Have a designated reading time.
In my recent post about how to be a good reader, I shared about having a designated reading time. This week, I wanted to share more about what that looks like for me personally, in the hopes that it will give you some ideas and inspiration to make room in your own life for a little bit of reading.
Mornings
When I get up in the morning, one of the very first things I do is sit and read my Bible. Sometimes I follow a devotional or a reading plan, and sometimes I simple work through a book or read whatever it feels like I need that day. Currently, I am going through The Bible Recap again. This is a great resource if you would like to read the Bible in a year!
Typically, this is all the reading I get to on weekday mornings. However, on slower mornings, I will typically pull out a faith based non-fiction book I have been reading as well and get some extra pages in.
Click here to read about the other non-negotiables in my morning routine.
Challenge: Think of something you could read in the morning to start your day off well. Try just 5 or 10 minutes of reading this week and see if it makes a difference.
Throughout the Day
Reading during the day is more of a challenge because, for the majority of this time, most of us are working. However, I have found that especially thanks to audiobooks, reading during the day is still very attainable.
Some opportunities throughout my day that I use to listen to an audiobook / read are when I am…
Working on a monotonous task at work
Eating lunch
Driving
Working out
Going on a walk
Waiting before an appointment
Cooking dinner
Challenge: Make a list of the random pockets of time throughout your day you might usually fill with scrolling, music, TV, etc. Try filling some of that time this week with reading!
Evenings
For me, evenings are pretty much exclusively reserved for fiction reading. Unless we are out late or watching a show (American Idol on Sunday & Monday nights right now!), I pretty much read every night before bed.
Sometimes I make it through two pages before I fall asleep and other nights I read 50. Some nights I start reading as soon as we finish dinner and other nights I only read for 10 minutes before I need to go to sleep.
Challenge: Find a fiction book you are excited about and get into bed 30 minutes early to read. On top of making time to read, you might sleep better too!
Thank you so much for reading! If you love receiving this newsletter every Monday, please share with a friend who you also think would love it! It would mean so much to me.
Take care,
Caroline