someone asked me the other day how i manage to find time to read so much with all of what i’ve got going on, so i thought i might write about some of the ways that i do it.

1) read several books at one time.
i have quite a few books in my ‘currently reading’ list at the same time. i recognized a long time ago that i’m not always going to have access to a single book because i’m not always going to carry just one book around with me everywhere i go. so… i have several books on my list, and will gradually read through all of them. this also helps me to maintain interest in books as i go… some of what i read can be a bit dry in spots.

2) be prepared for any opportunity to read.
i try to have a ‘currently reading’ book with me all the time. i carry them in my laptop bag, keep them in my car, have them on the nightstand, and on the back of the toilet.  if i know that i’m going to be somewhere waiting, i always have a book with me. airports, doctor’s offices, dentists, business meetings, even while in traffic!

3) play fewer video games, watch less TV.
the average american watches 8 hours of TV a day. i don’t even watch 8 hours of TV in a month! just think of how much you can read in 8 hours!

4) consider reading a priority
what i’ve found is that you have time for those things in your life that you find important. we all are able to make sure that we don’t miss the latest episode of our favorite sitcom or game show. some of us consider working out at the gym important enough to spend an hour of our time every day doing it. reading has just become a priority for me, and so i make time for it.

5) set aside scheduled time
in the past, this hasn’t really worked as well for me as i thought it would, though it seems that i read more before i go to bed lately… so perhaps that is changing? i honestly have a hard time reading at the end of the day in bed though… i tend to fall asleep only after a few pages, as i will almost always work myself to exhaustion during the course of the day.

6) read things that you enjoy reading
this should be obvious, but nothing is worse than having to read a book about stuff that you don’t enjoy or can’t relate to. i tend to read more if i am reading things that i like to read. this is not to say that you shouldn’t occasionally challenge yourself with new and potentially interesting subjects. you never know… you may like it!