A
lot of people have asked me lately how on EARTH I get the time to read as much
as I do, particularly considering my busy schedule and other commitments. As it
is, I’m working full-time, have a part-time job in
retail (yes, I’m fully aware I’m crazy) and somewhere along there have to make
time to eat, sleep, and have a life. I also read at least a book a
week. How? I’m going to tell you.
TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THE SPARE MINUTES
People
spent a LOT of time just sitting around doing nothing, at various points
throughout the day. The natural thing to do here, especially in this day and
age, is to pull out your phone and check social media. Whether this be waiting
for a friend, sitting on the bus on my commute to work, I always have a book on
hand to pull out whenever I find myself with nothing to do.
SACRIFICE
THAT NETFLIX AND CHILL BEFORE BED
Do
you really NEED to watch that extra episode of Pretty Little Liars, Hollie? A
question I find myself asking quite a lot, lately. I’ve taken to swapping my
unnecessary telly-time for extra page turning and it’s really doing wonders for
my sleep. It allows that extra time to wind down before bed, relaxes me and keeps
my brain active all at the same time. Nothing better.
GIVE
YOURSELF A SET READING TIME
Tell
yourself that you’re going to nominate a certain part of your day to read. Give
yourself a goal: I’ll read X amount of pages before dinner and then I can treat
myself to some TV. I find that motivating myself to do ANYTHING productive when
I’m in a terrible mood is an absolute effort so don’t force yourself if you’re
not in the mood. That’ll only associate negative feelings with reading and
let’s face it, you definitely won’t go back then, will you?
LISTEN
TO AUDIOBOOKS
If
you don’t have time to physically sit down and read a book, then have a listen
to one instead. I’ve recently subscribed to Audible, and while I’m not totally
committed to the audiobook trend quite yet, I do see the benefits of it,
especially if you drive to work for your commute. I have a habit of zoning out
of music and TV shows so I’m finding that a little bit tricky but being able to
listen to a chapter here and there whilst doing other things is proving
incredibly useful.
Do you have any hints or tips to make the most of your time and get loads of reading done? Let me know!
