reading is fun
Lately, it is so hard for me and my husband to find a good time to read books. Later in the evening after doing our every day tasks, we feel so exhausted and are ready to go to bed. In the morning, we wake up just in time for my husband to go to work, but it is not enough time for me enjoying a good time to read because my girl is a morning person. So, we have been thinking what we should do to change this habit or why we cannot find a good quality time to read.
We think reading is also a good habit to develop in our girl’s life and we want her to know that reading is fun and a good way to enrich her knowledge, gain wisdom and a window to see the world. But we have to do that first to show her, then she will find out by seeing what we do, then she will do it. Kids are a the best imitator. They will do whatever they see what we do, instead of what we tell them what to do.
Michael Hyatt, a writer, posted this post 5 Ways To Make More Time To Read. In this post, he gives these suggestions that I think might help you and maybe you, too, in improving our reading time. Here’s what he says,
Life is hectic around our house. But I’ve somehow managed to make time to read in the middle of all that. And I say that not to pat myself on the back but to show that, even with a busy life, it is possible (and important) to make time for hobbies you’re passionate about.
Here are a few tips that have helped me:
- Sacrifice something. You’ve got 24 hours in a day. You spend 8–10 hours (hopefully not much more) working. You spend 6–8 hours sleeping. You’ve got family and friends to spend time with every day. All of this doesn’t leave much time for other interests, like reading. So your golf game, like mine, might take a hit. You might have to turn off the television after 9:00 p.m. But, if reading is a priority, you’ll make time for it. As Jon Acuff puts it: “Be selfish at 5 a.m.”
- Make a routine. If I say I’m just going to “find time to read,” then it will never happen. I have to make time to read. So here’s what I do: I read during my lunch break, and I read at night, beginning around 8:45, after family time, after the wife and little guy are in bed.
- Set a goal. You’ve heard this so much that it’s clichéd. But it works. My goal is to read 101 novels. Usually, I would’ve given myself a deadline, but I didn’t want to speed read through the books, so I just chose to read them as they come. At my current pace, I’ll reach my goal in three more years. Maybe you should set a goal to read one book a month. If that seems unlikely, then make it one book every two months. And take it a step further—tell someone about your goal. Or, if you’re crazy like me, start a blog about it. There’s nothing like that extra accountability to keep you moving.
- Have fun. You don’t have to read a book simply because a friend suggested it, you know? Think about your hobbies, interests, and passions—then go and read about those subjects. I once spent five months reading nothing but casual, behind-the-scenes books about restaurants and chefs. I’m a chef groupie, I guess. Once you’ve read a few “fun” books, then dabble into the more serious, thought-provoking stuff.
- Mix it up. Once you get into the flow of reading, branch out of your comfort zone. If all you’ve read is nonfiction business books, then relax a little and pick up a novel. If you’ve plowed through Stephen King’s entire catalog in a few years, maybe it’s time to give a leadership or inspirational book a try. The point is: If you read the same style of book over and over, you’ll eventually get burned out and go back to watching two hours of Brady Bunch reruns every day…unless you’re reading 101 books for some crazy blog, of course.