Do you ever intend to fit more reading into your day but then fall into habits of doing other things instead, realising at the end of the day, that another day has passed and you haven’t done any reading at all? Or not as much as you would like to have done?
Sometimes ‘life’ gets in the way of reading when there a big life events happening. Sometimes we just let reading fall behind other things we do. Some of us are not regular readers but strive to be and need to shedule reading time into our day.
Here are some ideas I have for getting more reading into your day weather your a long time bookworm or just starting out on your reading as a regular hobby journey.
- Read at night right before sleep. Give yourself a set time of 20 or 30 minutes of reading right before you go to sleep at night. It will help relax you into sleep and will, in no time, become a very relaxing before bed routine. Its ok if you fall asleep while reading (especially if you read in bed.) We usually sleep every night. So if you read regularly before bed it quickly adds up to you reaching your reading goals quickly.
- Use your local library. There is no need to invest a lot of money in accessing books if you have a local library. Libraries often have mobile services and offer book loans over apps as well as traditional bricks and mortar buildings from which you can reserve, borrow and listen to a extremely wide variety of books.
- Use Audiobooks. There is sometimes a bit of debate weather listening to an audiobook ‘counts’ as reading. As far as I’m concerned it most definitely counts! Take advantage of audio books to listen to books anywhere at any time. You can purchase audiobooks, add narration to digital books, source them at your library, use them through an app. You can even find some at charity shops if you want to purchase at a discounted cost.
- Take a book with you. Make sure you take a book with you to work, or the park, or school pick up etc. This gives you the chance to get a bit of reading in whenever you have a bit of down time in your day and you book is right within reach.
- Cut down on watching T.V. and using social media. That’s right, I said it… cutting down on the amount of time you watch tv or browse social media will give you more time to read. You can binge watch HALF a season of a show and then spend time reading. You can record something and watch it in half the time when you skip all the ads, then read more. Cut back on social media and sometimes remind yourself not to turn it on at all (like if you have committed to read before sleep don’t fall down the worm hole of social media browsing instead) I’ve done it too many times myself, I get ready to read and I think I will just quickly check social media…before I realise it, my time is gone and my book is still closed. Commit to reading over T.V. or social media.
- Join a book club. There are many ways to join book clubs these days. You can join them in person at a library or book store. You could start your own, at home or in a café. You can join in on book groups and discussions on the online book community Goodreads or another online book club. There is also the book app called Pigeonhole, where you get to read books in installments and discuss with other users.
- Use a reading app. There are apps available that promote reading habits. Apps like Bookly time your reading, and show you your overall statistics like how many minutes you have read, or how many pages you have read, This can be very motivational.
- Have a designated reading place. Have a space that you are comfortable reading in. A place or space that is inviting for you and draws you in to read ‘just one more chapter’. We will all be more willing to read if our reading environment is comfortable for us and inviting.
Do you have any tips on how to fit more reading into your day?
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