday. For me, fiction is for Netflix! ;-)

What are the 10 books I gift most?

The books that inspire my thinking. These are the 10 that resonate most.