Finding Time to Read
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It’s one thing to say, “I want to read more this year.” It’s an entirely other thing to do it. Unless we are intentional in where we focus our eyes and our attention, time will pass away, and we miss a lot of good things, including good reads.
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At the same time, the life of a mom is a busy one, and it can be hard to find time to read anything other than Goodnight, Moon. But we all know how good reading is for our brains and our hearts. There has to be a way to fit it in. If you have a reading plan in place, you will know what to read — and have it at the ready — when you do find those precious, but elusive moments for reading.
The following are suggestions for when you might be able to snatch a few chapters of a good book.
Pack a book in your purse or diaper bag. Instead of flipping through a magazine while you wait at the doctor’s or dentist’s, read a chapter of your book.
Make use of little minutes. Stuck in traffic? Waiting for the bus? Counting the minutes until the end of school or soccer practice? Pull out your book and get reading.
Let ’em play. Kids want to extend their playtime a few minutes longer? Read your book while the children play happily.
Turn in early. Head to bed 15 minutes earlier, but spend that time reading a chapter of your book.
Tune out. Find yourself randomly switching channels? Turn off the TV and pick up a good book!
Skip the cereal box. If you keep your books handy, you can turn your eyes toward a solid read rather than memorizing the back of the Wheaties box.
Take off. Get a mom’s morning out! Make arrangements for childcare, grab your books, and head for the library or even the mall — during early mornings. If you arrive before the stores open, you’ll find a cozy chair and a quiet place to read.
Soak it in. Tuck the kids in bed, run the bath water, add some bubbles. Sink down into a warm tub and read while your body’s muscles relax.
And if these don’t work for you, well, keep a book at the ready in the one place a mother can usually find two minutes of peace.
Good Reads for Moms
What do you think?
I’d be honored if you chimed in the comments section. What do you think?
P.S. Reading is a great thing to add to your time budget!
I read while I am nursing….all the time. While the big boys are playing video games or hubby watching something I don’t care for….I will snuggle up on the couch next to him but with my book. My books are always beat to shreds because I leave them lying around the living room so I can pick them up and have a quick moment. (kids are 9,6,2 and almost 6 mo). Love to read before I go to bed too and any moment that I am going to be waiting (doctors office) I am either stashing my reading in the purse or my knitting whatever I feel like doing that day.
I used to get some great time in reading when I nursed my firstborns (twins). When the 3rd came along, the boys were needing too much direction/intervention for me to read while nursing.
When my husband was driving to his office each day (he works from home now), he would take the time to listen to scriptures on cd. Even though he only worked 10 minutes away, he could often get 2-3 chapters in.
I find that evenings work best for me, right after I’ve tucked the children in bed.
I go to bed about 30-60 min early each night to read – but that is all I really get. I’m a librarian so I feel the need to read daily.
I just discovered another great way to get some “reading” in, while being a busy mom {or soon to be mom and current babysitter, in my case}. I always thought books on tape/CD/MP3 only worked for people who have long commutes to work or some other such thing, but I recently checked out two books on CD from my local library and just listened to them while doing normal household tasks {cleaning the house, fixing dinner, baking bread, making cards, doing the dishes, etc.} and I “read” both of those books within two days. It is a little more difficult if you have little children underfoot, but it still works for those times when your hands and eyes have to be busy but you don’t need much brain power to do what you’re doing {like dishes}. It certainly worked for me!
In the bathroom. I always keep a book there. I do a lot of your other suggestions too. I am currently reading Les Miserables with a couple friends. The fact that we are reading it together keeps me focused.
I do this too! Every time I go to the bathroom, I “take my time” and spend a few minutes reading. I’m able to keep up with two bible studies and my personal goal of reading one book every two months this way. In fact, I’m usually ahead of schedule!
good ideas- my 4 yr old is finally old enough for swim lessons by herself so I get to read for an hour every saturday!
I steal away to Barnes and Noble! I’ve been trying to read Tribes by Seth Godin since Blissdom. I’m on Page 14 🙂
My Bible reading is making progress though!
I guess I am the odd one out when it comes to reading. I read several books a week. During the school year I can usually only get through 5-7 books a week, but during the summer I can get through at least double that. Those are just books for me, if you include the kids books it’s a much greater number. I read a lot and very quickly, one of the benefits of having to have read so much during graduate school I guess.
It also helps that my boys read a lot. The 9.5 year old can easily go through 4 Goosebumps books a day, which amazes me because a year ago he would fight me to read One fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. We read out loud a lot. I’ve discovered that the boys will sit there and listen while I read for hours, even my 11.5 month old will lay there or play nicely while I read to them. It probably helps that I’ve been doing the reading out loud to them daily since birth for long periods of time.
In all fairness, all my kids are grown now, pretty much, so I can read whenever I feel like it. Mostly, I read with my morning cup of coffee, in bed. I know I did some reading-for-grownups when mine were littles, but I had 4 under 7 at one point so I’m not sure I read much more than the expiration dates on coupons back then. Or else it took me a year to read anything. I will tell you this: when the two youngest were about 5 and 8, I read grownup chapter books like “Jurassic Park” and “Watership Down” to them. The five-year-old probably just liked hearing my voice, but the eight-year-old was really into it. (I just skipped over all the ‘technical’ parts. I was happy to see most of Creighton’s books–we read a few–were pretty much void of things-I-wouldn’t-want-my-grandmother-to-hear passages.) We read a few pages or a chapter a night. They got to hear me read, and I got to ‘revisit’ some of my favorite books. And, of course, it was fun to read the Little House books to my daughter and the Boxcar Children series to my older boy!
That’s a funny article and you’re right… who does have time to read more than “Goodnight Moon.” Cute suggestions and a laugh 🙂