Have you ever found yourself with no time to read? Alternatively, have you ever found your procrastination tempting you back to your books, even though your responsibilities are looming?
Don’t worry too much if you’ve experienced these, it’s natural. What isn’t natural is always living with one of the two extremes on a daily basis. If you’d like to consider improving that, then try some of the advice below.
I Never Have Time to Read!
Try the following if you can’t seem to find the time to read:
Wake Up Earlier
Mornings are usually quiet. Taking an extra half hour each day to read and kickstart your brain can have some amazing benefits. You should also be able to finish most novels within 10–20 days at this rate (assuming you make it a daily habit).
Read During Your Commute
Public transport provides two things: boredom and downtime. If you can drown out the noise, or focus hard enough, then your commute can become a very good time to slot in another chapter of a novel.
Try Audio Books
If driving to work is necessary, then you obviously can’t read a book. However, with the advent of audiobooks and smartphones having come around many years ago, you can cheat and listen to your favourite novels. After all, you can listen to music, so why not a book?
Assess Your Routine/Schedule
A lot of people who feel stressed and pressed for time usually aren’t as restricted as they think. With some careful consideration, knowledge, and some assumptions, it may be quite possible to free up another hour or two of your day to read.
It’s not feasible to try to free up every single day, but just remember you can always optimise your weekends and days off. Think of it like this: if you have time to assess your schedule, then you have time to read.
I Read Too Often and Procrastinate!
For those who tend to read too much, or too often, try these:
Treat Reading Like a Reward
Think of it like self-training. In the same we way reward our pets for learning and repeating basic tricks, we can condition ourselves to be more productive by rewarding ourselves afterwards.
In essence: if you have something to do, then do it first. You can use the idea of reading afterwards to motivate you to get your responsibilities over and done with first, rather than putting them off and panicking later.
Pace Your Reading
Pacing your reading can be a nice way of slowing yourself down and preventing the chance for your whole day to be spent in front of books.
You can try a timed goal, let’s say thirty or sixty minutes of reading per day at most. If you don’t like that idea, then try getting through a chapter or two per day (depending on their length). Doing it in this manner lets you put the book down at a convenient spot and retain what was going on with the story — it also allows you to spend the rest of your day as you need or want to.
Avoid Reading Books Simultaneously
Whilst it can be fun to work your way through two or three books at the same time, it’s usually a good way to also overwhelm yourself or grant too much at once.
Sticking to one book at a time can help you cut back on procrastination or an urge to read. It’s one story to keep track of, not several. This can really help when combined with the above points!
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