The Secret to Finding Time to Read

By: April Hughes

“How do you find time to read?”

This is a question I get asked all too often. It’s also a legitimate one considering the circus impersonation that I call my life. I discovered my love of reading in fourth grade when my teacher began reading to us Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. I was completely engrossed in the story. From the cupboard beneath the stairs, to the shocking entrance of Hagrid on that wave-tossed, stony island- every moment captured my interest. Unfortunately, my teacher believed in long drawn-out pauses that did little to dramatize the scenes, and dog-eared the pages on the good parts. Not cool. Naturally, I took it upon myself to finish the novel. At home. Without unnecessary dramatic pauses.

As time went by and I cruised through the rest of the Harry Potter series, Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, and other childhood favorites, I discovered that reading was a natural part of who I am. Suddenly, the idea of not reading was as foreign to me as putting pineapple on a pizza (yuck!) or walking barefoot over scorching-hot coals (ouch!). The day I stopped reading would be the day I stopped breathing (hopefully that’s not for a long long time as my “to-be-read” pile is going to take me approximately 50+ years to finish).

Because life is an unpredictable and crafty wench, she has to place obstacles-both good and bad-into our path to make things interesting. For me, these cinder blocks would be work, school, kids, housework, familial/friend obligations, and other necessary parts of “adulting”. Thankfully, I enjoy most of these blocks. This just means I have to be a little creative in how I find ways to read (after all, my book boyfriends and paper besties would be devastated if I didn’t find time for them). So, here’s how I jumped these hurdles and found the time:

1. Arrive 20 minutes early to everything- work, meetings, your little nephew’s birthday party, etc. That way you can spend 15 minutes reading in the quiet of your car.
2. Read while you cook- sounds weird, I know. But you’d be amazed how much reading you can do while stirring that minestrone and waiting for things to bake.
3. Read on scheduled breaks and during lunch at work- this is a great way to escape the monotony of your work life.
4. That peaceful thirty minutes before bed- After the kids are tucked- squawking and all- into their cozy beds at night, I treat myself to a little, uninterrupted reading time.
5. Keep a book in your purse/man-purse, fanny-pack- You never know when you’ll have unexpected time to read. For example, at the doctor’s office. Thankfully, mine is notorious for being late. That means MORE time to READ! Yay!
6. “Sick Day”, also known as “I-can’t-come-into-work-because-I’m-on-a-good-part-in-my-book” Day- Let’s be honest, bookworms, we’ve all done this a time, or two, maybe three? *wink*

Finding time to read is POSSIBLE. You just gotta be creative.

See my tips on surviving the holiday season here!

See some of my more steamier book recommendations here!