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As July comes to an end you may be eyeing the calendar with a weary eye. For our house, back to school means back to a lot of things… school, work, activities, shuttling around, and mostly a lot less time. As an author I am always trying to fit in my writing time, which I talk about HERE, but as a reader, how does that time fit in?
A Different Kind of Workout
Reading is peaceful and relaxing, it is easy to view it as a luxury that just often doesn’t make the cut for things to fit into a busy day. You make time (hopefully) each day for working out, for sleep, and for eating, why? Because our physical wellness is important to keep us going, to tackle our never ending to-do list. But what are you doing to keep yourself mentally fit?
Reading not only gives you a peaceful time to recharge but it gives you a mental workout. It supports focus and memory growth, growth in vocabulary and subject matter. Reading enhances our mental fitness but in a day that is already so full, is adding something else into it achievable? Here are a few tips on how I have built reading into my day that will hopefully work for you.
Set Realistic Goals.
Setting goals allows us to set a plan to achieve them. If you are just building reading into your routine, four books a week may not be a realistic goal. Unachievable goals in anything often leads to abandoning it altogether. Be sure to set goals that allow you to create a balanced plan to achieve. Consider different mediums of books, which may include audiobooks, ebooks and print. Remember goals can always be adjusted. You may have started with a goal of 20 books in a year, but realize you will be able to achieve more. Celebrate your achievement, but adjust your goals.
Rethink the time you have.
Our day is often filled with small bits of useless time. The five minutes before an appointment, not enough time to involve yourself in an activity, but often that is enough time to scroll through posts on social media. Sitting in line for pickup for the kids, you aren’t in a space to get much done, so you watch a few random Instagram reels. At the end of the day you don’t have any accomplishments to show for that time. However, if you carry a book with you and read a few pages during each of those times, you could have accomplished reading multiple chapters.
Excuse yourself.
Sometimes life gets the best of us. If you didn’t get your reading time in, don’t beat yourself up. The goal is to use reading to build a healthier you and that comes with routine and balance. If you have reading in your daily schedule more often than not, give yourself grace on the days that you miss. Life happens and in all areas of life we have to remind ourselves this is okay.
Share your reading time.
Sharing accomplishments can increase confidence and motivation, we see it all the time with physical workouts. Normalize sharing your reading accomplishments as well. There are several different platforms you can use to share your completed reads and reading progress. I use Goodreads, which allows me to mare books I want to read, books in progress, and books completed for each year. I can review books I love and books I….loved much less, if you are on Goodreads connect with me! You can also start a book log, I have a free downloadable book log HERE. When you add a new book to your log take a picture and share it.
Instead of putting “reading time” on your calendar, block it as time to “work on improving the function of critical organ” and make your brain and your health your priority!
Enjoy this post? Here are more reads you might like:
Find more ways to spoil your inner bookworm!
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