Whether you’re a writer or not, reading books is an important way to learn more about the world around you, relax with a good story, and improve your communication skills. But it can be hard to read lots of books, even if you enjoy reading. There are always other things to do—go to work or school, do housework, hang out with friends, go online, watch the newest episode of The Good Place. Life is busy!
Despite 2019 being one of the busiest years ever for me, I still managed to read over a hundred books (include some BIG ones like The Priory of the Orange Tree that took up an entire month!) Okay, yes, that’s sort of a humble-brag, but I want to share with you some tips I’ve learned to make time for reading and read more books.
An important note: I’m not here to shame anyone for the number of books you read in a year! I happen to be a super-fast reader, but the speed at which you read doesn’t equate to some moral standing, even when people act like it does. Basically, it’s not bad or shameful if you take a longer time to finish books. This post is less about hitting some arbitrary number of books that seems “successful” and more about giving you tips to read more if that’s something you want to do.
Make reading your default
Imagine this scenario: You’ve got somewhere to be, but you don’t need to leave quite yet so you’ve got five minutes to kill. What do you do? If you’re like most people, you probably pull out your phone to play a game or scroll social media. You may not even think about it—if you’ve got some time and nothing to pay attention to, your default is to get out your phone.
But these snippets of time add up: If you just spend 15 minutes each day killing time, that’s 5,475 minutes a year—nearly four days! Imagine if you spent four days doing nothing but reading. That’s at least a whole book, maybe even two or three. So take advantage of these little pockets of time. Rather than opening an app, make it a habit to pull out your book and read even a couple pages. It will take some time to learn, but as you do it more and more, reading will become your go-to.
Try out different formats
I’ll be honest: I still vastly prefer physical books over any other format. Between my day job and writing/blogging, I stare at a computer screen for most of the day, and reading a book is a great way to give my eyes a break. But when I started reviewing books, I had to use ebooks, and it turns out it’s pretty nice to have a book with me basically wherever I go. It’s a handy way to help make reading your default—instead of using your phone to get mad on Twitter or play a game, you can read while you wait in line at the grocery store or kill time in your car when you arrive somewhere early.
Another great option is to try out audiobooks. I actually tend to listen to podcasts more so I don’t use audiobooks as much, but I know plenty of people who swear by them. They can be especially great if you have a long commute, or if you aren’t a fast reader since you can adjust the speed. Audiobooks are definitely the best way to multitask—housework doesn’t seem so bad when you can listen to a story while doing it! You probably know Audible as the best source of audiobooks, but the app Libby connects with your local library so you can rent audiobooks for free.
Schedule reading time
If you really struggle to find time to read, stop waiting for it to appear and make time. This year, I adopted a tradition that every Friday was an “off day.” Once I got off work, I didn’t try to write or blog or do anything productive. I just read. I tried not to make plans or schedule anything for Friday afternoons. I considered that my reading time, even if the rest of the week was so crazy I hadn’t been able to read a single page. I know that I’m really lucky to be able to schedule a whole afternoon for reading, but look at your calendar and decide on a time to schedule as your reading time. It might be one day a week or before bed or right after you wake up. Put it in your calendar like you would for any other appointment you’re not going to cancel on, and then show up. Make a commitment to reading regularly, and don’t let yourself out of it.
If you don’t like a book, STOP READING
Okay. I know to some people, this is an easy one. But if you’re like me, once you start reading a book, you feel somehow indebted to it. Like you’ve made a promise by starting to read it, and to give up before it’s over is just wrong. Let me tell you, friend: It’s okay to not finish a book if you’re not enjoying it.
You only have so much time to read. Why waste it on a bad book? More than that, if you’re not enjoying the book, you’re less likely to read it, but since you won’t move on to another book yet, you end up not reading as much. Now that reading is my default, I can tell that I’m not enjoying a book as much as I should because I suddenly revert back to wasting time by doing other things. Often, I’ll tell myself that I like the book enough to finish it, and then realize that I’ve been procrastinating reading, so clearly I don’t like it that much. If you can’t give yourself permission to give up on a book, here: I’m giving you permission. Stop reading it. Go donate or sell it or give it to a friend (or an enemy if the book is really bad) and go find a new book you’re excited to read. Life is too short to read bad books!
How do you read more books? What’s your reading goal for 2020? Let me know in the comments!
Featured image by Kimberly Farmer.