8 Steps to rapidly develop a long lasting reading habit

I am glad you are giving your precious time right now to this post and I presume that you are very much interested in developing the precious habit of reading, therefore I hope this post provide solution to your problem and justice to your time.

Before jumping straight on the topic I would like you to take a deep breath and pay attention to the questions listed below -

Q. Has it happened to you that you have taken a New Year resolution to develop a reading habit and couldn’t abide by it?

Q. Do you feel bad about wasting time every day which you must have dedicated to reading books?

Q. Had you made up your mind to read last weekend but ended up watching a ton of movies?

Q. Or you don’t simply have a hobby and want to develop reading books as the main hobby?

If the answer of all these questions is ‘Yes’ then you are completely normal and are on the way of developing a reading habit and be a voracious reader. Although, you just need a little push!

To develop a reading habit you must first understand the basic issues which hinder you from reading consistently.

         1.       You get bored at the first page only.

         2.      You get your first yawn once you flip a couple of pages.

         3.      Your reading time is taken over by the telecast of your favourite movie on the television.

         4.      You simply procrastinate because you think that you will read tomorrow.

         5.      Or you don’t read because of numerous other reasons

So, if you face or have faced such obstructions then DO NOT WORRY!

This post will not only tell you how to develop a reading habit but the places you can use to make reading a big part of your life.

By going through these simple tips and, of course, following them you will be associating books and lots of knowledge to yourself.

      However, doesn’t matter how simple these tips are to implement but do remember that you are the one who will implement them; so I insist you to preserve your enthusiasm for the time span mentioned in the tips below.

·         (Day 1) Your Sleeping time - Pick Up the novel of Sherlock Holmes or any Ruskin bond book on day 1. It is mandatory that you consider a book in which the total number of pages does not exceed 200-220.

On the first day, you do not have to take out a specific time from your schedule in order to read the book.

When you wake up in the morning, you obviously take some time in coming out of the bed because of the after-sleep effect that engulfs the body and the mind. You need to make use of this time and begin reading the page 1 of the book. Keep reading and do not stop until 5 minutes are over.

You will have to stay true to yourself i.e. don’t distract for 5 minutes and after the time is over don’t think about reading at all.

"A capacity, and taste, for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others" - Abraham Lincoln

·         (Day 2) Now, you will already be a day old in the world of reading, moving ahead step by step. It is the time for you to go in your balcony. Do not worry if your house does not have a balcony, just go by the window and pick up the same book, open the page bookmarked on day 1 and start reading again.

Do not stop reading until 10 minutes are over then close the book and do not think about the book or reading anymore.

"How well he's read, to reason against reading" - William Shakespeare

·         (Day 3) On day 3 you will realize that your mind has already formed a relationship with the book, but do not get carried away and restrict your reading to only 12 minutes.

I suggest, on day3, your luxurious sofa with super-soft cushions will be an ideal place to sit, relax and read for 12 minutes.

"Learning gives creativity, creativity leads to thinking, thinking provides knowledge, knowledge makes you great" - APJ Abdul Kalam

·         (Day 4)  Day 4 is the day to push your momentum up, therefore, increase your reading time to 18 minutes; it is an increment of 6 minutes but since you are already halfway so it will be a piece of cake for you.

The terrace might be a good place for performing the reading activity on day 4. However, beware of not looking elsewhere but in the book only.

Keep in mind that most people give up reading on day 4, why?

The answer is they become complacent about their success on the last 3 days.

"Books are only made so that they may point the way to a higher life; but no good results unless the path is trodden with unflinching steps" - Swami Vivekananda

·         (Day 5) Since you geared yourself up on day 4 it’s the time for you to relax because too much of everything is not at all good.

So, on day 5, you need to add 2 more minutes to your reading time and make it 20 minutes overall.

Please do note that you have to continue reading the same book during implementing these tips.

(The reason I mentioned the note above is because before publishing this post I gave it to a wise friend of mine for reading and he proved his wisdom by picking up 5 different books on 5 days. His action hit my head like a bazooka!)

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing" - Benjamin Franklin

·         (Day 6) I guarantee that you will feel really content on day 6 and it will be your time to rev the engine up and drag the reading time up to 25 minutes.

You will notice that reading the book will be a piece of cake for you now. You deserve a cake too today hence reading your book while eating your favourite pastry will add sweetness to your reading practice.

"Coming into contact with a good book and possessing it, is indeed an everlasting enrichment." - APJ Abdul Kalam

·         (Day 7) You need to do nothing special on day 7; it will be following day 6 again i.e. reading for 25 minutes but on day 7 make sure to sit in a chair and do it because it is said that a good and comfortable chair is the best place where the mind grasps quickly from the book.

