WEBVTT - Make time to read

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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 Statter 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 in Peace were

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

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<v Speaker 1>was just about being more strategic with the time I had.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>is not my problem. But 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 cease 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 section,

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<v Speaker 1>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 catalogs.

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<v Speaker 1>You read instead of channel surfing. You read. You are

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>long commute, definitely put audiobooks into the mix. Maybe you

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>seven and a half hours in the car this week.

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<v Speaker 1>You're gonna spend forty five hours in the car over

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<v Speaker 1>the next six weeks anyway, so you might as well

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

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<v Speaker 1>in at just under forty two hours. Reading is also

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>minutes before lights out time a few days per week.

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<v Speaker 1>Then I can use that time to read. Finally, one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most motivating things I did was to start

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

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<v Speaker 1>book journals out there, but you don't really need anything

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<v Speaker 1>like that, Just a notebook or a file on your

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<v Speaker 1>computer or your phone is going to do just fine.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also start sharing your lists of books read

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<v Speaker 1>with friends. Not only will people see what you like

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<v Speaker 1>and start recommend ending titles. It's a great way to

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<v Speaker 1>hold yourself accountable because while I really did enjoy reading

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<v Speaker 1>War in Peace, I also get a kick out of

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<v Speaker 1>telling people I read War in Peace. I'm guessing you

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<v Speaker 1>will too. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody got

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<v Speaker 1>a tip or a question. You can share them with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram at Before Breakfast pot

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<v Speaker 1>that's be the number four then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also email me at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>iHeart Media dot com for the email to spell those

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<v Speaker 1>words out. I look forward to connecting and learning how

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<v Speaker 1>you make the most of your time.