SMART
Reading
Goals
0 1
The
Goals
at
a
Glance
Ten
goals
·
four
categories
01
Read
24
books
in
2026
Two
finished
books
per
month
,
drawn
from
a
30-
title
shortlist
built
in
the
first
week
of
January
.
02
Read
30
minutes
a
day
,
six
days
a
week
310
reading
days
across
the
year
,
tracked
daily
and
totalled
every
Sunday
evening
.
03
Finish
nine
out
of
every
ten
books
started
No
more
than
two
abandoned
titles
all
year
,
and
none
dropped
before
page
50.
04
Keep
a
reading
journal
One
250–400
word
entry
per
finished
book
,
written
within
48
hours
of
the
last
page
.
05
Read
6
backlist
titles
Six
books
published
before
2000,
at
least
two
of
them
in
translation
.
06
Read
6
books
outside
my
usual
genres
One
unfamiliar
category
every
eight
weeks
—
poetry
,
science
,
memoir
,
business
,
and
beyond
.
07
Read
4
craft
books
and
apply
one
technique
from
each
One
craft
book
per
quarter
,
followed
by
a
finished
draft
that
uses
a
named
technique
.
08
Attend
12
book
club
sessions
One
session
per
month
,
arriving
having
finished
that
month
'
s
pick
.
09
Read
3
long
books
over
500
pages
One
long
book
per
four
-
month
block
,
read
straight
through
without
switching
to
something
shorter
.
10
Read
20
phone
-
free
minutes
before
bed
,
five
nights
a
week
Book
on
the
nightstand
,
phone
charging
in
the
kitchen
, 260
nights
by
year
end
.
2 / 6
0 2
Each
Goal
,
Made
SMART
S
·
M
·
A
·
R
·
T
Every
goal
below
is
written
out
against
the
five
SMART
criteria
,
so
the
target
,
the
tracking
method
,
and
the
deadline
are
all
decided
before
the
year
begins
.
01
Read
24
books
in
2026
VOLU M E
S
Two
finished
books
per
month
,
chosen
from
a
30-
title
shortlist
built
during
the
first
week
of
January
.
M
Each
finished
book
logged
with
title
,
author
,
format
and
finish
date
;
the
running
count
reviewed
on
the
last
Sunday
of
every
month
.
A
At
roughly
eight
hours
per
book
,
the
target
needs
about
45
minutes
of
reading
a
day
—
which
fits
the
existing
commute
plus
the
evening
window
.
R
A
steady
,
countable
pace
turns
reading
into
a
habit
rather
than
a
phase
,
and
the
shortlist
removes
the
stall
that
happens
between
books
.
T
24
books
by
31
December
2026
,
with
the
count
checked
on
the
last
Sunday
of
each
month
.
02
Read
30
minutes
a
day
,
six
days
a
week
H A BIT
S
Thirty
minutes
of
deliberate
reading
—
paper
or
e
-
reader
,
not
audiobook
—
six
days
a
week
,
with
one
rest
day
built
in
.
M
A
tick
in
the
habit
tracker
for
every
day
that
clears
30
minutes
;
the
weekly
total
checked
each
Sunday
evening
.
A
310
reading
days
out
of
365
leaves
55
rest
days
for
travel
,
illness
,
and
deadline
weeks
without
breaking
the
streak
.
R
Daily
time
in
the
chair
is
the
single
lever
behind
every
other
goal
on
this
list
—
volume
,
journal
entries
,
and
long
books
all
depend
on
it
.
T
310
days
by
31
December
2026
;
weekly
total
reviewed
every
Sunday
evening
.
03
Finish
nine
out
of
every
ten
books
started
FOLLOW
-
T H ROU G H
S
A
maximum
of
two
abandoned
titles
across
the
year
,
and
no
book
dropped
in
the
first
50
pages
without
a
written
reason
in
the
journal
.
M
The
ratio
of
finished
to
started
titles
,
tracked
in
the
log
.
Twenty
-
two
of
twenty
-
four
finished
meets
the
goal
.
A
The
24-
title
shortlist
is
pre
-
vetted
against
reviews
and
sample
chapters
,
so
the
risk
of
starting
a
dud
is
already
low
.
R
It
ends
the
buy
-
five
-
finish
-
one
pattern
and
makes
the
reading
log
an
honest
record
instead
of
a
wish
list
.
T
Reviewed
quarterly
;
no
more
than
one
abandonment
permitted
per
six
months
.
3 / 6
04
Keep
a
reading
journal
D EP T H
S
One
entry
per
finished
book
: 250–400
words
on
what
stayed
with
me
,
one
pull
quote
,
and
one
open
question
.
M
Twenty
-
four
entries
by
year
end
,
with
the
entry
count
matched
against
the
book
count
each
month
.
A
At
about
15
minutes
per
entry
,
the
whole
year
'
s
journal
costs
roughly
six
hours
of
writing
time
.
R
Writing
about
a
book
is
what
turns
it
from
something
read
into
something
remembered
—
and
it
produces
a
year
-
end
summary
for
free
.
T
Entry
written
within
48
hours
of
finishing
each
book
; 24
entries
by
31
December
2026.
05
Read
6
backlist
titles
VA RIET Y
S
Six
books
published
before
2000,
at
least
two
of
them
works
in
translation
,
chosen
by
title
in
January
rather
than
picked
up
on
impulse
.
