One of my friends emailed me recently, asking how I find time to do it. How do I find time to read? It’s a fair question. I work full time outside the house. I have 2 young kids (3.5 and going on 7). My oldest is active with sports and Scouts and I’m on the PTO. I have a house to take care of. And yet I read a pretty good amount of books – an average of 6 a month. Which to some, especially book bloggers, may not seem like a lot, but I think it’s pretty good.
So how do I find time to read? I guess my love of reading means I make the time. When I get to work in the morning and turn my laptop on, I pull out my book. It takes a good 10 minutes for the laptop to boot up to the point where I can start working. At lunchtime, I eat at my desk while reading, and then read for another 30 minutes or so (sometimes a little longer if it’s a really good book or I’m close to the end). And I read before bed, though often it’s only a few pages before I turn out the light.
Some weekends I find more time to read than others. Last Sunday when I woke up the kids were watching TV downstairs. I made myself a coffee, grabbed my book, and sat outside for 15 minutes. Often the kids will be off playing somewhere in the neighborhood, so I’ll grab a lawn chair and read a few pages. I admit there’s often a struggle – should I clean the bathroom? Or read? And big shocker – reading often wins. 🙂 If the kids are watching a movie, especially if it’s one I’ve seen, I pull out my book. When the kids are splashing in the bath, I’m sitting in there with them, with my book.
Then of course there’s the audio book, which I’ve written about before. I listen while folding laundry, cleaning those bathrooms, walking the dog. Today I turned my book on while cleaning up the basement. I guess it’s a good thing that I’m more likely to clean if I have a book to keep me company.
I guess what it boils down to is finding the time – squeezing in those few moments here and there whenever I can.
How do you find time to read?
Guest poster Nancy Talan recently moved her family from New Jersey to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. She blogs about adjusting to life at 5,000 feet, her two boys and her love of books at Life With My Boys.
I do the squeezing in a few minutes here and there too. I always have a book (or two) with me, so today I read while the kids were doing their martial arts class, and when we went to visit the cat they’re kitty-sitting, and things like that.
Sometimes when my husband and I have an evening together at home, we don’t watch TV, we just sit on the couch and read.
I do find it difficult to make time to read really heavy stuff that takes concentration. I just finished Hayek’s “Road to Serfdom” and it took me months, because I had to be able to sit down in a quiet place and concentrate on it.
This is such a great post, Nancy!
People ask me that all the time, and my answers are similar to you. I am a BIG fan of the audiobook, too, on which I listen to one to two books each month.
My husband watches sports, and I often read while he does that.
And my house — well, let me just say that reading almost always trumps cleaning toilets.
Because I review children’s books, my reading is almost exclusively in that genre. I find I have to claw time back from my blog and writing! To do that, I try to get away for a weekend here and there, and by away, I mean away from the computer, and indulge in an orgy of reading for pleasure. That means old favourites and new titles I’ve garnered from all the great book blogs.
I’m impressed by the 6 a month number, because right now, I don’t work outside the home, but I still struggle trying to find minutes here and there to read. There are some days in which I’ve busted my butt all weekend to get the house in order, and the kids play together (mostly) peacefully, and I can sit nearby in the yard and read for more than a minute or two. But mostly, my reading happens during naptimes, evening hours and extended visits to the “powder room.” 🙂
I take books with me everywhere. My husband’s schedule is flexible and he’s often driving, so I read in the car.