The Benefits of Drawing a Personal Reading Plan

“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”

Margaret Fuller

This quote from Margaret Fuller says that readers are leaders of tomorrow. Reading is a difficult task; as such, it takes discipline to be a reader. Therefore, you must draw out a personal reading plan, just as you do for work, exercise, finances, school, and leisure time. 

Just as these other plans help you get the most out of your time and resources, so does a personal reading plan. 

What is a personal reading plan?

A personal reading plan is a system usually a list for determining what you will read next. It could be of specific titles (all works of Chinua Achebe) or broader topics or genres (Nigeria-tribes and cultures). A reading plan guides you reading and keeps you from stagnating or always choosing the path of least resistance.

Reading is a valuable discipline. We live in a world of continuous awakening. The reading culture in Nigeria took a nosedive with the advent of television. There is a common saying in Nigeria that goes thus; if you want to hide something from a Nigerian, put it in a book. However, the reading culture is gradually getting a boost due to encouragement from mentors and NGOs championing the rebirth of reading culture among young Nigerians.

The provision of e-books is also making reading culture easily adaptable. With the new e-readers technology, reading is experiencing a resurgence. The resurgence will, therefore, be enhanced by drawing up a personal reading plan. 

Below are some of the benefits of a personal reading plan

It makes you a disciplined reader.

Here we are not ruling out reading for fun or making reading enjoyable, rather having a plan keeps you reading consistently. Just like a to-do list, a to-do read also is necessary. This keeps you motivated as to the number of pages you may decide to read a day or the amount of time you put in towards reading on a daily basis. When you tackle your reading seriously, you get serious amounts of reading time.

It helps you push to get through books you may otherwise not want to finish

While reading should be made to be an enjoyable endeavor (hating what you are reading will make you not want to read anymore) sometimes finishing a book you are not super in love with is worth it. It takes a lot of mental energy to keep going with hard books that you are not naturally drawn to however working with a list and a curriculum just has a way of speaking to the brain thereby adding an extra dose of motivation.

It keeps you in a lifelong learner mindset

Your education does not end with you acquiring a degree certificate. Reading is not just for entertainment but also to further your education and backing it up with a personal reading plan can help you make this curriculum more substantive and meaningful.

Greases the reading wheels a bit

Choosing the next book from a library or a bookstore can be quite strenuous and draining mentally and this is usually caused by the amount of time taken to pick out a book. Therefore, working with a personal reading plan erases the option of choosing instead you simply go to the next book on your list. Having a personal reading plan greases the wheels and lets you get into a groove much easier. 

Creates a mastery of a subject

Having a breadth of knowledge is wonderful however mastery in a single topic, subject or skill is also. Such mastery provides satisfaction and self-confidence in spades. One certain way of mastery is by reading deeply into a single subject. Whether driven by your career or personal reading plan is a Sunfire way to deepen your knowledge base.

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