Do you feel that after your daily responsibilities you have little to no time to do something for yourself, especially reading? Me too! In our industrialized way of living with busy school schedules, long working hours and never-ending entertainment distractions, time has become a scarce resource. How to reserve some for reading?
Understand That YOU are the Master of Your Time
In my opinion, the number one thing when talking about time management is being aware that you need to take control over your time. Your time is yours, and not many other people will care about it, so it’s your job to do so.
Of course we all have our responsibilities that can’t be avoided, like school, jobs, daily chores etc. But other than that, it’s on you, you can choose what to do with your time. You don’t have to stay 2 hours overtime every day or go to every drink you are invited to, even if everybody else is doing it. It’s OK to go out of your way sometimes, but don’t sacrifice too much for someone else. If you love reading or feel that’s something you do not want to skip, then make sure it happens.
Remember: nobody cares if you have time to read, so you have to!
Always Pick a Book You Like
Seems obvious, right? Even so, I believe there a a lot of potential readers who don’t read on a regular basis just because they don’t pick up the right book for them. Don’t feel that you have to read something just because it is popular or considered a classic. If you have a school assignment for a particular book, you can’t really choose. But other than that, always make sure you read something you are genuinely interested in at that point in time, which ties us into the next point.
Read More Than 1 Book at a Time
Sometimes we feel obliged to finish the book we started before moving on to the next one. However, there is no rule that says you have to! If a book starts to feel like a drag, it’s probably a good idea to swap it with another one for a while. You can always go back to the ones you didn’t finish. The important thing is to always read a book you actually enjoy. In that way you are much more likely to dedicate your time to reading it.
A good strategy might be reading one very long book in parallel with some shorter books, or reading fiction in parallel with nonfiction.
Make Reading a Consistent Habit
Alright, you managed to get a good hour of reading two days in a row. But on the third day you had to stay longer hours at work. Also, you realized your fridge is empty when you got home, so now you have to go shopping, and that leaves no time for reading…Those days are likely to happen, and here you have to recognize that you could break your habit and try to read at least one page. After that one, you may find that you can do a couple more! Try to make reading a consistent habit if you can. Check out Atomic Habits for some tips on that. If you just rely on reading ‘when you get the chance’, that chance will not come up very often, and you know it.
Creating a schedule can help you make reading a consistent part of your day. Also, choosing roughly the same time of the day for reading will help solidify the habit – for example, reading before going to sleep.
Read Before Going to Sleep
Reading right before bedtime is a fantastic time to read. Make a decision that you’ll be going straight to bed after your reading. This will help you relax after the day and get some reading done without the pressure of the next task. The additional benefit is that you are not scrolling through social media, watching TV, or gaming. I am no expert in sleeping habits, but those activities are probably not the best way to get you to a relaxed state ready to get some quality sleep!
Remove Distractions
This is an obvious one which we all fall victim to. Don’t needlessly turn on the TV or PC as soon as you get home. Try setting some app usage time limits on your phone or better yet, leave your phone in the other room while you’re reading. Most of us can probably afford not to check our calls and messages for 30 minutes. The more options for other activities you leave open to have while reading, the greater the chance that you will break your reading time with little pauses, and those minutes add up quickly. If you decide you will have some reading time, make sure to use this time well without any unnecessary distractions.
Find Some Reading Friends
Everything is more fun when you share it with friends and fellow enthusiasts, and it’s the same for reading. Try finding someone in your circle to share your reading experiences with. The discussions surrounding books you hear from other people will motivate you not to skip your own reading.
Tied to this, you can try participating in a reading challenge online. However, there you are on your own and nobody will judge you if you just quit…your friend just might, which is a good thing in this case if it keeps you motivated!
Use your Commute Time
This is not always possible and depends on how long you commute and how crowded it is. However, try using those moments when you’re otherwise idle, like public transport, waiting at a doctors appointment, for your kid to finish ballet or soccer practice, etc. Remember all those times you took the train and just looked out of the window…now imagine you read a book instead…how many more would you have read by now?
Sleep, Eat, Exercise
What? How are things that take more of my time going to help me make some for reading? Simply because all parts of our lives are connected and it all depends on each other. If you don’t take care of your physical and mental well-being, you will not have the energy to do the things you like (like reading!) and enjoy them properly. Make sure to get enough sleep, some physical exercise and a healthy diet. Of course, this is not always easy to follow exactly, but try aiming at getting those basics right. You will find that you can get through your daily responsibilities more energized and efficient, which leaves you with more time and a clear state of mind for reading!
Conclusion
Although there are some practical ways to find more time to read, what it really comes down to is your own determination, setting priorities and a little bit of discipline. Most of us have some time to spare for reading. Just look at your phone and check the daily screen on time. Is it a bit higher than what you expected? Now take half of that time for reading and soon you’ll be reading a lot more books!
How do you find time for reading?