Want to read more books? It can be hard to fit reading into a busy schedule, but these seven tricks can help you squeeze a little more reading in if you’re wondering how to read more!
One of the questions I get asked most frequently is “how do I find time to read more books?”
Sadly, I have no magic wand to give you extra time, and I know EXACTLY what those questioners mean.
With four children, a home, this blog, plus London Littles, it’s definitely become increasingly challenging to fit in my own reading.
It’s easier for me to fit in reading with my children – we read picture books on a daily basis and my littler girls are board book obsessed.
We get through a bunch of audiobooks together in the car and I read aloud to them most nights before bed from our current chapter book.
But these seven tricks have really helped me fit in more reading than I might otherwise.
How to Read More Books
Some days, you want something light and fluffy, while some evenings you want to settle in with some non-fiction.
3. Read first thing.
6. Keep a book in your bag.
My daily backpack has a pocket that PERFECTLY fits my Kindle, so I always have something to read if I end up at school pick up a few minutes early or even a long line at the grocery store. I also have the Kindle app on my phone, and when I pick up my phone, I try to remind myself to read instead of open social media apps.
7. Get in bed ten minutes earlier.
I find it so hard to get myself to go to bed at a reasonable time because those evening hours with my children in bed and the house quiet are SO precious. But if I get to read in bed before I go to sleep, getting ready for bed feels more like a treat than a chore. Plus, with even ten minutes a day, you can get through a surprisingly large amount of reading.
If you have other tricks for how to read more books as a busy adult, I’d love to hear them!
Christine says
Great tips! If I’m watching something on TV on the evening “live” (as opposed to recorded), I can get a lot of reading done in the commercials with the TV on mute. 🙂
Taelor says
I do the same thing. 🙂
april says
I read a ton but I get distracted really easy, so lately I’ve been using a fidget device the keep my hands busy while I read and I concentrate so much better! This is what I use: https://www.amazon.com/Flippy-Chain-Fidget-Toms-Fidgets/dp/B01MAYBTA0/
Janssen Bradshaw says
Oh, that’s brilliant!
Abbie says
Great post and great topic! This has been a year of good reading for me, and I totally agree with the idea that if you have something good to read it’s easier to fine time. One little (totally silly) hack that helped me a ton was changing my library username/login to my name inste of library card number. So silly! But it made it sooo much easier (mentally and literally) to quickly request a book on my phone whenever I heard a good recommendation or came across something interesting (or was reading your blog! 😉 Now I breeze into the library all the time to pick up a whole stack of books I’ve requested, without overthinking whether I’ll like them or not. Having a steady stream of things available makes a big difference, and if I don’t like em or haven’t read them yet, I let myself just drop them off and request again later! I notice when my stacks runs out I make time for reading way less. I’m much happier as my childhood nose-always-in-a-book self, but these days it takes some little hacks and inspiration. Thanks for helping with that!!
Diana says
YES! To all of this! I just started reading e-books on my phone again because it’s so much easier than a paper book when feeding a baby. I still read paper books but I like having one-handed options besides scrolling and aimlessly wasting time on my phone!
Kayla says
Life is too short for bad fiction. Hence, I’ve given up on SO MANY BOOKS this year.
Jenny says
I get up 15-20 minutes earlier than I have to and read first thing. You have to be disciplined to stop but it fits into my life/schedule that way better than most other times. Like you mentioned I also use audiobooks and I read 2-3 different books at a time.
LaQuetha says
Thanks for the tips. I don’t have kids but running a school is exhausting and I always bring work home. I am going to try reading before I do any work for the school to take time for myself. When I have a break from work then I read a ton.