How to Find More Time to Read

I’ve always been a daydreamer, but age and motherhood have altered those daydreams significantly. Where I used to daydream about flitting off to France to eat all the cheese, nowadays I find myself looking out my window and imagining a day spent on the couch with a stack of library books and an embarrassingly large bowl of ice cream.

It’s safe to say that I don’t get in as much reading time as I’d like in my busy life as a working mom. However, because reading is about as necessary as air (and ice cream!) in my life, I find ways to make time for it, whenever I can. If you love to read but are also struggling to find time, here are some ideas for how to read more.

Schedule Reading Breaks in Your Day

For me, taking 30 minutes to read during my lunch break is something I look forward to. I may not be able to do it every day, but when I do I always feel better after taking that time. Having that time to think about something other than work-related stresses can be therapeutic on a hectic day.

Another way I sneak reading into my day is by listening to audiobooks when I take walks. When I’m working from home, I like to walk our dog in the afternoon after the post-lunch slump. That’s the perfect time to catch up on an audiobook and get some fresh air.

Read Before Bed

For many people, this is a no-brainer, but if you haven’t tried reading before going to bed, I highly recommend it. I find it to be much more relaxing than scrolling on my phone, or even watching a movie. This has been a habit for me for as long as I can remember. In fact, even if I’m up really late (which, let’s face it, is pretty much never) I have to read a little before I can sleep.

Most nights I go to bed at least 30 minutes before the time I’d like to be asleep, so that I can spend the last part of my day engrossed in a book. If you want to try doing this but struggle to get in bed early enough, set an alarm for 30 minutes before you want to actually go to sleep, so you can have dedicated reading time.

Always Bring a Book

I take a book with me just about everywhere I go. You never know when you’ll have a long wait for something, and it’s just as easy to pull out a book as it is to open up Instagram on your phone. If you don’t see yourself carrying around an actual book in your bag, find other ways to read on the go. You could download the Kindle app and read an eBook, or bring ear buds and listen to an audiobook. The point is to spend time when you’re stuck somewhere, waiting, reading something instead of doing nothing.

Embrace Audiobooks

I used to listen to audiobooks regularly when I had a commute to work, and it made my drive so enjoyable. Although these days I’m working from home, I love to listen to audiobooks (as well as podcasts) during little bursts of downtime throughout the day. If you’ve never tried audiobooks, read this post to help you get started.

It’s amazing how much listening time you can find even during a busy day. Here are a few suggestions for when you could try listening to audiobooks: while you’re getting ready in the morning, taking a walk, doing laundry or dishes, cooking dinner, doing your skincare routine, doing mindless work tasks, or tidying up the house. I get my audiobooks from the library or libro.fm (affiliate link).

Use Your Library

I could go on for days about how wonderful the library is and how much I love it, but that’s a post for another day. (Except… FREE books. FREE.) In particular, using the library helps me read more because of those pesky little things called due dates. That deadline looming over my head when I’m reading a book (especially one I waited in a long holds queue for) puts a little fire under me to get that thing read. I find that I read books I own a lot more slowly and leisurely than books I check out, simply because of the deadline.

Even if you prefer eBooks or audiobooks, the library can be a great resource. Especially since the pandemic, I’ve found that my library has an excellent selection of digital books. I recommend doing a little research to find out if you can connect to any other libraries near you with your local library’s card. Where I live, I can check out books from the library in my town, as well as other libraries in the county and the larger Kansas City library nearby.

Be a Quitter

In the past few years, I’ve gotten better about “abandoning” books I’m not enjoying or struggling to get through. I used to feel compelled to finish a book if I started it, but I’ve since come to learn that life is too short (and there are WAY too many books) to finish a book I can’t get excited to read.

Sometimes, I’m not in the mood to read a certain type of book, and I just can’t motivate myself to pick it up. Other times, for whatever reason I can’t get into a book so I find something, anything, else to do other than read it. If you’re willing to give yourself permission to set down a book (whether temporarily or forever) and pick up a different one, you may find it easier to prioritize reading time. When it feels like something you want to do, rather than something you should do, you’re bound to make more time to read. (Your book should feel indulging in dessert, not eating your vegetables!)

Of course I still wish I had more time in my day to read. As soon as I finish one book, three more appear on my to-read list. Yet by doing these small things, I ensure that despite how busy life gets, I’m still able to make time for the hobby that feeds my soul.

What are you reading right now? How do you make time to read when life is busy?

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