These are excerpts from the author’s book “Deep,” which contains eight of his small books published in the form of Wisdom Literature covering different aspects of life: Facing troublemakers, dealing with pain, personal financial issues, gastronomy, reading, criticizing, inspiring, and feeling always good to go.

Series 5: Reading.

Do Reading Habits Change over Time?

• The most important thing, before worrying about the habits that accompany reading, is that reading itself should become a well-established habit for you.

• It is natural and useful that your reading habits change over time. Everything around you changes. Changing your habits on any level is, to some degree, important so that they fit smoothly into the changing aspects of your life.

• If you find that your reading habits have been remarkably stable for an extended period, there is nothing to be alarmed about. Don’t take coercive steps to change your reading habits as long as they don’t overwhelm your life or delay your smooth progress in any respect. There is no need to change what is going well just for the sake of change. But do not hesitate to make changes if you are filled with a desire for renewal and have the vision and ability to create a refreshing and stimulating renewal.

• When you feel monotonous or need to change your reading habits for any reason, it is a good idea to start with a small adjustment and work your way up to the change you want. For example, if reading at night is affecting your sleep quality, you can adjust your nightly reading time to one hour earlier and so on until you have enough to finish your reading session before preparing for a quiet and deep sleep.

• If a gradual change in reading habits doesn’t work, sometimes the opposite is required. Make a dramatic change. For example, eliminate the evening reading period entirely and replace it with reading at the beginning of the day or during intermittent periods throughout the day.

• Changes in reading habits are often not limited to reading scheduled times but also extended to include reading duration. Perhaps the changes are more obvious regarding favorite reading topics.

• Don’t be alarmed if your average reading rate decreases with age. It is natural that the peak of avid reading is during the early stages of youth. Then the readings become more selective as needed and often more qualitative.

• It is okay to have habits that encourage reading and make it a more enjoyable experience. But watch these habits carefully. Some may become rituals that bind you and make it difficult to read without performing them.

• Do not worry about the effects of reading habits outside your control, such as emergency health conditions. Be prepared to accept the psychological impact of compelling circumstances and be prepared to deal with them calmly by adopting the best practical solutions you can. For example, when visual impairment is clearly hindering you, try to get used to audiobooks, no matter how hard it may have seemed to you before.

• When you find yourself far away from reading, it is okay to create reading habits that encourage you to return to reading. Take care that these habits do not have an undesirable effect in the long run. In general, try to make your habits sustainable.