     "Read 500 pages every day. That's how knowledge works. It builds up like compound interest" - Warren Buffet

·         (Day 8) Day 8 carries the most essential tip but before proceeding with reading promise yourself not to give up here.

             You will already be finished with one cycle of reading by Day 8 and therefore you                    need to perform 2 more of these 7 days cycles. Once you stay consistent you will feel              content to see the number of pages you have finished in this process of developing                  the reading habit.

            The reason I am telling you to perform 2 more cycles is because every good habit                   takes 21 days to complete and come into role. This habit will stick to you for life if                   carried on for 21 days.

Wrap Up

Reading books can have a perennial positive effect on your brain; you will be able to grasp things quickly and bail yourself out of the petty problems that have bothered you hitherto.

Students looking out for a job often face problems of mentioning hobbies in their curriculum vitae. If you are a student and are going through this problem then this is your chance to add a good & ever-appreciated hobby to your resume.

People often say that they tried a lot but couldn’t succeed in reading books. But let bygones be bygones.

At present, you must give these 8 steps a shot and I assure you that you will see a big progress in your reading habit.

However, do keep in mind that these steps will accomplish last 90% of your task, but the first 10% will be covered by your commitment to develop a good reading habit.

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Do visit our online used book store bx-zone.com. BX-Zone.com is  a website where you can sell your old used books directly to people around you. 

There are plenty of books available for sale at great discounts in its used book store being uploaded by the users who want to exchange or sell their used books with readers like you

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6 books which you should carry along on your trip to the Himalayas

Whether it is a journey by toy train from Kalka to Simla or a road trip from Chandigarh to Ladakh, you always get fascinated by the sky-kissing snow-covered mountains and stupendous landscape of Himalayas.

A cool walk on the mall road of Simla, or a view of the snow–covered peaks in Manali or mountain sports on green surface surrounded by evergreen deodar trees in Khajjar or a bike trip through Rohtang pass, all are capable of helping you lose your worries immediately.

All these are reasons enough which make the travel to Himalayas a must for every individual at least once in his/her life.

Once on a trip to Himalayas, I walked around the whole day taking view of the dangerous cliffs and the deep valleys, I was on an exploring spree so I climbed a lot with my back pack and all the necessary mountain gears. 

The mountains of the Himalayas have such a positive effect on you that you feel a kind of never-ending stamina in your body for the whole day and you keep moving ahead & ahead.

However, by evening I got tired and therefore I decided to come back to the hotel. In a few minutes I was sitting in the balcony of my room with a cup of tea in my hand enjoying the landscape covered by the evening mist with a cool breeze ruffling my hair.

It was a total divine experience for me with my trust strengthening in almighty, thanking the creator of the nature from the bottom of my heart for making the Himalayan region so full of nature. 

My room was at the 10th floor and the good thing of my room was that the balcony overlooked the snow covered mountains of the Himalayas. The view was enough to provide an exhausted mind a feeling of bliss.

In that feeling of bliss, I picked up a book lying on the coffee table just to take a cursory look and found out that 2 hours passed but my attention didn’t divert, not an inch.

What was it?

I could never imagine my concentration to be so robust. Till date, I believe it is the combination of the pristine beauty of Himalayas, pure cool breeze and the book I picked (I will mention the book later)

So, whether you are on a tour of Manali and spending half the day sitting by Beas River or you are on a trek to the tall mountains of Kedarkanth, visiting the Himalayas will not be perfect unless you carry a book with you.

A good and healthy book will not only make your time in the Himalayas memorable but will also elevate your divine experience to the highest level.

So, here we go with the books that you must carry on your trip to the Himalayas –

#1 . The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

The fresh Himalayan air has the potential to unlock the hidden powers possessed by you. You must make use of this opportunity to bring an effective change in your attitude.

Today, with the emergence of Internet, the confidence level of an average human being has risen up.

But still if you introspect, you will find that there is a wide scope of strengthening it.

In this book, the author Norman Vincent Peale has beautifully described a few simple things which if followed can do wonders to your personality and fill your life with joy and prosperity.

The essence of this book is to teach you to believe in yourself, to enjoy positivity and confidence, so can there be any place better than the snow-covered peaks upfront to read it.

Great things are achieved through partnerships. Norman Vincent Peale, therefore, has stressed in this book to make god your partner in the process of everything you want to achieve.

