Reading is one of the habits that is slowly going down with the Information Technology revolution. with so many social media platforms taking our time, the simple reading habits of the grown up are reducing at an alarming rate and the entertainment index is only increasing. 

Reading a good book has now become a luxury. But this is a luxury we all can afford if we can discipline and wire our minds to make it a mandatory ritual for the day. Reading a few pages of a book that is lying idle in the showcase, picking up a newspaper and reading the editorial or the top stories, and reading an article that may give some insights is more important than all the entertainment we get exposed to through social media.

How to regiment the process for a good book is to first identify the value a book provides. A book is something that provides what the title promises. So you get the full package. In a social media post, you get entertainment and not insights. Our mind craves insights more than the entertainment index. That’s why the TV was called the idiot box. Secondly one can keep a book near the bed or working table just like we keep our phone near us. Third, we allot a specific time to read a book, maybe just before going to sleep or after waking up. 

A well read and well travelled person is always respected. Our children will also not pick up the habit of reading a book if they do not see their parents not reading anything.

Let the earphone and smartphones stay away from us for a couple of hours so that we do not remain hostage to a smart gadget that we are sometimes bound to take it to the toilet also.