The One Habit I'm Trying to Build This Year

Author

Scott Lynch
May 05, 2025

In partnership with

Hey there,

The last few months have been... chaotic. Even by my wife Mel’s and my standards.

If you’ve been listening to my podcast recently, specifically my episode “We Rented Our House and Sold All Our Stuff”, Mel and I didn’t actually sell everything and invest in crypto.

But we did dive into real estate—two years ahead of schedule. (Classic overachiever move, right?)

That “new year, new chaos” energy at the beginning of 2025 also got me thinking about what habit I want to commit to for the rest of the year.

And after reflecting on how much time I spent hunched over a laptop or doomscrolling, the answer was obvious:

I want to read again.

Books were my first love. They’re what pulled me into the world of self-development.

They made me a better thinker, a more grounded human, and gave me the kind of creative charge you can’t get from back-to-back episodes of “whatever Netflix is auto-playing now.”

But once I became a full-time creator, reading slipped.

Slowly at first— reading 20 books a year turned to 10, then just a handful.

I didn’t stop on purpose. I just got caught up in the endless cycle of researching, writing, recording, editing, and repeat between this newsletter and my podcast.

I was creating, but I wasn’t consuming anything that fueled me.

So this year, I’m changing that.

I’ve decided to read two books a month. Not “try” to. Not “hopefully” read. I’m doing it.

Why two?

Because it hits the sweet spot researchers call the flow channel—not so easy it’s boring, not so hard it’s anxiety-inducing.

One book a week felt too pressure-packed. One a month? Too breezy. Two is just right.

To make this habit stick, I’ve got a plan. (A real one.) Not a “we’ll see what happens” vibe.

I’m starting with six books to cover the first 100 days, which are:

  • The War of Art

  • The Surrender Experiment

  • Be Useful

  • Think Faster, Talk Smarter

  • The Splendid and the Vile

  • Best Self

I may switch the order or swap one out—I'm not marrying these books.

But batching them now means I’m not scrambling mid-month, wasting time deciding what to read next.

A few personal ground rules I’ve set:

  1. Book length doesn’t matter. Some months it’s 900 pages, some it’s a tight 100. Life happens.

  2. I don’t have to finish bad books. If it’s not hitting after a few chapters, I’m moving on.

  3. Re-reads are fair game. Some books are worth revisiting. I’m not above going back to the greatest hits.

The last piece: accountability. You’re part of it now.

Thousands of you will be silently judging me (or loudly DMing me or commenting on this newsletter), and that’s the point.

You don’t need a large audience, though—just tell someone your goal.

Post it. Text it. Get a reading buddy. It works.

Whether your habit is reading, meditating, or walking more than 12 steps a day, make a plan.

Start small. Keep it realistic. And build it to last.

Have a wonderful week, all.
See you in the pages - Scott (@motivatedscott).

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