How To Find More Time To Read

In our modern world full of gadgets and connected devices, reading can sometimes be placed in the background as an afterthought rather than a priority. However, the benefits of reading are many, so are there ways to find more time to read?

Benefits of Reading

Sometimes we need some motivation to engage a new or under-utilized activity. Understanding the benefits of reading may provide you with the determination to incorporate it into your daily routine.

The basic benefits of reading include:

• Life knowledge and leadership skills. Influential leaders around the world are frequently known to be avid readers. The relationship between reading and leading is a strong one.
• Empathy and enhanced inter-social skills. Reading gives us insight to worlds and people unlike those we currently know. This empowers us to become a more empathetic person and enhances our inter-social relationship building skills.
• Improved neural activity. Reading engages our brains in ways that videos and mechanical activities do not. Adding reading to your regular activities can improve your overall neural function, leading to better cognition in all areas of life.

Ideas to Find More Reading Time

Here are my suggestions to aid in the process of developing more time in your life for the wonderful act of reading:

1. Set a Goal — If you want to develop a new habit of reading more, you’ll need to provide yourself with a measurable goal. This goal could be set in terms of time, number of pages, number of books, or some other quantifiable method. If reading hasn’t been a priority in your life in a very long time, you may wish to start with small goals — perhaps reading 10 minutes a day or 30 minutes on weekends. For others the goals may be more long-term, like reading 3 books per month. Write down your goal and evaluate periodically if this goal is working for you.
2. Sacrifice Another Activity — This idea may not appeal to you at first. The act of sacrifice certainly costs something. However, many of us can easily identity time-wasters in our day which we know are not useful habits to maintain. These activities may or may not be obvious. For some people, watching TV might be a time-waster while for others it’s a necessary way to unwind from a hard day’s work. One idea to free up more time is to evaluate your schedule for ways to streamline your activities. Group them together according to map routes, so as to free up more time at home. Cook meals at home more often, but create a weekly menu and shop for groceries just once a week rather than piece-meal. The point is, most of us can find more time in our day, if we want to.
3. Read Something Different — Maybe you’re not reading regularly because you’ve become bored with your typical reading list. Sci-fi fans may like to try something that blends Sci-fi with another close genre such as Thriller, Mystery, or Historical literature. However, if you’re really brave, try reading something that’s the complete opposite. If you’ve been reading mostly Sci-fi, try dabbling in Chic-lite or Autobiography. The point is to read more to engage your mind and stimulate neural activity. You may find that reading something out of the ordinary provides interesting insight to other perspectives, enlightening your reading enjoyment when you return to your pet genres.
4. Make a Routine — Developing a new habit for routine reading can take some time — in many cases much more than the alleged 21 days habit-to-reality myth circulating popular websites. First, you’ll need to set a goal, as mentioned above. However, if routine is your objective this goal will need to include something repeatable in your regular schedule. So, rather than simply setting a goal of reading 20 minutes per day, give your goal a relationship to your schedule. Change your goal to reading 20 minutes per day during your office lunch break or after dropping the kids off at school.

What to Read

If you’re not sure where to start, visit Goodreads for suggestions or browse my Sci-fi and Mystery novels for new reading materials!

Do you have a suggestion for making more time for reading? Share it here and be sure to use your extra reading time to head over to my website, www.leifericksonwriting.com for some great books to read!