Confession time: I’ve been in a reading slump for more than six months. Possibly a year. In that time, I’ve read way less than my normal amount of books. Reading has felt like…a chore. I found myself playing on my phone on the subway, instead of reading. I was letting books gather dust on my nightstand and on my shelves.
But I’ve managed to complete turn that around in the last few weeks and I thought other readers might find this interesting, so I’m sharing my tips.
First I had to figure out WHY reading wasn’t happening the way it used to. I’ve been a reader my whole life. I was that kid who asked for more sheets for the school read-a-thon. I loved getting sent to my room, because that’s where my books were (and my dad never had the heart to take them away as a form of punishment.)
The issue came down to three key things:
Reading had started to feel like work
I had new hobbies that I found more relaxing (as a result of point #1)
These new hobbies that take up more time
So, the solution was two fold: make time for reading and make reading fun again. This meant forming some new habits, looking at my schedule to see where I could fit reading in, and changing the way I chose what to read next.
These are the changes I made.
1. Allowing myself to read whatever I want.
I’ve done A LOT of reading for work: reading books received at publishing events, reading for blurb quotes, reading and judging competition entries, critiques, mentoring, market research, career analysis, reading challenges…you name it.
So, for the next six months I’m taking a break from most of that and just reading whatever I want. If I want reading to start feeling like relaxation again, I need to loosen the connection between it and my work. I also am the kind of person who NEEDS variety in what they read, as much of the above has meant extensive reading in one genre, which is not normally how I read.
2. Making time for reading.
Historically, I’ve always read at night. These days I enjoy staying up to watch sport (baseball and basketball primarily) and this has cut into my reading time. But I discovered that I actually love reading in the mornings…so that’s how I start my day now. I’m less distracted and I feel like it fills the well for a day of writing. Bonus!
3. Removing low-value distractions.
I travel on the subway a fair bit, since I don’t own a car and I live in a city with great transport (Torontonians might argue this point, to which I say “go live in Australia for a year and then tell me how you feel about the subway.”) And I’ve spent a lot of time on the subway screwing around on my phone. A while ago I deleted most of my game apps, after reading Digital Minimalism, but a few have since crept back. Subway time is now reading time.
4. Using a habit tracker.
I’m really enjoying the app Habit and it’s been a big helping in getting my motivation up to read. I set a goal of reading for 30 minutes a day and I’m that list-keeping Type-A person who loves checking off a goal, so this works for me. You can also use this app to send reminders.
The combination of these four activities has lead to me finishing two books in the past week and having more days with reading in the past month than in the three before it. I’m excited to reach for my book of choice, and it feels so good to love reading again!