Reading Routines

"How do you find so much time to read?"

This is the question bookworms are often faced with when someone they know bumps into them at the grocery store after seeing their bookish blog posts or #bookstagrams. 

I'll be honest, I feel a little defensive when someone asks me this. Are they implying I'm ignoring other, more important things (sometimes) or are they incredulous that I would use my free time to read (also, sometimes)? 

Reading is my favorite hobby, it's true. So I've actually thought a lot about how to answer this question. If the questioner is not really serious and just looking to make some kind of passive-aggressive dig then they will soon regret it. Because I have an answer, but it's going to take a minute.

I use routines to get so much reading done. This may raise my nerd status exponentially, but with a large family and other responsibilities and hobbies, routines work. 

we have a lot going on around here

Like many readers, I bring a book with me wherever I go. This helps me capitalize on downtime when I'm picking up a kid or waiting for a table at a restaurant. The stares of people who are wondering about the bookworm in the corner are nothing compared with the progress I can make in my book and the swelling sense of pride I get when I think about living that screen-free life.

Big bags are great for toting paper books, but I always keep my kindle app updated on my phone just in case I can grab a few minutes of reading when it's just me and my phone.

These little pockets of time are useful in keeping me connected to a story and moving me through the pages, but they are not where I get the majority of my reading done.

follow me on Instagram for lots of "reading at baseball practice" photos

I am strict about a half-hour of reading Monday-Friday after the kids go to school. I see it as my reward for getting everyone off for the day. Sometimes I'll read one book for the full thirty minutes, but if I'm chipping away at a slow but steady read I will devote fifteen minutes to that and fifteen minutes to another book. 

My work is writing and I have two and a half hours allocated for writing during each weekday. Unless I am completely in the zone and the muse is speaking through my pencil, I take a small portion of that and read a writing book for professional development and encouragement.

My kids get home at staggered times starting at 2:20 and ending at 3:45. During this time I keep a book handy. The kids come in and tell me about their day and then move on to snacks and homework so I can usually get another thirty minutes of reading done.

If the evening is busy, my son and I sit on the couch for twenty minutes of reading around 4:30. If it's a night at home (my favorite) we save this for after dinner and I usually wind up reading for closer to an hour.

we cute

If I find myself with a few hampers of laundry to fold or other household chores calling my name I will have an audiobook playing in my AirPods. The only exception to this rule is dinner. I need to focus while I make dinner so no audiobooks then.

audiobooks are also good while putting together a puzzle or walking the dog

My husband and I watch a British murder show in bed at night. When that is over, if I'm not completely exhausted I will pull out my kindle and read until I fall asleep. I love reading on the kindle at night (or if I wake up early in the morning) because I don't have to turn on the lights to read. 

On Sundays, I give myself permission to sit on the couch in my library and read/nap for an hour or two. This feels like decadent self-care but it really helps me head into the week feeling rested and ready to go. 

Part of the secret to my personal reading life is to be reading many books, in many formats all the time. I am currently reading long and short books, fiction and non-fiction, print editions, e-books, and audiobooks. When I'm asked how I manage this I usually say it's not that hard...you just have to try it. It rarely happens that you read two books at the same time with similar plots or characters with the same names. Confusion is rare. 

There are times I will go for weeks without finishing a book, but I'm ok with that. I know that there will be a week (like last week) where I finished four books and two of them were over 600 pages. 

This is just what works for me. I've thought about my reading life a lot (obviously) and so I feel like I'm in a good place with it. You don't have to read the same way I do to be happy with your reading life and that is what is so great about this hobby. Whether you read ten books a year or a hundred, you can be satisfied with your reading life as long as it serves you, your interests, your time, your life, well. 

Part of why I read so many books and read them so routinely is that it helps me cope with anxiety. My mind can be spinning and I can be crushed under the weight of a million things I can't control...or I can read and force my mind into compelling plots, thought-provoking non-fiction, and audiobooks that make me laugh out loud. This is just one of the reasons why reading the way I do works for me.

Does your reading life serve you? What are your reading routines? Leave a comment below and let's talk.