This book will teach you to introduce firm belief in your prayers, will encourage you to pray every day, will strengthen your belief in almighty so that you start believing in yourself and develop a positive attitude. This book is surely one of the life changing books.

Our souls get a divine feeling in the presence of nature so imagine the experience you will get while reading something that is encouraging you to pray in the pristine nature of the mountains. 

#2.  Mega Living by Robin Sharma

Planning to grab the breathtaking view of the the Himalayan range just to get rid of your hectic work schedule and bring some peace to mind? Well, then this is the book you must read on your trip.

You will get to learn how to add years to life. By years, I mean longevity + Joy + Prosperity.

Robin Sharma has efficiently instructed nurturing the importance of life in your mind, to tap its potential and learn about the powers within.

If you have ever been to the Himalayas then you will agree with me that the air of the Himalayan region has some kind of magic.

Once it ruffles your hair you feel as if the clogged pores of your brain are opening to embrace the light of life.

The reason I told you this is because everyone battles the presence of negative thoughts erupting inside the mind. Sometimes, they just debilitate us.

The most important aspect of this book is it makes you learn how to deal with negative thoughts, beat them down and fill your mind with only positive thoughts.

So, I recommend you to try it out in your next trip to the Himalayas, even if you have read it already; just get ready to see the magic when you read it there.

Also, this was the book which I mentioned about, in the beginning of the article. Give it a shot and I am sure you will surely remember it as a book that changed your life.

#3. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

The feeling of the present cannot be ignored. Imagine the difference in the feeling when you dreamt of receiving promotion to a higher designation and when you actually got it.

When you dreamt of being a topper in your class and when you actually became one or take an example of your travel to the Himalayas, when you imagined yourself trekking in Himalayas, booked your tickets and when you actually trekked there.

All these signal to the power the present has and that is why, they say ‘Live in the present’.

I know that you have heard this phrase a bunch of times in your life, and you read it often in your social media news feed but does your soul actually knows the meaning of it?

Even you have vowed in the past to ‘live in the present’ but mind tends to give in to the first negative emotion aroused by not-so-good circumstances. This negative emotion then interferes with your way of living and prosperity.

But, you can realize the true meaning of this phrase through the concepts stunningly presented by Eckhart Tolle in the book ‘The Power of Now’. The ideas provided in this book can truly help you transform your life by killing stress and grasping the energy of the current moment.

The most beautiful thing about this book is that Eckhart Tolle has given a lot of breaks in between the chapters, where you can just go over what you read to deeply absorb it in your mind.

So, if you are fond of living life to the fullest and your Himalayan trip is a part of this fondness then this book should be in your bag. Believe me, if you trust a little in finding the life in a book then grab a copy of it on your trip to the Himalayas.

#4. A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

This book became a big success when it was released and you will be astonished to know that it was the first book of its author.

Marianne Williamson, in this book, has stressed that love is the true spirit of life.

Instead of love, mind tends to embrace fear when things seem to be insurmountable which results in a corrupted soul. Then the other sins such as greed, selfishness and anger make their way in slowly.

This book provides several anecdotes which can help you give up on fear and embrace love. It will teach you that the inner peace or the bliss can be obtained not by achieving status or wealth or power but by adapting and sharing love with the people of the world.

#5. The Art of Happiness by 14^th Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler

This book is an illustration of the interview of the 14^th Dalai Lama taken by Howard Cutler.  Cutler has supported the wisdom imparted by the Dalai Lama in this book with his own research.

It too answers a very vital question of life which is - 
'What do you mean by happiness?'

The Dalai Lama, in this book, says that the happiness of a person totally lies in his own hands and is not governed by external events and circumstances but is generated from the state of his mind.

The book talks about feeding the mind with affirmations, analysing the thoughts and emotions, paying attention to the thought process, training it on a regular basis so that it develops a state of mind better known as ‘Happiness’ in this world.

It tells you that if you are more socially active, focused and creative then you tend to be happier than the people who are self-centered and unsociable.

The deeply explained philosophy of achieving happiness in this book makes it another good choice for reading with an amazing landscape in front of you.

#6. Tuesdays with Morrie By Mitch Albom

I am certain that this book is capable of making you fall in love with self-help books.

Mitch Albom met his college professor who was also his childhood mentor nearly after 20 years and found out that he was fatally sick.

There were things which still remained entangled for the author and on finding his professor after so many years; he would go to his study every Tuesday to take life lessons.

You might fall into tears by the time you reach the last page of this book.

If you are also in a predicament at this moment and planning to travel to the mountains of the Himalayas to find some answers, take this book with you. I bet it will surely deliver.

