No Time To Read?

Anytime people find out how many books I read in a year, they always want to know how I find the time to do it while raising and homeschooling four children and tending to all of the other, normal parts of life. First off I want to clarify that you don’t have to read lots of books in order to be a reader. Note that the definition of reader is literally just “someone who reads”; if you read one book this year, you are a reader. Also, some of you are in crazy busy seasons and truly don’t have time to read much. But I still bet you can find the time to read even a page a day. If you do ever wonder how bookworms actually find time to read, I hope this post will convince you that you have much more time than you think. 

1. Seriously look at the time you spend scrolling your phone, and train yourself to pick up a book instead. Please know I have to remind myself of this on a regular basis, so no judgment here. But if you truly believe that you have no time to read, then I would challenge you to pay attention to how much time you spend scrolling your phone. If you really want to be a reader, then you may have to give up at least some of the time you spend on mindless pursuits like Instagram so you have time to read. Remember that what we fill our minds with affects everything about how we live our lives; it’s amazing to me how much less irritable and anxious I am when I spend my pockets of free time with a book instead of social media. 

2. Figure out what kind of reader you are. By this I mean do you like physical books, e-books, or audiobooks? Some people get the majority of their reading done using a kindle or Kindle app on their phone; this can be convenient because you probably always have your phone with you, and even a kindle can be much easier to bring with you than a physical book. On the other hand, I’ve found I am much more likely to finish books if I read the physical version. Sarah Clarkson says in Book Girl that this is due to the short attention spans that reading on our phone requires; sometimes our brains just can’t make that switch from skimming Instagram posts to reading actual books. Audiobooks are a great fit for many people because they can get their reading done while multitasking, but if you are home with small children like me you may find that you are too easily distracted or interrupted to listen to an audiobook. None of the above methods are right or wrong, it’s just a matter of figuring out what works for you.

3. Give yourself permission to read. I’m looking at you busy mama. I think I was about a year into motherhood when I realized that I didn’t know when the last time was that I picked up a book just to read for fun. We live in such a hustle culture, and I think this shows up in a rather nasty way in the lives of young mothers. There’s always one more thing we could do for our kids, one more thing that needs done in our home, or if we do have even a few minutes of free time then surely we should be using it to serve outside our homes? I’m speaking from experience when I tell you that making time to read is never a bad thing for a busy mom to do. You will be a much more gracious mother, find you have renewed energy for all that housework, and gain a new perspective on what ministry really looks like when you have children at home if you take a few minutes each day to read. Plus, you’ll be raising kids who love reading, too, because they have a mama who prioritizes it for herself.

4. Decide when you’ll read. Finally, you need to make an actual plan for your reading time. If you tell yourself you’ll read when you feel like it or when you have more time, it will never happen. Reading, unlike the allure of technology, doesn’t always sound fun before you start (this is true even for people who read all the time!). Part of becoming a reader is developing the tiny bit of discipline that’s needed to get started. So stop and think about when you have pockets during your day to read. I like to link reading to other enjoyable things, like drinking coffee or tea. Some people who spend lots of time at appointments or pickup lines just waiting, carry books with them and read while they wait. Sometimes I have to tell myself I’m not allowed to do anything on my phone until I’ve read at least a chapter in my current book. Activities like nursing can be great times to sneak in a chapter or two. And I find it helps me to think of reading as a reward; sometimes on hard homeschool days or during extremely busy seasons I’ll remind myself that I GET to sit down with a book that afternoon or evening and rest. 

No matter your current situation, I promise you CAN both be a reader and love books. Take some time to think about where you are at currently and how you can build reading into your day. I think if you make some very small changes, you may be shocked at the end of next year to see how much you’ve grown in this area!