M
Six
titles
flagged
"
backlist
"
in
the
reading
log
;
any
title
published
before
2000
qualifies
.
A
One
backlist
title
every
two
months
,
slotted
into
the
two
-
book
monthly
quota
—
no
extra
reading
time
required
.
R
New
releases
dominate
by
default
;
a
deliberate
quota
keeps
older
and
translated
work
in
the
mix
.
T
Six
by
31
December
2026
,
with
at
least
one
completed
in
every
quarter
.
06
Read
6
books
outside
my
usual
genres
RA NG E
S
Six
titles
from
outside
the
default
lanes
—
poetry
,
popular
science
,
memoir
,
business
,
history
,
and
graphic
nonfiction
.
M
One
"
unfamiliar
genre
"
marker
per
book
in
the
log
;
six
markers
means
the
goal
is
met
.
A
Roughly
one
every
eight
weeks
,
absorbed
into
the
standard
two
-
book
monthly
target
.
R
Reading
at
the
edge
of
taste
is
where
the
memorable
books
live
;
the
middle
of
the
shelf
gets
predictable
fast
.
T
Six
by
31
December
2026
;
all
six
genres
chosen
in
January
,
not
improvised
in
December
.
4 / 6
07
Read
4
craft
books
and
apply
one
technique
from
each
P RA C T IC E
S
Four
books
on
writing
and
craft
,
and
after
each
one
,
a
finished
piece
of
my
own
writing
that
uses
a
named
technique
from
the
book
.
M
Four
craft
books
read
,
four
drafts
completed
,
and
the
technique
written
at
the
top
of
each
draft
.
A
One
craft
book
per
quarter
leaves
roughly
ten
weeks
between
finishing
a
book
and
completing
the
draft
that
follows
it
.
R
Reading
about
craft
only
pays
off
when
it
changes
a
page
;
pairing
each
book
with
a
draft
is
what
makes
it
stick
.
T
One
craft
book
and
one
applied
draft
each
quarter
;
the
final
pair
completed
by
15
December
2026.
08
Attend
12
book
club
sessions
C OM M U NIT Y
S
One
session
per
month
,
in
person
or
online
,
arriving
having
finished
that
month
'
s
selected
book
.
M
Twelve
sessions
attended
and
twelve
picked
books
read
;
both
counted
in
the
reading
log
.
A
The
club
picks
count
toward
the
24-
book
target
,
so
the
commitment
adds
company
rather
than
volume
.
R
A
fixed
monthly
date
is
a
deadline
that
other
people
hold
you
to
,
which
is
more
reliable
than
one
you
set
alone
.
T
One
session
per
month
,
January
through
December
2026
;
attendance
tallied
at
the
end
of
each
quarter
.
09
Read
3
long
books
over
500
pages
STA M INA
S
Three
long
books
—
one
novel
and
two
works
of
history
or
biography
—
each
read
straight
through
without
switching
to
something
shorter
mid
-
way
.
M
Three
titles
with
page
counts
logged
and
verified
at
sign
-
off
;
each
must
exceed
500
pages
.
A
At
twelve
pages
a
day
,
a
600-
page
book
takes
about
seven
weeks
—
comfortably
inside
a
four
-
month
block
.
R
Long
books
reward
sustained
attention
in
a
way
short
ones
cannot
,
and
the
habit
of
staying
with
one
is
worth
building
.
T
One
per
four
-
month
block
:
completed
by
30
April
, 31
August
,
and
31
December
2026.
5 / 6
10
Read
20
phone
-
free
minutes
before
bed
,
five
nights
a
week
FOC U S
S
Twenty
minutes
of
reading
between
10:00
and
10:30
pm
,
with
the
phone
charging
in
the
kitchen
and
a
book
on
the
nightstand
.
M
Five
nights
out
of
seven
tracked
in
the
habit
log
; 260
nights
across
the
year
is
the
target
.
A
Twenty
minutes
is
short
enough
to
survive
a
late
night
,
and
moving
the
phone
out
of
the
room
removes
the
main
obstacle
.
R
It
reclaims
a
scroll
window
that
currently
disappears
without
a
record
,
and
it
protects
the
sleep
the
rest
of
this
plan
depends
on
.
T
260
nights
by
31
December
2026
;
reviewed
every
Sunday
alongside
the
daily
reading
total
.
0 3
Quarterly
Milestones
4
checkpoints
Target
books
are
cumulative
across
the
year
.
Review
dates
fall
on
the
last
Sunday
of
each
quarter
.
QUARTER
FOCUS
BOOKS
CUMULATIVE
REVIEW
DATE
Q
1 ·
Jan
–
Mar
Build
the
daily
habit
;
lock
the
30-
title
shortlist
6
6
Sun
29
March
2026
Q
2 ·
Apr
–
Jun
Add
range
:
first
two
unfamiliar
genres
,
first
backlist
title
6
12
Sun
28
June
2026
Q
3 ·
Jul
–
Sep
Deep
reading
:
craft
book
pair
two
,
second
long
book
6
18
Sun
27
September
2026
Q
4 ·
Oct
–
Dec
Consolidate
:
finish
backlist
quota
,
write
year
-
end
summary
6
24
Sun
27
December
2026
Full
year
24
books
· 310
reading
days
· 24
journal
entries
24
24
31
December
2026
```
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