Reading is a great way to relax and escape. It is also a proven-effective way to improve one's knowledge and focus. Hence why a lot of people still prefer reading to watching movies or TV series.

If you are planning to read more this year but have no clue how to achieve your reading goals, this rundown of tips might help you.

• Don't make excessive reading goals.

If you are not an avid book reader, having a massive pile of books to read is probably not the best idea. More often than not, if you aim to read several books more than you can handle, you probably won't be able to achieve that aim at the end.

Set a reading goal that is reachable such as reading at least two books a month or one chapter a day. Moreover, the number of books you'll be able to learn depends on your day to day schedule. You may use organizing tools such as bestselfco or Quilter's Planner. You can get these tools at an affordable price during New Year's sale.

• Always bring a book with you.

When you always have a book at hand, you are likely to read more. For example, when you're commuting to work, dedicate a space in your bag for one book. Doing this allows you to spend any free time during the day for reading.

• Quit reading a book you're not interested in earlier.

According to Gretchen Rubin, author of the chart-topping book "The Happiness Project," the mentality "winners don't quit" is not always applicable when it comes to reading books. He explains that when you quit reading a book that is not interesting to you earlier, you'll have more time to read books that you're interested in.

• Go for genres you're interested in.

This tip relates to the previous one - when you go for books you enjoy, you are most likely to have a hard time putting it down. Say you are into mystery and crime fiction, you are probably not going to get on well with a romance novel book.

Thus, if you're goal is to read more books this year, go for ones you enjoy, and you know you can go through quicker.

• Search for "best lists."

No matter what genre you are looking for, there are tons of books available on the market to date, which can be extremely overwhelming. However, to narrow down your choices of books to pick, do your research on the most terrific books for a particular genre.

• Replace unimportant activities with reading.

Another effective way to reading more books this year is to borrow time from another activity you think is less important. For example, if you used to watch TV for a couple of hours a day after work, you can cut it down to one and spend the next hour reading instead. Additionally, try to read a book first before watching TV as you might lose interest in reading if you engross yourself on the TV first.

• Participate in a local book club.

Joining a book club offers several reading advantages, one of which is a stronger motivation for reading. A book club can give you first-rate recommendations, and they also encourage you to learn more. Plus, it's always nice to have a community of fellow bookworms whom you can share your thoughts with.

• Read in a distraction-free place.

Distractions are unavoidable. You can be sitting in your living room and be engrossed in a book, but all of a sudden, the doorbell goes off and ruins your train of thought.

However, there are also several distractions that you can control. Go to a quiet room with the TV turned off or your phone set on silent mode.

• Read different books at once.

Although this technique doesn't work for everyone, a lot of book buffs successfully reached their goal of reading more books in a year by doing this. To do this, you must have various books placed in different locations in your house, such as your bedroom, fireplace, in your kitchen, and wherever you feel comfortable reading.

• Read books when traveling or before going to bed.

Travelling and bedtime are two of the best downtimes for reading a book. When you are traveling by plane a bus or train, think about the amount of time you could spend on finishing one chapter. Moreover, if you are not traveling, make it a point to have a read of your current book before sleeping.

Conclusion

Reading offers several advantages to both your mental health and professional life. It allows you to have a better understanding of the world and learn various viewpoints on particular situations.

Now that you know how to read more books effectively, it's about time you picked the top-notch books to read this year.