Finding Time to Read - Part 2
Yesterday, I talked about finding time to read and I promised you a few suggestions and ideas for ways I fit in reading right now (they may or may not work for you--take what works and leave the rest!):-Always have a book handy. I try to never leave the house without a book and I try to always have a book close by throughout the day. You never know when a few minutes might pop up where you can crack the book open and read a few pages.
This morning I read about 10 pages of a book while doing my stair-climbing exercises. Yesterday, I plowed through quite a few more while cooking waffles for dinner. Even if you only have a minute or two, you can get through a page or two in that time. And a page or two here and there adds up!
Please note: I'm not suggesting you walk around the house with your nose in a book oblivious to anyone and anything else, but do be alert for those little cracks of time and use them to your advantage!
-Read fast. Except for reading God's Word or something I really want to slowly digest, I've learned the art of speed-reading. I read fast and if I come upon a section of a book that I can tell doesn't apply to me, I normally just skim over it quickly. There's no sense in reading every word all the time--at least that's my mantra!
-Read a variety of books. One of the biggest ways to squelched enthusiasm for reading is to get stuck in a rut. I try to have a variety of books going at once that way I can pick up whatever I'm in the "mood" for. Sometimes I might want something light and practical, sometimes I might be more in the mood to challenge my thinking, sometimes I need encouragement. I also have found it helpful to read books of varying lengths.
-Turn off the TV. Seriously, this is probably one of the biggest reasons I have more time to read--I don't watch TV pretty much at all, ever, unless it's some major political or news event. In my opinion, reading is much more intellectually stimulating and profitable most of the time.
-Cut back on your blog-reading. You might find it strange to hear a blogger tell you to cut back on blog-reading and read a book instead, but I really encourage people to guard their online time and make sure it is being productively used. It is so easy to fritter away time by blog-hopping, I know all too well myself as I've struggled with this. I've personally set a boundary right now of only allowing myself to subscribe to 30 blogs on Bloglines. There are lots and lots of great blogs out there, so be particular so that it doesn't eat up all your free time!
-Set aside time on Sunday to read. At our home, everyone usually takes a Sunday afternoon nap--everyone but Mom, that is. Instead of napping, I usually have an hour or even two to read my Bible and read other books. I can often finish a short book in this amount of time or finish up another book that I'd been slowly plodding through all week. It is such a relaxing, refreshing, and encouraging thing for me to do on Sundays and a great way I've found to rest and recharge. In fact, it's normally much better than a nap!
-Read aloud to your children. This is a great way to get in extra reading time and it doubles as quality time spent with your children. We're reading through the Little House on the Prairie series right now and while it's written for children, I'm learning quite a bit myself. (I keep thinking how incredibly easy my life is compared to those pioneering families!) For more of my thoughts on reading to young children, see this post.
-Set goals for your reading. Keep it simple, though. The Girl Talk bloggers posted a great series encouraging us to read last year and I loved this quote from John Piper:
"One of the most helpful discoveries I have made is how much can be read in disciplined blocks of twenty minutes a day. Suppose that you read slowly, say about 250 words a minute (as I do). This means that in twenty minutes you can read about five thousand words. An average book has about four hundred words to a page. So you could read about twelve-and-a-half pages in twenty minutes. Suppose you discipline yourself to read a certain author or topic twenty minutes a day, six days a week, for a year. That would be 312 times 12.5 pages for a total of 3,900 pages. Assume that an average book is 250 pages long. This means you could read fifteen books like that in one year."Maybe you don't have twenty minutes to devote to reading every day, but perhaps you have five minutes? Make a goal to read at least five minutes five times per week and see how far you can get. You might be surprised!
Those are a few of my thoughts and what works for me at this season of my life. What about you? If you didn't have a chance to comment on the other post, I'd love to hear what your best tips and suggestions are for fitting in reading to a busy schedule. Also, just for fun, do you normally only read one book at a time or multiple books?
Graphic from AllPosters.com
Labels: Finding Time, Reading
posted by Crystal Paine at 9:15 PM
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