When You’re Scavenging for Extra Reading Time

Life gets crazy busy with family, friends, chores, day jobs, side hustles, blogging,  writing, platform building. Add in a good helping of unexpected crises, traffic, long lines, and bills. Ah, reality. How you torture us mortals.

(If you happen to be a wizard, let me know if there’s a spell we could use to zap a few of these items from our lives. When you aren’t fighting off dementors or balrogs, of course.)

With all the stuff that keeps us moving, improving, and creating, we tend to lose out on absorbing, reflecting, and observing. However, as creatives, we need to fiercely guard our time for reading as much as we protect our time for producing.

On the Hunt

Of course, we can’t eradicate everything else going on in our lives. No income = no money for books / gas to get to the library / subscriptions. Vicious cycle, I know. *shakes fist*

So when I see my usual bookworming beginning to decline,  I secure moments to make the reading happen. And here’s where I’ve found the booty, er, golden nuggets of time . . .

• Right before bed. If you think falling asleep on the phone with your significant other is romantic, try falling asleep with a book in your hand.

Warning: Be wary of tablets. If it slips out of your hands and onto your face, you’ll probably never want to read in bed again. To prevent these sort of mishaps, I switch between reading on my tummy and on my sides. No black eyes or unpleasant bruises. Win!

• Early in the morning. If you’re going to check social media at the first sign of daylight (No judgement. I’m guilty, too), why not replace the swirling vortex of procrastination with a book?

• At mealtimes. When I’m not people watching or thinking of my day, I break out an audiobook. The joy of being read to as the narrator leads me through the world of story makes meals feel more dramatic and exciting.

• During long commutes. Sitting in the car or on the bus for over an hour can be a drag. So, like mealtimes, I plug in my earphones and pick an audiobook to cushion the commute. No need to blare the horn or stare in disbelief at the person yelling into their phone. You’ve got a story to attend to.

• When finishing chores. Are we catching the pattern? *shakes pom poms while chanting* “Audiobooks . . . Audiobooks . . . Audiobooks!” Of course, some tasks need your full attention or don’t allow the best experience, such as vacuuming. But if you’re not using this time to clear your mind, fill your lovely brain with riveting characters from far off lands with mystical creatures and stories woven into life’s tapestry.

Now that we know where to get started, here’s our challenge:

Find as many of these gold nuggets in your daily schedule and record your accumulated reading time throughout the next 7 days.

You could use an app like ATracker or a manual system to keep track. Then report back here or send me an e-mail with your final count at the end of the week! We’ll be able to see just how possible it is to regularly feed our bookwormy appetites despite our crazy agendas.

Shall we?

Update

By May 12, 2016, my final accumulated reading time for the week was 4 hours and 53 minutes. Although it wasn’t as much as I’d hoped, the point is that I actively searched for the time. Here’s to more hunting!