How to Read More — Morning Coffee Plans

Fall is the perfect time to cozy up with a blanket and a book… and a good cup of coffee, of course. Do you want to read more but struggle to commit the time to it? Here’s some of the things that have helped me read on a regular basis in the last year-

Little by little- Because of my work schedule, I don't really tend to have huge, uninterrupted spans of time when I could read for an hour or two. So, I read for 10 minutes a day. It doesn’t sound like much, but I was really surprised how quickly I would get through books by just doing a few minutes a day. Pick a set time frame (10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc) that you could devote to reading each day.
Set a timer- I found that it was easier to focus on what I was reading if I set a timer on my phone for my ten minutes so that I wasn’t glancing up from my book every couple minutes to check the time. With a timer, I can go all in on reading and my phone will tell me when it’s time to stop. And sometimes- I don’t! If I’m close to finishing a section or a chapter, I’ll keep going if I have the time. The timer doesn’t lock you in, but it does ensure you’re getting your minimum time in.
Have a pencil handy- This tip would likely apply to non-fiction reading (which is my favorite), but I underline, star and circle things in books that I really want to remember. Quotes I like, ideas that sound interesting to me, or things that apply to me personally. Even in a fiction book, you may find a phrase or passage that you really like and want to remember it or have it for later. Making notations in your books helps you commit things to memory and get more value out of the words on the page. If a book has a LOT of information that I want to remember, I will actually write my highlighted sections in a notebook so I have them to reference later .
Take action- The whole point of reading a book is to learn something new or broaden your perspective. DO something with what you’ve just read! I’ve found that actually applying a tip from what you’ve read motivates me to read more. For example, when I read The Home Edit, I bought some paint markers and labeled the containers we have in our master bathroom cabinet, and when I read Homebody I bought a metal tray for our entry way to collect keys, hats, and purses by our main entry door. Applying what you’ve read helps you see in real life how reading can make your life better.

Not sure what to read? Check out my 2019 Reading List, Four More Books to Read in 2019, and my Bookshelf page on the blog.