How to Build an Environment That Helps You Read a Book Every Week
The more you see a book, the easier it is for you to finish a book every week.
I often find myself too lazy to pick up a book.
Even when it’s right in front of me, I still choose to watch YouTube or scroll on social media. It’s just hard. I don’t feel motivated to pick up a book.
My goal was to read a book every week.
But it felt like an impossible goal — just a dream. Picking up a book felt like a burden, and reading even one sentence felt like a challenge.
So, why was I struggling so much?
Finding the Root of the Problem
I tried making a plan to read in small amounts.
I started with just one sentence, but even that was hard to maintain consistently. I didn’t feel any progress. When I tried increasing the difficulty, I just ended up procrastinating more.
Was my approach wrong?
Frustrated, I went back to watching YouTube and playing games.
I still wrote articles, but I didn’t read much. I was writing based on my experience, not on new knowledge from books. This made me feel like a fraud — a writer pretending to be a reader.
Falling into the Escape Trap
As my reading habit faded, my writing followed.
I stopped writing and found myself escaping into random YouTube videos, video games, and even productive-looking procrastination. I tricked myself into thinking, If I watch a productivity podcast, it will help me take action later.
But it didn’t.
It just led to more procrastination and frustration.
I was drowning in motivation videos, productivity tips, and self-improvement content without implementing any of it.
Until I started asking myself, why am I really avoiding reading?
Understanding the Real Problem
I realized I was trapped in high-dopamine activities.
Every time I tried to read, write, or do something productive, I lost to easier, more stimulating alternatives:
Gaming defeat writing.
YouTube defeats reading.
Smoking defeats healthy routines.
These bad habits were fueling my procrastination. The problem wasn’t that I didn’t like reading — I had simply built an environment that made reading difficult, and distractions were easy to access.
Creating an Environment for Reading
Once I understood the problem, I could find the solution.
I needed to remove my bad habits and reduce my exposure to distractions.
So, I:
Uninstalled all my games.
Spent less time with friends who smoked.
Limited YouTube to just a few hours per day.
At first, it was tough.
But over time, with fewer distractions, I naturally gravitated toward reading and writing. My environment now encouraged productive habits rather than fighting against them.
I also made small but effective changes:
I placed books on my bed so they were always within reach.
I bought ebooks so I could read whenever I wanted.
I replaced phone-scrolling time with reading time.
Soon, finishing a book every week no longer felt like a burden.
Reading and productivity became part of my lifestyle.
How You Can Build a Reader Environment
If you want to read a book every week, here’s what you can do:
1. Take your goal seriously.
Choose the book you want to read.
Set a daily reading time.
2. Surround yourself with books.
Place books where you can easily grab them.
Consume content about books and productivity to stay inspired.
3. Build a reader’s identity.
Join a community of readers. (link below)
Share what you’re reading.
Make reading part of your identity.
If you’re looking for a community to support your reading habit, join our Discord Community (link below).
Share your progress, discuss books, and stay motivated with like-minded readers.
I’ll be there to help you too!
Conclusion
Being a reader isn’t just about reading.
But it’s about creating an environment that makes reading easy and distractions difficult.
When you have a choice between reading and playing games, the fun option often wins. But if you eliminate distractions, surround yourself with books, and join a supportive community, reading becomes effortless.
And after you do that, you can actually read this backward:
Gaming defeat writing.
YouTube defeats reading.
Smoking defeats healthy routines.
Enjoy your reading journey.
And happy reading
🚀 Join the ‘I Am Literate’ Discord Reading Community!
Surround yourself with like-minded people who want to read more, learn faster, and grow.
🔗 Join here → Let’s Read Together!
Benefits:
QNA with me!
Reading challenges.
Helpful discussions.
Book recommendations.
Events to Improve Your Reading!
Congratulations on changing habits. And, having books at easy reach is a great idea. Another thing I do is: don't think. Just do it! Think only during the process. So, make a plan, set you tasks for the day, then just do them. Only allowed to think while planning, or on the task. Don't think before, or you' ll tend to procrastinate.