Wrap Up

It is an unquestionable fact that we go to the Himalayas to enjoy ourselves in nature, restore our confidence in ourselves, and kill stress so that we can feel the next Monday as the first day of our life.

Though on your trip, you will be living in the Himalayas for a very short time of your life but it is enough to bring in peace to the mind which is self-sustainable for an entire year or two.

Within this process, whether you are a reader or a non-reader, you cannot ignore the importance of the books. You cannot imagine the impact reading books can have whether you are sitting in the balcony of your hotel, watching the view or resting in your sleeping bag after a tiring trek.

However, the choice of books also plays an important role and that is what was in my mind when I thought about writing this article.

So, have you read any of the books mentioned here  before? And which of these books would you like to take with you on your next trip to the Himalayas?

Is there any book you would like to add to this list?

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Calling all engineers : 9 effective tips to follow during and after graduating engineering

According to the internet, 1.5 million youngsters become engineers every calendar year.

It might interest you to know that in the year 2015, 16 year old adolescents when asked which career they want to take up, as much as 82% replied ‘Engineering’, according to a Times of India report.

Of course why won’t they?

Due to the emergence of the IT industry, getting job has been much easier in the previous and current decade compared to eighties & nineties.

Also, IT industry pays you enough to afford a house in Tier-3 cities.

And then comes theories and rumours from so-called pessimists, self-proclaimed realists and negative thinkers that IT industry has reached its point of saturation and is no longer going to grow.

There is a simple solution which comes from the positive thinkers and the bullish investors of the stock market that as long as there exists technology (impossible to remove)  in the world, there will emerge new challenges in the form of problems.

And who better can provide the solutions with extremely skilled labour and inexpensive prices than the Indian IT industry.

A contradicting Fact

Despite known worldwide as one of the most talented workforce, it is a bitter fact that only 20% of the engineering graduates are employed and 80% of them find it hard to secure a job in the early stages.

The situation of the 80% employed doesn’t seem to get any better.

When a bunch of Companies from diverse sectors (not just IT) was surveyed, a new concern surfaced that they often find a major chunk of these 80% graduates lacking in basic engineering skills and sometimes not fit for the job.

The above points may sound harsh but they are the facts.

My Personal Experience

During my graduation period, I observed a thing which appeared very relaxing and comforting at that moment.

Most of us would always seek to find questions from question banks that appeared in previous semesters and would focus preparing them.

Well, I must say this helped us a lot because we were able to clear all the semesters without fail and scored well too. J

But, if I retrospect now, I notice that I hardly studied anything. Had I really studied I would have had at least a piece of it in my personality.

Right now, I don’t even remember the names of most of the subjects.(I bet my condition is the worst J)

The bottom line is that Engineering has become very much examination-oriented rather than idea-oriented.

If you are an aspiring engineer or already an engineer, you would agree that most of your friends and colleagues just look forward to clearing the semesters and cracking campus-interviews rather than actually asking a simple question to themselves –

‘What is the purpose of studying engineering?’

Well, I would rather leave it to you to ponder over it.

It is very necessary to keep in mind a few things while pursuing engineering so that it actually makes sense to study it, feel it and embrace it.

So, in this post I am sharing few tips from my own experience that will help you to study engineering well and developing a good skill set for the rest of your life –

#1. Bygones are not bygones

When you move from one semester to another, I strongly don’t recommend you to forget what happened in the previous one.

Of course, you won’t keep your used books with you and would sell or donate them to your juniors.

That is why it is recommended to make notes every semester and try to connect what you study in the present with the topics studied in the last semester.

Whenever you get time, just give a superficial look at the topics you studied previously to build a strong knowledge foundation.

Always remember connecting topics will give you immense exposure and a great engineering experience.

It should be kept in mind that the next semester is an augmentation of the previous one and not something totally different.

#2. I am proud of my language but English is also necessary

Nobody can separate us from our indigenous language ‘Hindi’ and mother tongue or weaken our love for them.

We have been and will be proud to speak our own languages.

But, since Indian companies or foreign enterprises in India that employ our engineers get most of the business from the west hence I strongly recommend you to develop a grip over ‘English’ from as early as the first semester.

From my own experience, spoken English is always given very less importance but is the most important skill when it comes to cracking interviews and even after that on the job.

If you speak good English with confidence, without using fillers then you can create a great first impression on your bosses and colleagues in the corporate.

This skill can effectively disguise your weakness in any other skills and make you a shining star in no time.

