I was speaking with a woman after church a couple of Sundays ago about a book she had read and which I was reading. In that conversation I started a sentence, “The book you really should read…” and she stopped me protesting, “Don’t give me another book! My list is already too long! I don’t have time!”
I gave her the recommendation anyway, and she dutifully wrote it down.
But time is an issue, isn’t it? The question I most often hear in discussions about reading is, “When?” We are busy people. When in the midst of our busy-ness can we pause to read? I get that. So when I received the answers to my survey questions from Staci Thomas I followed up with a question along those lines. Her answer deserves a post all its own.
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When, Staci, do you find time to do all the reading you do in the midst of a life that would by itself exhaust most of us?
Staci: I don’t have to force myself to read. I love reading. I only read books that I will love, I enjoy the process, and it’s not an activity like, say, doing the dishes, that I have to make an effort to do. Now, making the time to do so is another story. To make the time to read, this is what I do:
– I only pick books I like so it’s not drudgery to read.
– I always listen to a book when I am exercising (so, a minimum of six hours of book listening happens each week).
– I always turn my current Audible book on in the car when I’m not driving kids places.
– I turn the Audible book on when I’m getting ready for the morning or cleaning or making dinner.
– I’ll pick up the hard copy of the book I’m reading and read while I’m blow drying my hair.
– If I am stirring something while cooking, I have a book in my hand.
– I never leave the house without a book so when I am waiting somewhere (there is a lot of waiting when living in the city and raising four kids here) I pull it out and read.
– I read aloud to my kids for at least 30 minutes every night (kids are 17, 14, 13, 11). (Some parents bond while hiking or playing video games, but we read.)
– I read every night before I go to sleep…sometimes it’s only a page, sometimes it’s 30 minutes.
– I read when I’m waiting for a file to save that I’m uploading for work.
– I read when I’m on a plane for work, which is happening more frequently lately.
– I HEAVILY limit time on social media in favor of reading a book.
The before bed reading is the time of day when I am the most free to read. I try not to get in bed to read, as that lends itself to falling asleep quickly. I try to read in the family room before bed so that I can get a few more pages in before sleep. I read so many articles about reading in the early morning before the day starts, but I save that time for devotional/Bible reading so that is not free-type time for me. And – I’ll add this – there was a time when I slept about four hours a night. I cannot do that anymore. I sleep about six hours each night now, and I’m reading more than ever using the above techniques.
Thanks, Staci. I have only this to add:
©Stephen Pastis http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine