WEBVTT - Start a reading project

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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. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to start a reading project. If you

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<v Speaker 1>read just a little bit of something every single day,

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<v Speaker 1>you can make it through something big in a year.

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<v Speaker 1>All you have to do is just keep going. Long

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<v Speaker 1>time Before Breakfast listeners know that in recent years I

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<v Speaker 1>have pursued a few long term reading projects to help

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<v Speaker 1>me make it through some classic works of literature. Many

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<v Speaker 1>of us don't read the great books after we leave school,

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<v Speaker 1>but great books are considered great books for a reason.

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<v Speaker 1>They are often really great. So in twenty twenty one,

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<v Speaker 1>I read through War and Peace at a pace of

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<v Speaker 1>one chapter per day. War and Pieces three hundred sixty

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<v Speaker 1>one chapters are all very short. By reading a ten

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<v Speaker 1>minute chapter each day, I could savor the book. I

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<v Speaker 1>felt very little resistance to reading, and I didn't feel

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<v Speaker 1>pressure to read fast to make it through. There were

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<v Speaker 1>a few slow moments, but in general I loved this

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<v Speaker 1>tale of Pierre and Natasha and Prince Andre, set against

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<v Speaker 1>the backdrop of Napoleon's invasion of a Russia that was

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<v Speaker 1>slowly lurching towards modernity. Having enjoyed that reading experience, in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty two, I read through all the works of Shakespeare.

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<v Speaker 1>William Shakespeare was an incredibly prolific playwright and poet. Even so,

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<v Speaker 1>his lifetime sum of plays and poems all fit in

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<v Speaker 1>a one thousand, twenty four page anthology. Doing the math,

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<v Speaker 1>I figured that was about three pages a day, spread

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<v Speaker 1>over three d sixty five days. So at that pace

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<v Speaker 1>I read through Twelve Night and Macbeth, and Romeo and

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<v Speaker 1>Juliet and Midsummer Night's Dream and all the other famous

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<v Speaker 1>plays and the not so famous ones too. Reading all

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<v Speaker 1>the works of Shakespeare only took me about fifteen minutes

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<v Speaker 1>a day, and honestly, that is a fascinating number to

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<v Speaker 1>think about. All that kept me from reading all of

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<v Speaker 1>Shakespeare's work in the past was fifteen minutes a day.

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<v Speaker 1>It turned out to be a very doable project, and

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<v Speaker 1>now I have done it, and I'm really glad I did.

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<v Speaker 1>This year, I planned to read through all the works

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<v Speaker 1>of Jane Austin, the six well known novels, to be sure,

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<v Speaker 1>but also her Juvenilea and the half completed works from

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<v Speaker 1>the end of her life. By reading her work in

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<v Speaker 1>its entirety at a very slow, doable pace. I hope

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<v Speaker 1>to get to know this author whose works have stood

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<v Speaker 1>the test of time. If any of this sounds appealing

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<v Speaker 1>to you, then now is a great time to start

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<v Speaker 1>your own reading project. Think about what might be worth

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<v Speaker 1>reading at a slow pace over a long period of time.

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<v Speaker 1>My criteria is that it be doable in a few

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<v Speaker 1>minutes a day, spread over a year, and be worth doing.

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<v Speaker 1>That is, the person's work needs to be the sort

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<v Speaker 1>of thing that classes are taught about. Worth doing. Is subjective,

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<v Speaker 1>to be sure, but I think the few minutes a

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<v Speaker 1>day is a wise move. If you bite off too

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<v Speaker 1>ambitious a project, to say, reading War and Peace in

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<v Speaker 1>two weeks, you will probably fall behind, you will have

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<v Speaker 1>a busy day, or you'll get stopped by a slow

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<v Speaker 1>part of the story. Let's just say that the whole

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<v Speaker 1>Freemason plot parts sidelines a lot of folks, and you

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<v Speaker 1>won't pick it back up. A few minutes a day,

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<v Speaker 1>on the other hand, won't inspire much resistance. Even if

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<v Speaker 1>it is a boring part of the story or an

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<v Speaker 1>annoying part. It is only a few minutes. Even if

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<v Speaker 1>it is a busy day, it is only a few minutes,

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<v Speaker 1>you can do it, and since you can do it,

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<v Speaker 1>you stand a better chance of actually doing it. So

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<v Speaker 1>consider whether there is a book or an author you

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<v Speaker 1>have always wanted to read. Could you make a reading

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<v Speaker 1>project out of it? What would happen if you spread

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<v Speaker 1>the reading out over a year. How much would you

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<v Speaker 1>need to read each day? Does that sound feasible? When

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<v Speaker 1>would you generally make the time? How would you make

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<v Speaker 1>it work on a day with travel or lots of

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<v Speaker 1>other things going on. If you can answer these questions,

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<v Speaker 1>you will be well on your way to finishing something big.

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<v Speaker 1>A year will pass one way or another. You can

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<v Speaker 1>get to the other side of the year having read

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<v Speaker 1>all the works of Shakespeare or the Bible, or War

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<v Speaker 1>in Peace or Jane Austen or anything else. Or you

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<v Speaker 1>can get to the other side of the year not

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<v Speaker 1>having done any of those things. But all that differentiates

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<v Speaker 1>one outcome from the other might be a few minutes

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<v Speaker 1>a day. Small things done repeatedly really do add up.

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<v Speaker 1>If you decide to start a long term reading project,

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<v Speaker 1>I would love to hear about it. You can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime,

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>hear 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 i heeart media

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite ships. Yeah