How to Make Time for Reading More Books (Tips + Strategies)
Reading is hard with a busy life. Here’s how to read more.
I used to love to read as a kid. We didn’t have a lot of money in my family growing up, but we lived right near the local library, so my mother used to take my sister and I to the library whenever we had the chance. And the both of us always left with this huge stack of books, a hobby that persisted all the way up until high school. Then I went to a high school where I majored in writing and I immediately stopped reading because of how much we had to read at school. It wasn’t fun anymore, so I had zero interest in actually reading what I was supposed to, let alone for leisure.
It took until my sophomore year of college for my interest and love for books to slowly come back, and as I try to devote myself deeper into craft, I find myself falling deeper into the hole of reading. But it’s hard when you work a job to read. I used to work two jobs on top of seven college courses and was struggling to even get my homework done. Now that scenario was insane, but it sets the scene. I have a regular working schedule these days (regular for me, a workaholic, at least), but I’ve become very efficient at prioritizing reading time. Here are some tips and strategies I’ve learned.
Turn your phone off. Use the Pomodoro Method.
This is something I’ve become a very big advocate for. You don’t need to have your phone on 24/7, nor do you need to immediately respond to every single text. Turn it off. Do a Pomodoro Method with your phone. For every free hour in which you’re not working or don’t have class, split the hour into halves, thirds, or fourths. Only allow one of those time slots to go into phone usage, but one should be reserved exclusively for reading time.
Once you get yourself reading and are truly immersed in a book, it’s hard to stop reading. I tell myself I’ll read for fifteen minutes but when I’m very into a book that fifteen minutes stretches into two hours. My personal favorite thing to do is take a highlighter and highlight every word I like. I like to collect words, which I discussed in this blog post.
Don’t force yourself to read a book if you’re not feeling it.
This is an obvious one, and you’d probably think, why would I do that to myself? You’d be surprised at how many people try to champ it out and read a book they don’t like. Crime and Punishment might feel like the dullest book you’ve ever read after twenty pages, and if it’s already painful for you at that point, I hate to break it to you but it’s likely going to get worse. Some books have a redeemable ending or pick up pace, so I recommend testing it out up until fifty pages, but if you’re not feeling it you’re not feeling it. There’s nothing wrong with that, and you can always return to this book at a later date.
Budget thirty minutes before bed and dedicate it to reading.
Looking at screens can really hurt your eyes, and did you know that if you use your computer or phone before trying to sleep it keeps you up longer? When you also set a basic routine about reading before bed, you not only train your body for a bedtime routine that isn’t disrupted by a phone screen, but you also get in your reading quotas.
Set realistic book goals each year.
I’ve seen a lot of people each year write that they’re going to read an insane amount of books. During my gap year I set a goal of 125, which the average person might gawk at, but it was something I planned to beat easily. The average person has a job, is tired after said job, and will feel immense pressure to meet said goal. That makes the act of reading not enjoyable because if you’re a perfectionistic, you’re going to want to meet that goal. Or, worst comes to worst, you shrug and say you won’t meet it anyways and give up completely. Be smart about setting your goals and make them actually attainable.
Bring a book with you everywhere.
Read in between classes. On the subway or bus. On a plane trip to your next getaway. If you don’t have a book on you, you’re not going to be able to read anything. I tend to bring my iPad on planes so I have access to multiple different books at once, but some other people enjoy having physical books. Finding lightweight ones is the key here when you’re on the go, you’re not going to want to lug around a copy of War and Peace on an international flight.
Utilize your library and local thrift stores.
One barrier to reading for a lot of people is book access. People can’t afford to constantly be buying books, but libraries are wonderful resources that offer so much than we initially realize. I refuse to pay for The New York Times because my library gives it to me for free. My local library also allows me the option to submit book requests for them to purchase, so my niche poetry books are typically bought by my local library for me. Currently waiting on a copy of Maya C. Popa’s American Faith because of this awesome system in place.
I also swear by thrift stores for almost everything in my life, especially clothes. Every article of clothing I’ve ever wanted has appeared in a thrift store I’m shopping at at one point—it may not be immediate, but it always shows up somewhere. The same has applied for books. I lusted for copies of Sex and the Constitution and Savage Beauty (the Milford biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay) and eventually found them both at my local Savers for $4 each. That’s a bargain and much more sustainable.
Make book and literary friends.
Book clubs and having friends is a really good way to encourage you to read more. Same with writer friends. When their books all come out you can have the gratification of knowing them, feeling proud, then read that kickass book they dropped recently. When I finally threw my hands up and accepted I will be an intense writer forever and dove deeper into the community, I started reading a lot more. Reading the NYT book reviews, keeping up with LitHub and Electric Literature, and following people I admired all opened new avenues for books I hadn’t heard of but would come to love.
