Start with the next session.
You don’t need to decide how many books you’ll finish this year before opening one today. Start by choosing a small stretch of time you’d like to give a book.
Twenty minutes is a starting point for this routine. If five minutes fits your day better, use five. If you reach twenty and want to keep going, you can. The point is to make the next session easy to begin and leave a small record of it.
The whole routine
Choose a moment. Open your book. Read for a little while. Keep one thought.
1. Choose a moment you can recognize.
Try attaching reading to something already in your day: after dinner, during your commute, or just before you turn out the light. Pick one of those moments for the next few sessions.
Make the plan specific enough that you know when to begin. “I’ll read after I clear my dinner plate” gives you a clear cue. Leave your book where you’ll be reading, with a bookmark ready.
If your days vary, choose a weekly amount of time instead of a fixed daily appointment. A reading routine can fit around your life.
2. Let the session be simple.
Open the book and start. You can set a separate alarm if you want to stop at twenty minutes, or read until a natural stopping point. Choose a way that helps you settle into the book.
In Burrow, create an activity named Reading and tap its name when you start. The timer counts up; it doesn’t end the session at twenty minutes. Pause when you’re interrupted and tap Finish when you’re done.
A time goal is optional. If you want one, try a daily twenty-minute goal or a weekly goal that leaves room for a busier day. You can adjust it once you’ve tried a few sessions.
3. Keep one thought afterward.
At the end, give yourself a sentence to come back to. It might be a story detail, an idea, a question, or a reminder of where you stopped.
- For a novel: What changed in this chapter?
- For nonfiction: Which idea would I like to try?
- For a difficult passage: What do I want to look at again?
- For tomorrow: Where should I pick up?
Burrow saves a note and a rating with the session. You can rename the note question to “What stayed with me?” and let that be your only written prompt. Skip it when you have nothing to add.
If you use Burrow Pro, you can add a number question for pages read or a tag question for a title. Those are optional ways to add context; you can begin with a simple note.
4. Make the return easy.
After a few sessions, look at what actually fit. Did reading after dinner work? Was a shorter session easier on weekdays? Would a different book make you more eager to come back?
Use that record to adjust one thing. Burrow’s History keeps your saved time and thoughts together, and the Reading activity’s year view shows recent sessions and progress toward your goal.
Burrow can also learn when you usually begin an activity and offer a smart nudge if that moment passes. You can change or turn off the nudges and set quiet hours.
When you miss a day, pick the next available moment. You don’t need to make up a debt of reading time. Give the book another small beginning.
Try it this week.
- Choose the book you want to open.
- Pick a moment for your next session and put the book within reach.
- Give it twenty minutes, or an amount of time that fits today.
- Keep one thought and a place to start next time.
- After a few sessions, change what needs changing.
You can follow this routine with a paper notebook and any clock. If you’d like the time and reflection in one place, see how Burrow works as a reading tracker.
