WEBVTT - Second Cup: Make time to read

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Today's tip is about how

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<v Speaker 1>to make more time to read. When I asked people

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<v Speaker 1>what they want to spend more time doing, exercise always

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<v Speaker 1>comes up first, and don't worry, we're gonna talk a

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<v Speaker 1>lot about that in future episodes. But reading is a

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<v Speaker 1>close second. Indeed, if you'd asked me a few years

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<v Speaker 1>ago what I wanted to spend more time doing, I

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<v Speaker 1>would have said reading books. I would have told you

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<v Speaker 1>I was busy and I had very limited time to read.

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<v Speaker 1>Then I tracked my time for a year, a year incidentally,

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<v Speaker 1>when I had four children under the age of eight,

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<v Speaker 1>including an infant, which I thought was a pretty good excuse.

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<v Speaker 1>My timelogs were clear. My problem was not a lack

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<v Speaker 1>of time to read. I had spent three seven hours

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<v Speaker 1>reading that first year, which is almost an hour a day.

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<v Speaker 1>But I couldn't remember many good books I had read.

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<v Speaker 1>The truth as I had spent the vast majority of

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<v Speaker 1>those three twenty seven hours reading online news stories and

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<v Speaker 1>gossip magazines. Why well, that's what was easy and available

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<v Speaker 1>when I had open time, So that is what I read.

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<v Speaker 1>It makes sense, but It's also kind of sad, as

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<v Speaker 1>three twenty seven hours is enough time to have read

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<v Speaker 1>more than fifteen thousand pages of real stuff. I could

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<v Speaker 1>have read War in Peace ten times. Let's just say

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<v Speaker 1>that did not happen. So I resolved to do better,

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<v Speaker 1>and over the next two years, I didn't spend much

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<v Speaker 1>more time reading, but the quality of my reading material

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<v Speaker 1>massively improved. I actually did read War in Peace. I

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<v Speaker 1>read Moby Dick, I read Middle March, Infinite Jest, Kristin

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<v Speaker 1>LaVerne's Datter one Q eighty four, Ulysses, a number of

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<v Speaker 1>other amazing books on my reading bucket list. I did

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<v Speaker 1>not magically find more time. Laura who had no time

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<v Speaker 1>to read and Laura who read War and Peace were

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<v Speaker 1>the exact same person, living in the exact same universe.

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<v Speaker 1>It was just about being more strategic with the time

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<v Speaker 1>I had. So if you'd like to be a better reader,

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<v Speaker 1>you might try to do what I did. First, make

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<v Speaker 1>sure you have really good books to read readily available.

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<v Speaker 1>Now you might think this sounds backwards. I can just

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<v Speaker 1>hear people yelling at this podcast, Laura, there are all

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<v Speaker 1>these wonderful books that I have no time to read.

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<v Speaker 1>This is not my problem. Let me ask you this,

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<v Speaker 1>If you were to turn off this podcast, could you

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<v Speaker 1>be engaged with a book you really wanted to read

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<v Speaker 1>in the next thirty seconds, because I know you could

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<v Speaker 1>be on Instagram in the next thirty seconds. If you

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<v Speaker 1>don't have that same ability to dive into a book,

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<v Speaker 1>then this is gonna limit your ability to seise time

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<v Speaker 1>to read. So make a list of the books you'd

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<v Speaker 1>really like to read, not what you think you should read.

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<v Speaker 1>You're not in high school English class anymore. You don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to read what you don't want to read, even

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<v Speaker 1>if that cuts out some good books. I'll put this

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<v Speaker 1>out here. I don't like false accusation stories, and I

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<v Speaker 1>don't like the sort of awkwardness that's endemic to romantic comedies. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like there's enough violence and cruelty in the

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<v Speaker 1>real world that I just can't stomach too much of

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<v Speaker 1>it in my fiction. Even though I know this puts

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<v Speaker 1>some really good books off my list, I do me,

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<v Speaker 1>you do you? So figure out what you'd like to read,

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<v Speaker 1>build in, you know, twenty minutes a week or so.

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<v Speaker 1>To find book recommendations, I like to check out the

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<v Speaker 1>Modern Mrs Darcy blog and her podcast What should I

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<v Speaker 1>read next? I look at the Wall Street Journals review

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<v Speaker 1>section and Oh Magazine for ideas. I welcome your suggestions too,

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<v Speaker 1>Then get your hands on the first handful. Physical books

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<v Speaker 1>are great. But here was the real breakthrough for me.

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<v Speaker 1>I put the Kindle app on my phone. This is

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<v Speaker 1>Amazon's e reader app. And guess what, I always have

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<v Speaker 1>my phone with me. Since you're listening to a podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm guessing this is the case for you to putting

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<v Speaker 1>the Kindle app on my phone meant that I could

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<v Speaker 1>immediately buy any e book I saw recommended, and I

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<v Speaker 1>could turn my headline and social media scrolling time into

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<v Speaker 1>reading time. People turn out to have a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>this time. You probably pick up your phone at least

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<v Speaker 1>fifty times a day. If you want to check the

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<v Speaker 1>exact number, just look at the screen time function if

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<v Speaker 1>you have an iPhone, so you pick up your phone,

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<v Speaker 1>you delete junk email, and then what you probably look

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<v Speaker 1>at social media or at headlines. But if you spend

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<v Speaker 1>six of those five minutes spurts reading, that's half an

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<v Speaker 1>hour a day of reading right there. And then the

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<v Speaker 1>funniest thing happens when you're really into a book. You

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<v Speaker 1>start magically finding more time to read instead of spending

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<v Speaker 1>ten minutes puttering around with the mail pile looking at

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<v Speaker 1>catalogs you read instead of channel surface you read. You

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<v Speaker 1>are the exact same person, but time starts to open up.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, there are ways to build more reading time

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<v Speaker 1>into your life structurally too. If you've got a long commute,

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<v Speaker 1>definitely put audiobooks into the mix. Maybe you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>this podcast for a bit and then listen to a

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<v Speaker 1>chapter in a book. You know, if you've got a

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<v Speaker 1>forty five minute commute, you're going to spend seven and

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<v Speaker 1>a half hours in the car this week. You're gonna

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<v Speaker 1>spend forty five hours in the car over the next

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<v Speaker 1>six weeks anyway, so you might as well listen to

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<v Speaker 1>Doris Karen's Goodwin's Team of Rivals, which clocks in at

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<v Speaker 1>just under forty two hours. Reading is also a great

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<v Speaker 1>way to wind down at night. I try to get

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<v Speaker 1>ready for bed at least twenty to thirty minutes before

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<v Speaker 1>lights out time a few days per week. Then I

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<v Speaker 1>can use that time to read. Finally, one of the

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<v Speaker 1>most motivating things I did was to start keeping track

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<v Speaker 1>of what books I've read. There are fancy book journals

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<v Speaker 1>out there, but you don't really need anything like that.

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<v Speaker 1>Just a notebook or a file on your computer or

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<v Speaker 1>your phone is going to do just fine. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also start sharing your lists of books read with friends.

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<v Speaker 1>Not only will people see what you like and start

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<v Speaker 1>recommending titles. It's a great way to hold yourself accountable,

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<v Speaker 1>because while I really did enjoy reading War in Peace,

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<v Speaker 1>I also get a kick out of telling people I

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<v Speaker 1>read War in Peace. I'm guessing you will too. This

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b the number four,

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<v Speaker 1>then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me

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<v Speaker 1>an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot

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<v Speaker 1>com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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