Reading Schedule Generator
Create a simple reading plan based on your book length and deadline. Enter the total number of pages, choose how many days you have, and get your daily page target and estimated reading time.
How many pages should you read per day?
Your Reading Plan
Enter your book length and deadline.
How the Reading Schedule Generator Works
The Reading Schedule Generator divides the number of pages you need to read by the number of days you have available. It then rounds the result up so that your daily target is enough to finish the book by your deadline.
You can also select a slow, average or fast reading pace. This provides an estimated amount of reading time per day. Treat the time estimate as a planning guide rather than an exact prediction because reading speed can change considerably depending on the material.
Reading Schedule Examples
Here are some quick examples of how many pages you would need to read each day for common book lengths and deadlines.
| Book Length | Deadline | Pages Per Day |
|---|---|---|
| 100 pages | 5 days | 20 pages |
| 200 pages | 7 days | 29 pages |
| 300 pages | 7 days | 43 pages |
| 400 pages | 10 days | 40 pages |
| 500 pages | 14 days | 36 pages |
| 700 pages | 14 days | 50 pages |
How Much Time Should You Allow for Reading?
Page count alone cannot tell you exactly how long a book will take. A novel with short chapters and frequent dialogue may be much quicker to read than a textbook containing technical explanations, charts and new terminology.
For that reason, this calculator provides three simple planning estimates:
- Slow: approximately 1.8 minutes per page.
- Average: approximately 1.2 minutes per page.
- Fast: approximately 0.8 minutes per page.
These are estimates rather than fixed reading-speed standards. Choose the setting that best reflects the material you are reading and the amount of attention it requires.
Reading a Novel vs. Reading a Textbook
Not every page requires the same amount of time. When you’re planning your reading, consider what you’re actually reading rather than relying only on the total number of pages.
Fiction and general reading
Novels and other narrative books can sometimes be read relatively quickly because the reader is following a continuous story. If the material feels easy to follow, the average or fast setting may provide a useful starting estimate.
Non-fiction
Non-fiction can require more time when you’re learning unfamiliar concepts or stopping to think about an author’s argument. Consider using the average or slow setting when comprehension matters more than finishing quickly.
Textbooks and academic reading
Academic material may require additional time for highlighting, note-taking, reviewing examples or looking up unfamiliar concepts. For this kind of reading, start with the slow setting and adjust your schedule based on your actual pace.
How to Create a Realistic Reading Plan
A useful reading schedule should fit around your actual day. A target that looks good mathematically is not useful if you cannot consistently complete it.
1. Start with the deadline
Enter the number of days you genuinely have available. If the book needs to be finished before an exam or discussion, consider finishing a day early so you have time for review.
2. Divide long reading sessions
If the calculator gives you a target of 40 pages, you don’t necessarily need to read all 40 pages at once. You could read 20 pages earlier in the day and another 20 later.
3. Allow extra time for notes
If you’re reading for an assignment, your total study time may be longer than the reading estimate because you may also need to annotate, take notes or review important sections.
4. Recalculate when your plan changes
Missing one day does not make your original schedule useful anymore. Enter the number of pages you still have left and your remaining days to calculate a new daily target.
Example: How to Read 300 Pages in 7 Days
Suppose you have a 300-page book and seven days to finish it. The calculation is:
At the calculator’s average setting of 1.2 minutes per page, 43 pages would take approximately 52 minutes.
Instead of completing that in one session, you could split your daily target into two sessions of roughly 21–22 pages each.
What If You Miss a Reading Day?
Recalculate your plan using your remaining pages rather than simply trying to double your next session.
For example, imagine you originally planned to read a 300-page book over seven days. After three days, you still have 200 pages remaining and only four days left.
Return to the calculator whenever your deadline, remaining page count or available study time changes.
Reading Schedule FAQs
Divide the total number of pages you need to read by the number of days available. For example, 200 pages over seven days equals about 28.6 pages, so you would need to read approximately 29 pages per day.
To finish 300 pages in seven days, you need to read approximately 43 pages per day because 300 divided by seven is about 42.86.
It depends on your reading speed and the difficulty of the material. Using this calculator’s average estimate of 1.2 minutes per page, 100 pages would take approximately two hours.
Divide the number of pages remaining by the number of days available and round up when necessary. For example, 500 pages divided by 14 days gives a target of approximately 36 pages per day.
A slower estimate can be useful for textbooks and other dense academic material because you may need additional time for notes, examples, diagrams and unfamiliar concepts.
Enter the pages you still need to finish and the number of days you have left into the calculator. This creates a new daily target based on your current situation.