5 Ways to Find Time to Read
Nov 10, 2017
I've been posting reviews of everything I've read this year on Instagram with #soobsessedwithbooks, and I recently got a great question on one of my posts from a fellow mom asking how I find time to read now that I have a baby. When I responded, I realized it would make a great a topic for a post. There are five tips that immediately came to mind, and I'll chat more about those below. But I wanted to preface with something first.
My son is eighteen months old, and he's my only child right now. Finding time to read as the mom of one is different than finding time to read as the mom of four, for example. I recognize that! And, as I mentioned to the commenter, I've read a lot more this year than I did last year because my son's age and stage of development has made it easier than it was before. I say both of those things to acknowledge that everyone has different circumstances -- and that my reading life could change again at any moment.
My son is eighteen months old, and he's my only child right now. Finding time to read as the mom of one is different than finding time to read as the mom of four, for example. I recognize that! And, as I mentioned to the commenter, I've read a lot more this year than I did last year because my son's age and stage of development has made it easier than it was before. I say both of those things to acknowledge that everyone has different circumstances -- and that my reading life could change again at any moment.
When I was pregnant, I frequently heard the same refrain from parents: "Oh, you love to read? Just wait until the baby arrives...." or "You won't have the time/energy/desire to read with a baby..." or "Reading once you have kids? Hahaha!" And honestly, it made me so mad. It's rude, discouraging and condescending. Just thinking about it now makes my blood boil. You know what a new parent doesn't need to hear? Someone else telling them that having a baby equals no longer doing the things that they enjoy.
Last year, I wrote a post called Six in Sixteen: What I've Learned This Year. And I mentioned that I'd learned to "find the time." Whenever I've told my mom that I wish I did ______ more or had more time for _____, she responds by saying that if I wanted to do it, I would. It sounds harsh or simplistic, but her point was that we make time for the things that are truly important to us. She wouldn't say it to make me feel guilty or to be judgmental; it was just stating the obvious. If I cared about it, I'd find the time for it.
You'll have less free time with a baby, but you will have some. And you get to decide what you want to do with it. The people who told me they never had time to read after having a baby? What they usually meant was: "That's not how I chose to spend my time." And that's okay! Not everyone will prioritize reading. It's so easy to spend an entire evening watching YouTube videos on my phone, bingeing something on Netflix, looking at Pinterest, working on a blog post, etcetera... and sometimes I do those things. But I can't complain that I don't have time to read! I do -- it's just that I didn't choose to use my time on it.
Everyone is busy in their own way -- and that doesn't just apply to parents. Choosing to do one thing always means you're choosing not to do everything else available to you. The only thing I took away from my college economics class was the concept of opportunity cost, but I'll never forget it. For me, choosing to read often "costs" me the opportunity to blog. I'd love to blog more consistently, but I know that doing so would take away time from reading. And most of the time, I'd honestly rather read!
But that's why my first piece of advice is to just make a decision that you want to prioritize reading. The practical, actionable ways that's lived out will look different from everyone. It could be a long-term goal of finishing one book per month or a short-term goal of reading for fifteen minutes each day -- the details don't matter as much as the actual decision to do it. It sounds so basic (and kinda dumb) to make this a tip, but I feel like it's the foundation. You have to decide first, and then you'll find a way to make it happen.
This is a two-part piece of advice. I'll start with early to bed! I'm a huge fan of early bedtimes (and sleep training and sleep schedules and all that debatable nonsense). Once my son was past the newborn stage of needing to eat around the clock, we established bedtime at 7 p.m. It occasionally fluctuates based on that day's nap(s) or evening plans, but we're generally pretty consistent. And honestly, that early bedtime is a lifesaver.
I can get so much done in the evenings because I basically never go to bed before 10 p.m. Most nights, I'm awake until close to midnight. That's between 3-5 hours of free time. And yes, sometimes that involves various chores or tasks that I have to get done, but still. Those are golden hours! Early bedtimes for kids won't always be feasible, but I highly recommend aiming for it. So much of my reading happens after my son goes to bed.
