Scrap the goal of 50. It is irrelevant how many books you read. Just read one book in full and the another and another. Just keep looking for what interests you.

If having a high goal or a goal at all makes reading feel stressful and like a chore, then don't have a goal. My goal is 72 books this year, but I'm of the attitude that it doesn't really matter if I make it or not. I didn't reach my goal last year. Not even close.

I read for fun, not to reach a number that doesn't matter. If I don't feel like reading, then I don't.

Why have a goal at all? Just read for the joy of it. Putting a target on it just puts you under unnecessary pressure.

Where did the goal of 50 come from? If you’ve never tracked your reading before, I would make your first year’s resolution be to track your reading for a year (a task in itself to figure out your best method if you have ADHD) and just read naturally. If you end up reading 10 books this year, then you can make a more realistic goal if you want to start bringing numbers into it as you can take your reading habits from this year into consideration.

Firstly, having a goal has a point if it motivates you to read more. If it stresses you out, then it will be just another obstacle you will have to overcome to motivate yourself, and therefore is unnecessary.

Secondly, goal of 50 is absolutely not small, especially if you are new to reading and additionally have other things going on!

What may help:

• If you still want to have a goal, set yourself a goal that motivates you, instead of feeling overwhelming. For example, 12 or 24. This way, you will still have something to strive to, but at the same time it will feel attainable and will give you freedom to experiment with different books & authors. Instead of having to read for several hours a day, it will be enough to read 15-30 minutes.
• Read short stories, short novels or collections. It is great way to discover authors, writing styles and genres that you like without having to commit to the whole book. Additionally, it will give you feeling of accomplishment.
• Try reading and listening to audiobook at the same time. It has been recommended in this sub several times and seems to help with getting distracted.
• You may also try comic books. There are several great ones such as Sandman by Neil Gaiman or Watchmen by Alan Moore.

It may also help to understand how you choose books. For example, I tend to choose based on my mood and mindset which means that if I choose something that doesn't fit aforementioned, I will struggle with getting into it and it will feel more like a chore.

I refuse to set a goal that puts pressure on me. I only set a #of books goal because both of the apps I've used to log my books have them and it makes it easier to see the books I read broken down by year, but I ignore that goal.

To avoid buying books that I later decide not to read, I use the library. I learned a long time ago that the pleasure or excitement of finding and buying books has nothing to do with my reading hobby.

Why do you want to read more? What do you hope to get out of reading books? Once you can answer those questions, you may be able to choose a book that you want to read.

Most of my reading goals are about my purpose for reading. Last year I wanted to explore new genres, so I set goals to accomplish that purpose. This year I want to explore new cultures so I'm choosing books written by authors from a variety of countries.

I'm not against reading goals, and believe they can help if done right. But you need to set REALISTIC goals. If you're not used to read A LOT and, on top of that, you have attention span issues, your reading goal seems way too high!

How many books have you read last year? How is your routine? Do you work full time? Study? Etc.

Make yourself these questions before you set a goal. If you haven't read any book past year for example, and you set a goal of 6 books this year, this means that, if you reach your goal you read 600% more than last year, which is a huge improvement.

And if you read beyond your goal that's even better! There's nothing stopping you to go beyond it or even raise it after you actually got there.

But, specially if you have ADHD, setting up an unrealistically high goal will only make you anxious and frustrated.

Tbh make goals that are achievable. I'm getting back into reading too. My goal is 20 minutes a night before bed. I'm not tracking pages or books because each book has a different length and difficulty. I would recommend trying a time-based goal per day

Why 50? If you're just getting into it, that's really high. I feel like 1 a month would be much more reasonable if you really want to have a goal. Or having the goal of just reading for 10 minutes a day or something like that.

50 might be a lot for someone who doesn't read - you're talking 1 book a week for the next year.

Find ways to incorporate books into the things you already do. Going out to lunch? Take a book. Doing the dishes or walking the dog? Put in an audiobook. Long drive or casual video game? Audiobook

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