#3.  Programming

By programming, I am going very much specific to IT and computer science engineering. But if I widened the scope by using the term ‘hands-on’ it would apply to other engineering branches as well.

From the last decade to the current year, the situation hasn’t much changed. More stress is given to theoretical learning and a very little importance is given to hands-on activities.

The above line has been written in reference to most of the colleges of the country and not IITs and NITs where a student has to score good in laboratory examinations as well.

I consider this as the major reason of the companies complaining of engineers lacking in basic necessary skills.

IT giants expect computer-science and IT engineers to enter with basic programming knowledge which most of them lack because not enough importance is given to it during the entire 4 years of engineering.

So, if you think that the current engineering system is not serious about thorough hands on in its curriculum, make sure that you gear up and develop great programming skills or hands-on skills relevant to your engineering branch.  

#4 Participation in events

A lot of tech-events take place across various cities in the entire calendar year and also on different websites. I would strongly recommend you to take part in them.

There are a lot competitions held in those events such as bug-tracking, algorithms creation, robotics, building circuit boards etc.

Even if you like to be in the organizing committee it’s well and good. Why?

Since, you would unintentionally started working on your managerial skills at a very early age.

The only feeling which could stop you from participate in these events is ‘I don’t know anything, how will I do it?”

Well, Please Please Please ! Kill this feeling.

Even if you could do very less in those events doesn’t matter, but the kind of exposure and experience you will get in such events is totally incomparable and will strike sense in your head of what engineering really is about.

     

   

 #5 Learning must not stop at the job

Don’t think that once you got your first job, it’s time to totally chill. No!

What you studied in engineering acted as a ladder for you to get the job. Now, your attitude towards your job will act as a ladder for your retirement life.

Therefore, keep yourself updated with the latest stuff in your technology area and keep harnessing your skills.

Do not stop learning from books as well as from your seniors. The more you dig in, the better your future will be.

#6 Be creative

Engineering is all about simplifying manual efforts.

So, as a computer science engineer if you feel that a small program could reduce your effort by even a tiny amount just write it.

If you are a mechanical or an automobile engineer try to develop your interest towards machines and engines right from the start.

Small inventions done by you that can reduce the effort of you and your family can make a big difference.

This activity will make your mind addicted to creating something new every now and then and of course, you will learn something out of your own experience.

Boosting your creativity will make you understand the real meaning of engineering.

#7  Handle individual projects

A major chunk of your learning process depends on working on individual projects.

So, if you are an undergraduate assign yourself 3 projects per year and start working on them. If you could form a team that is well and good, however, if not then start solo.

With Google getting stronger, you can get help on the project topics from a large number of websites.

To name a few you can start with building an android app, or an online store etc.

Flying drones are becoming increasingly popular these days and you cannot imagine the happiness you will receive when it will fly for the first time. 

Working on individual projects is closely associated with being creative.

Also, listing projects in the curriculum vitae can play a key role during your job interviews as the interviewer will automatically drift his questions towards the projects you have worked upon.  

#8 Networking starts at an early age

The success of all the social media sites suggest how powerful networking is in 21^st century.

Hence, I would suggest you to start building a network of efficient, hardworking and good engineers as early as possible.

I never had such a network but I consider myself lucky that I was able to secure a job at the right time.

The value of networking can be realized both in the times of strong job demand & job crisis.

Companies often conduct referral programs in which they ask their own employees to refer their own friends or acquaintances for the open job position.

And if you are good such referral programs can land you a good job in top MNCs.

#9  Seek alternate guidance

As I stated earlier that companies often complain of new recruits lacking in basic skills.

Well, the blame must be shared equally between the faculties and the graduates themselves.

It points out that somewhere something is wrong in imparting technical education. Of course, this post is not about what is wrong in that area hence we won’t dig more into that.

However, this signals the need for the undergraduates to seek guidance from other sources too.

The other sources can be your successful seniors, engineers from your own family, books, faculties from your own networks, blog posts (like this one) and many education websites.

Effective guidance is very much necessary because it shows you the path to your goals and then comes your choice of walking on it and achieving them.

Wrap Up

The world of engineering is unlimited. It starts with the basic idea of simplifying manual efforts to automating the entire production process of a giant automobile company.

It is the time to set the germ inside the mind of exposing yourself to the creation side of Engineering rather than just thinking always about securing a job.

The message is do not limit yourself. Expose your mind to different dimensions of technical education and you will see the results.

So, do you agree with the tips mentioned here? Have they made a little difference to your thought process?

Do you have something more to share with us that help India produce better engineers?

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