And then there's the second part of that phrase - early to rise. Unlike the first part of the phrase, this part of my advice involves your sleeping habits. If you can't already tell, I'm not a morning person. At all. But I wish that I was because the morning can be a wonderful time to work in extra reading. If you can get up before the rest of the household, you've got uninterrupted time right there.
Rikki from The Ardent Biblio recently posted about being a morning reader, and I absolutely loved what she shared. While I don't see my night owl ways changing anytime soon, I do think this is a wonderful suggestion for so many people. The mornings can often feel a little frantic, especially if you've got to get out the door for work/school/etc., but how lovely to work towards a peaceful and rewarding start to the day.
Of all the tips on my list, this one has the biggest gamechanger for me. I listened to audiobooks before I had a baby, but it was pretty sporadic. It was hard for me to listen at work because my job often required too much mental focus, and I often defaulted to music while driving in the car. But ever since my son was born, I've developed a deep love and appreciation for audiobooks (and podcasts, too).
At the time I'm writing this post, almost 30% of what I've read this year have been audiobooks. That's a big deal! Here's the biggest reason I love them: I can listen while driving, while doing chores around the house (laundry, cleaning, and cooking), while getting ready for the day, while grocery shopping or running errands, while walking around my neighborhood and while laying in my bed at night. In my opinion, it's the most versatile format!
If I take my son to the grocery store, I'm going to talk to him and narrate our trip instead of listening to an audiobook. But if I go by myself? Hello, headphones! The same goes for all the other things I listed. I don't necessarily listen to an audiobook every day, but having the ability to get stuff done and read a book is incredible. Being able to multitask is way more important to me now than it was before I had my son.
I have an Audible membership, so that's one audiobook per month. Plus, I have library cards for two counties (one I live in and one I pay to access) which gives me access to Overdrive through one and Hoopla through the other. Both have extensive audiobook selections! I started with re-reads and have since branched into new-to-me books now that my brain has finally trained itself to pay attention. I'm so glad this format exists!
Sometimes I approach reading as something that needs to be done for an extended amount of time for it to count. I don't do this on purpose -- it's just my mental default that I have to tune out. Because honestly? Sometimes managing to find 15 minutes to read is the best I can do, and that's okay. But it also means that I need to be aware of those small windows of opportunity so that I don't miss them.
Those windows often come from reading on my phone while waiting for something else to happen, like sitting in a doctor's office. For the first year of my son's life, the biggest and most obvious window was while I was nursing. I spent so much time looking at Twitter and Instagram before I thought, I ought to be reading right now! And now that he's no longer nursing and is beginning to play a little more independently, sometimes that window is while I'm sitting on the couch watching him build a tower out of blocks.
Reading this way can sometimes make a book feel disjointed, and some are definitely more suited to being read in small increments than others. But I've learned to accept it because it's a huge reason I've been able to read as much as I do! And honestly? You could only read a page per day, and you'd still be a reader. My husband reads one chapter of a book before bed (and less than that if he's tired) -- he's a reader.
And my final piece of advice? Remember this is a season of your life and won't last forever. If you just don't have the energy or desire to read, don't beat yourself up for putting books on the backburner. I've had long stretches where I just didn't pick up a book. Sometimes I just want to watch TV, work on a blog post, paint my nails, decorate my planner or do any of the other random things that bring me joy. Including sleep.
I always remind myself that I'm reading for pleasure and it's not worth it if I'm forcing myself to do it. Reading slumps where you want to read something and just can't find the right book for your mood are frustrating. But some slumps leave me wanting to do anything but read, and I don't fight those feelings. Books will wait for me -- no matter how long it takes.
Reading isn't a competition. There's no finish line to cross, award to accept or benchmark to reach. It's something you do for the joy of it. And I know how frustrating it can be when life makes it difficult to find the time do the things you love! That's why I remind myself that I can choose my attitude and perspective in this season. I won't always get it right (because some days are truly exhausting), but I can do my best.
How do you find time to read when you're busy?
