Where I Find Time to Read
I remember in high school being super busy--I was, obviously, in school all day, then I had work right after each day, I was highly involved with a dance company and my church, and often had family and friend events planned. I had (and mostly hit) some highly ambitious goals and felt that my life was busy.
I looked forward to adult life, when I would "have more time" to simply read.
As a young mother of an almost two year, three and a half year old (while pregnant), I laugh a little at this.
Nevertheless, as I've gotten older, I've found reading has become more important to me in my life, and so I have worked hard to make it a priority. This has been a process for me and, like I believe most people, my passion for reading often comes in phases or waves. At some times in my life, I don't have that ambition to read and at others, it's all I want to do.
Regardless of phase, here are some of the ways I have found in my own life as a stay at home mother to read each day.
Read before bed
This is one that a lot of people talk about, probably because it works really well. It gives you a chance to turn away from screens (which can be detrimental to your sleep) and to wind down from the day. As long as you don't choose a book you can't put down (I usually have a classic by my bed), it can also help make you sleepy.
The best thing about this, for me, is it ensures I read every day. Even if the day has been busy or I just haven't been a reading mood, I go to bed every night and every night I read a little bit. It might only be five minutes, but it's every day (and some days it's longer).
Take advantage of the weekend
This is especially true of Sundays for me, because Saturdays tend to be busier. But on the weekend, I don't have as many responsibilities calling for my attention and Sunday is my "rest day", so I never feel guilty spending my girls' entire nap doing nothing but reading. What could be better than a lazy weekend spent reading?
Let my children play
Free play unguided by adults is so important for children (especially under the age of 8), and free play outside is extra important. I try to be very intentional about spending time with my kids each day, so when I let them play for a little bit and sit on the couch or a lawn chair outside and let them play without me, I don't feel guilt for it. I also know it's really good for them to see me reading, so bonus!
Limit Social Media and TV
I have ruts just like everyone else where I get watching a show or spend a lot more time just surfing social media, but overall in my life, I try to intentionally limit these. I am a lot more productive and read tons more when I do this.
Listen to audiobooks with my husband
My husband works for himself and gets to choose his own hours. We wake up early together so that during the girls' naps, we can usually spend that together. Often, we'll spend some (or even most) of that time listening to an audiobook together. We get to spend that time with each other and I get to add another book to my wrap up, it's great!
Track what I read
This now happens almost automatically because of BookTube, but I actually started tracking how many and which books I was reading each month long before I started making videos. This helped motivate me to want to read at times I might otherwise might not have.
Watch or read about books and reading
My husband and I have this theory that what you consume, you'll want to create. I find this is so true. When I watch cleaning videos on YouTube, I find myself wishing I made cleaning tutorials. When I read a lot of blogs about homeschooling, I have the urge to start my own mom blog. When I watch BookTube videos, it inspires me to read more and to create those same videos.
I looked forward to adult life, when I would "have more time" to simply read.
As a young mother of an almost two year, three and a half year old (while pregnant), I laugh a little at this.
Nevertheless, as I've gotten older, I've found reading has become more important to me in my life, and so I have worked hard to make it a priority. This has been a process for me and, like I believe most people, my passion for reading often comes in phases or waves. At some times in my life, I don't have that ambition to read and at others, it's all I want to do.
Regardless of phase, here are some of the ways I have found in my own life as a stay at home mother to read each day.
Read before bed
This is one that a lot of people talk about, probably because it works really well. It gives you a chance to turn away from screens (which can be detrimental to your sleep) and to wind down from the day. As long as you don't choose a book you can't put down (I usually have a classic by my bed), it can also help make you sleepy.
The best thing about this, for me, is it ensures I read every day. Even if the day has been busy or I just haven't been a reading mood, I go to bed every night and every night I read a little bit. It might only be five minutes, but it's every day (and some days it's longer).
Take advantage of the weekend
This is especially true of Sundays for me, because Saturdays tend to be busier. But on the weekend, I don't have as many responsibilities calling for my attention and Sunday is my "rest day", so I never feel guilty spending my girls' entire nap doing nothing but reading. What could be better than a lazy weekend spent reading?
Let my children play
Free play unguided by adults is so important for children (especially under the age of 8), and free play outside is extra important. I try to be very intentional about spending time with my kids each day, so when I let them play for a little bit and sit on the couch or a lawn chair outside and let them play without me, I don't feel guilt for it. I also know it's really good for them to see me reading, so bonus!
Limit Social Media and TV
I have ruts just like everyone else where I get watching a show or spend a lot more time just surfing social media, but overall in my life, I try to intentionally limit these. I am a lot more productive and read tons more when I do this.
Listen to audiobooks with my husband
My husband works for himself and gets to choose his own hours. We wake up early together so that during the girls' naps, we can usually spend that together. Often, we'll spend some (or even most) of that time listening to an audiobook together. We get to spend that time with each other and I get to add another book to my wrap up, it's great!
Track what I read
This now happens almost automatically because of BookTube, but I actually started tracking how many and which books I was reading each month long before I started making videos. This helped motivate me to want to read at times I might otherwise might not have.
Watch or read about books and reading
My husband and I have this theory that what you consume, you'll want to create. I find this is so true. When I watch cleaning videos on YouTube, I find myself wishing I made cleaning tutorials. When I read a lot of blogs about homeschooling, I have the urge to start my own mom blog. When I watch BookTube videos, it inspires me to read more and to create those same videos.
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