As I mention every ten minutes, I am an English major in college right now, so it goes without saying that I love to read. To my dismay, as a freshman, I found it incredibly difficult to make time to read for pleasure. Especially when I have to do so much reading for school, reading “for fun” doesn’t always feel like a real break. However, over this winter holiday I was reading constantly, and I wanted to bring that energy with me into the new semester. I’m pleased to share that I have been keeping up with my own reading as of late, and in today’s post I’ll be sharing some of my tips for making more time to read.
Show up early to everything
This is a new practice I’ve started this semester, and it’s beneficial for a multitude of reasons. First, I’m never late to anything, which is great. Last semester I definitely was the type of person who planned to arrive at lectures and classes around the time they started. I think it was an old practice from high school, where everyone arrives to class within two minutes of the bell ringing by nature of being in the building already. In college, though, I’m often walking 20-25 minutes across campus to get to different buildings, so giving myself a nice window of time proves helpful.
Additionally, arriving to class 10-20 minutes before it starts is the perfect amount of time to open my book and get a bit of reading done. If I have 3 different places I have to be on any given day, and I show up early to each of them, that’s at least 30 minutes of reading I’ve built into my day. It adds up!
Build reading into your routine
In this video, Max Joseph talks about the hows and whys of reading more while visiting some of the world’s most impressive bookstores. He mentions that, if we read for just 15 minutes every day, we will have read hundreds of books by the time we die. Just 15 minutes every day! Knowing this, I think it is worthwhile to build reading time into your routine. I like reading before bed, when I first wake up, or even during my lunchtime. One thing that works well for me is pouring myself a glass of water (or cup of coffee) in the morning and reading until I’ve finished drinking it. At this point, it’s become an automated practice. The two go hand-in-hand, and I don’t even have to think about it.
Pick books that fit your needs
I feel there is often a pressure to read classics or nonfiction books. We want to seem intellectual and well-read. Sometimes, though, what your soul needs is a fluffy romance read or a gripping fantasy epic. If, like me, you spend all day reading dense literature and articles, you may not want to sit down at the end of the day and crack open the latest self-help best seller. Hemingway may not thrill you as a pleasure read in the way it would have during the freedom of the summer. Whatever your situation is, be honest with yourself. What does your soul need to read. Ignore what recommendations are being thrown your way. Ignore what you’re telling yourself you should have read by now. Just read what you feel like reading. I, personally, am going through an unabashed fantasy phase.
Read two books at once
If you still want to read classics or nonfiction or otherwise dense books but you lack the intellectual manpower to do it at any given time (trust me, I get it) try this: pick out two books. One will be that Dostoevsky tome you want to brag to people about having read. The other will be Red, White, and Royal Blue, or whatever contemporary best-seller is calling your name. Set a goal to read x number of pages or chapters of the first book. Once you’ve done that, you’re free to read as much of your second book as you’d like. This is a method I’ve been using since I was in high school, and it’s really worked for me. It’s how I’ve managed to keep up with reading as many classics as I have without hitting a reading slump.
And that concludes this post! I tried to supply tips that you won’t see everywhere. Things like audiobooks and reading challenges are great options, too, I just figure we’ve all heard those tips by now.
Happy reading!
