We’re already half-way through September again and I’m starting to consider digging out my boots, tights, pumpkins and other staples of my autumnal wardrobe.Yes, seasonal change certainly is on its way – as the weather worldwide is certainly proving – and with it (for some of us) comes reflection. I look back at my optimistic goal of 35 books read for the year with mixed feelings of dread and dismissal. If only I knew what kind of a year I was in for! I’m not saying my initial ambitions are impossible but I’m no longer striving for completion. This year I’m choosing to prioritise different things. Setting goals can be a wonderful tool for adding structure to a hobby, but it can also have a negative impact. Here’s some great reasons to set those targets and few reasons you might want to hold off.

(By the way, I was just kidding about the pumpkins, I wear those in Spring…)

(1) Goals Provide Structure

Having self-imposed structures in place can be super helpful for maintaining routine and balance, particularly if you live a busy lifestyle, with irregular patterns.  They keep you moving forward with your reading, give procrastination a good kick and reading sessions can even be added into your calendar to improve your reading productivity.

(2) They can help with prioritisation

If you know you’re hoping to read 30 books in a year it’s a lot easier to figure out your tbr. You can list your top ‘to-be-read’ titles and ensure you get to those ones first. You can divvy them up by percentage and genre or by author – you can even go so far as to structure your reading habits for the whole year if you know how many books you have for that particular time-frame! (Though I must admit, I don’t think I could organise that, let alone follow it through!)

(3) Reaching goals provides a sense of achievement

There’s definitely a satisfying sense of achievement when you turn the last page of book number 30, or 15, or whatever goal you’ve set, and realise that YOU’VE DONE IT, you’ve achieved what you set out to do and there’s no way anyone can take that back. Plus, if you’ve done it right, you will have read some great books and enjoyed the process too!

(1) Number goals put too much emphasis on quantity

Reading the books that matter to you, and that re interested in should factor above all else. When reading goals are set it becomes way too tempting to pick up something slim rather than the latest brick sized addition to the Game of Thrones series just to up that number by another point. But what does your high-score really mean if you’re just collecting haiku when you’re a sonnet enthusiast? In what world is reading The Hungry Caterpillar an equal endeavor to finishing War and Peace? Focus on enjoyment rather than having read the largest list of titles.

(2) You could end up with no time to reflect

If you’re blinkered on reading book, after book, after book there’s a good chance you wont be taking extra time out to think about and process the nitty-gritty of everything you’ve read. Did you like that short story you rushed through on your lunch break? Who knows? You’re brain hasn’t had any time to process and retain the information! Give yourself time to ease in and out of a narrative and you might find you enjoy it more.

(3) Reading could become competitive

This isn’t an issue for everyone. If you’re a slower reader, like me, you’re likely to be comfortable with your own reading speed and enjoy unravelling a new, fictional world at your own pace. The comparison reading targets allow us to draw is one that can make even the most comfortable of slow readers a little uneasy. By counting, you assign yourself a number and it’s so easy for our brains to confuse number, or quantity, with achievement or rank. A little healthy competition is fine but it might be easier to steer clear of counting anyway. Everybody reads differently.

(4) Failing

Now, just to be clear, you should never not do something out of fear of failing. In fact, the fear indicates that it’s probably something you should do – you obviously care. What I mean here is that if your life gets busy you might feel bad if you then can’t manage your goal. When you’re stressed, the added irritation of an unmet goal can be disheartening – save yourself the trouble and don’t set one to start with! Or better yet, just keep a tally -that way, you get an indication of your average for the year but you don’t have to have reach a set number or put up with that insufferable nagging feeling.

So, I think I ended up coming out with a slightly more negative viewpoint there than intended but that could be because I’m not doing so well at my own goals this year. I’d love to hear what you think. Do you set yearly or monthly reading goals? Do you use GoodReads or any other platform to monitor/track your reading?

However you’re getting on with your goals, here’s something valuable to remember:

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” – Bruce Lee

Thanks for reading!