Over the past couple of days, I’ve went over ‘why I read so much’ and then my reading list from last year and so far this year.
Naturally, the next part people want to know about is: “How do you manage to read so much?”
Simple, really – I just do it.
Beyond that, here are the ways I make it happen:
- I read as part of my morning routine. Every day, without fail. This is probably the best opportunity because you can do it before you ever pick up your phone and are bothered with the “things of the day.”
- Audible. Walking the dog, riding in the car, even doing low intensity exercise is a great way to utilize audiobooks. Having said that, I actually don’t really like listening to my books, so I’ve only listened to about a dozen titles and I don’t use it much anymore. I prefer the physical book so I can highlight in it, take notes, dog ear the pages, and file it away on the bookshelf in my office when I’m done.
- I set micro goals for some of my reading – finishing a chapter before I put it down. Getting through a big concept or story in the book, etc.
- I keep them within arms reach at the house. No joke, I’m never more than an arms length away from a good book…ask Mandy. This is one that doesn’t make her happy, LOL.
- I always have one with me on the plane. You don’t need wifi for a physical book.
- I choose reading over TV. Yep, I’m one of those…I now log more time within my book collection than I do tv.
- I revisit my favorites often. Yesterday I listed my annual re-reads. There are many more that I reference in portion quite often.
Here’s the thing – I know reading is good for me. I enjoy it, and it makes me happy. But it wasn’t always that way. It took time to build the habit* of fitting it into the parts of my day where I was doing other things and not being as productive. It’d be easy to make excuses on why I can’t read (kids, dogs, noise, life, etc, etc) but when I read that people like Bill Gates read 100 books a year, I know that I can make it happen. Like with anything, if its important enough, you’ll invest the time and money to do “the thing.”
I’m sure there are other ways people get their reading in. So: how do YOU make reading a priority?
(*I read ‘The Power of Habit’ back in 2016 or 2017…naturally. )
