Ten Ways to Strengthen Your Reading Habit

Most people wish they read more. It is an activity that is both fun and enlightening. It can help us be more knowledgeable and successful. However, it is an activity that many people don’t engage in very much. According to the 1999 National Household Education Survey, 50% of the U.S. population aged 25 and over read a newspaper at least once a week, read one or more magazines regularly, and had read a book in the past 6 months. What does this mean? It means that 50% of the population hasn’t read a book in the last six months!
Looking at the other end of the spectrum, research shows that if you read ten books a year, you are in the top few percent of all people as readers. Simply stated, it doesn’t take much to be well read, but we do need to know how to get started. The following are ten suggestions to help you strengthen your reading habit – ways to find and make more time for reading.
1. Always have a book around. Don’t go anywhere without reading material. Keep magazines or short stories in your bathroom. Always have something in your briefcase to read. Keep a book(s) by your bed. Having things available makes it easier for you to steal otherwise lost moments.
2. Set a reading goal. Determine how much time you want to spend reading, or how many books you want to read over time. Your goal might be a book a month, one per week, or it might be to read 30 minutes a day. Start out with something attainable but still a stretch. As your habit builds, you might set higher goals. Setting a goal is the first step towards reading more.
3. Keep a log. Keep a list of the books you have read, or keep track of how much time you read each day. You might keep these lists in your journal or your day planner. My son’s log is on our refrigerator. My list and log are kept on my computer. It doesn’t matter where you keep it, just do it.
4. Keep a list. Make a list of things you want to read in the future. Ask your friends and colleagues what they are reading. Watch for recommendations in the newspaper and magazines. Once you start looking for good books, you’ll find them everywhere. This is a great way to keep your enthusiasm up. By knowing what great stuff you want to read, you will reinforce your reading habit.
5. Turn off the television. Many people say they just don’t have enough time. Television is one of our major time consumers. Make your television watching more conscious and less habitual. There is nothing wrong with watching television shows you really enjoy. Where the time gets lost is turning it on, and scanning to find “something to watch.” Those are the times to turn it off and pick up your book!
6. Listen when you can’t read. Use your commute and other time spent in the car to listen! There are great audio versions of all sorts of books. Whether you want to “read” fiction, the latest self-help or diet book, it is probably available on tape. Don’t get locked into the idea that you have to read it – listening to the book still gives you the experience, ideas, and imagination that reading a book can.
7. Join a reading group or book club. Reading groups typically meet once a month to discuss a book they have all decided to read. Committing to the group provides a bit more impetus to finish the book, and gives you a great forum for discussion and socialization around the book’s themes.
8. Visit the library or bookstore often. You have your list, right? So you’ll have some ideas of what you are looking for when you walk in. But there is more to be gained by walking through places where books reside than just to make a transaction. Take time to browse! Let your eyes find things of interest. Let serendipity happen. Browsing will feed your mental need to read, and give you plenty of new things to read.
9. Build your own strategy. Decide when reading fits your schedule. Some people read first thing in the morning, some before bed. Some decide to read as they eat their lunch. And there is more to your strategy than just timing. Make your own decisions about reading. It is ok to be reading more than one book at once. It is ok to stop reading something before you finish if it isn’t holding your interest. It is ok to skim the book, getting what you want or need, without reading every page. Determine what works best for you, develop your own beliefs and ideas—then make them work for you.
10. Drop Everything and Read. My son’s fourth grade class has DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time. When the teacher calls for it, that’s just what they do. They read now. That is my last piece of advice for you. Do it. Just get started. Make it DEAR time. Now.
©2002, All Rights Reserved, Kevin Eikenberry. Kevin publishes Unleash Your Potential, a free weekly ezine designed to provide ideas, tools, techniques and
inspiration to enhance your professional skills. Go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/current.asp to read the current issue and subscribe. Kevin is also President of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. You may contact Kevin at toll free 888.LEARNER.
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10 Tips for Resume Writers

Whether you are happily entrenched in a job, engaged in an active job search or thinking about a career change everyone who is working today needs a current updated resume even if the job you are at is your first! It is worth the time and effort to update your resume at least once or twice a year. Add more recent accomplishments to it. Keep a file of accomplishments you have removed so that you can use them if they are appropriate for a particular position you are applying for. Those who have a ready resume can immediately respond when that perfect opportunity presents itself. Here are some ideas to think about when writing that resume
1. It’s a Marketing Document – Remember your resume is your introduction to the hiring manager. Its purpose is to convince the manager that you are someone worth interviewing. Put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes. What is that person looking for? How do you attract his/her attention?
2. Show Your Accomplishments – Every accomplishment on your resume can be written in a format: Problem, Solution, Result. Sometimes the problem is understood and doesn’t need to be stated but the solution and the result must be there. If you can quantify the result in some way that really adds to your resume.
3. Grab Their Attention Immediately – Use the top third of the first page to attract their attention. Give a summary of the achievements that makes you the ideal candidate. Depending on the job you are applying for, this might include skills that you have or even achievements in a particular skill. Use whatever works for your particular job level.
4. Customize Each Resume – It is rare that you will use exactly the same resume for two jobs. Look at the job ad and familiarize yourself with the job description. Use some of the words that they use to highlight your experience. Keep a copy of the resume and the job ad you send to each company and/or position. Be a good record keeper! You’ll want to bring the right resume to your interview.
5. Use Action Words – Your resume paints a picture of who you are. Action words make the picture more vivid and dynamic. Words such as led, delivered, achieved, slashed, transformed etc. give the hiring manager a more desirable picture of your talents.
6. Eliminate Passive Tense – Using the passive makes it sound like you didn’t do much. The active voice makes the action yours. Example: passive –“was chosen to head team that…” or active – “Led team that… “
7. Use Key words – When applying on line be sure to use words from job ad. Today most companies use software to scan resumes. If you haven’t included the words from the job ad, your resume won’t even be read!
8. Resumes Are Scanned – Some resumes especially snail mailed ones are put in a pile on the desk of the hiring manager. This person has many resumes to look at. He or she spends 15 to 20 seconds looking at yours. Make it easy for the person to scan it for the information they are looking for. Use bolding appropriately. Make the resume look attractive with lots of white space. Dense resumes discourage the reader.
9. Maximum of Two Pages – The objective of your resume is to get the interview not tell your life story. If you are recently out of school one page is fine. For people with a long career, two pages, highlighting the last 10 to 15 years, is sufficient.
10. Use Appropriate Accomplishments - Pick accomplishments that are appropriate for the job you are applying for. Show that you have had the exact experiences the company needs.
About Alvah Parker
Alvah Parker is a Practice Advisor and Career Coach as well as publisher of Parker’s Points, an email tip list and Road to Success, an ezine. To subscribe send an email to join-roadtosuccess@go.netatlantic.com
Parker works with successful attorneys who feel overwhelmed by their work and are willing to take action to create a more profitable practice and a more fulfilling life. Alvah also helps attorneys and others who want to change careers and find the work that is more meaningful and fulfilling. Alvah is found on the web at http://www.asparker.com She may also be reached at 781-598-0388
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