7 ways to find Time for Reading Books

Reading Books gives me immense pleasure and no matter how busy I am at anytime, I just find time for reading books. But how is that possible? I get so much engrossed in stuff like college, studies, friends, blogging, part-time work etc. that I don’t even find time for eating (Of course, you won’t believe the eating part for I’m fat :P).

Many of my friends ask me how I find time for reading books. And today, I am going to answer this FAQ. This post is all about what I do or have done to incorporate reading into my daily life.

1. Carry a Book wherever you go: Whether I am travelling alone or with my friends, there’s always a book in my bag. Whether I am going to college or for a job interview, I keep a book in my bag. You wouldn’t have noticed but there are plenty of free minutes that you get during the entire day which you can use more productively by reading books. The basic idea is to keep a book with you all the time and be ready to take it out the moment you are free. That might be the time between two lectures or the time for the tea to get ready.

2. 50 Pages Rule: Now, that ‘carry a book’ concept came up because of this rule that I made myself to follow. When I started reading books, even I found it weird and ‘uncool’. But then I had accepted to follow the rule to read 50 pages each day. If you read my article about why I am Collecting Books for My children, you would know how important it is to read books. And keeping a goal to read a particular number of pages in a day is all you need to get into the habit of reading books.

3. Join Book groups: I have been into books since many years but you know what, 2014 is the year when I read the maximum books. I read about 21 books in 2014 and that has happened because of this book group concept. I didn’t join any book group but I had joined a book review program which asked me to complete reading a book within 2 weeks of receiving it and that got me working. You must join a reading club to inculcate the habit of reading. Use GoodReads to keep track of your progress.

4. Read two books at a time: Sometimes you just get bored of reading a book and you don’t want to pick it up and finish reading it. Now, this stops your complete reading ritual. But there is a solution. Try reading two books at one time. For example, I read a fiction during the free time I get during the day and before I sleep, I make sure to read few chapters of a Robin Sharma Book. This allows me to taste more variety and keep my interest in both of the books.

5. Buy more than you can consume: Now this might seem like wasting your money but it works. And money spent on books is never wasted. I have over 20 books lying on my bookshelf that I haven’t read. But I still keep buying more books. This is because this seemingly ‘stupid’ activity inspires me to read more. And I am sure it will do the same to you.

6. Make it your Bathroom Friend: Bathroom Friend? Seems like I made a new word. 😉 But yep, I always take a book while going to loo. It seems so cheap. But the kind of concentration you get while reading a book in bathroom is unbeatable. Try it! I used to learn 5 page long history lessons in just five minutes while sitting in bathroom during school time. That is due to the concentration. And we all know what most of us do over there. Instead of checking your tweets or whats app messages, read a book.

7. Try the audio version: Are you a person who likes to go on long walks? Then this point is really a must for you. Though I am a fanatic when it comes to paperbacks, but I have really liked the concept of audio books. They allow you to utilize your time into doing something good and productive – Reading Books. Try it! I use this app called LibriVox on my android to listen to audio books.

I really love books and I believe everyone should read books. Since years, people have been calling it a ‘hobby’ which seldom people have. But my friend, reading books is not a ‘choice’. It is a necessity. Books enlighten you in ways you cannot even imagine and you need to work on developing a habit of reading books if you want to get the most out of your life.

I hope this article would help you out and please tell me what you think about the tips I gave. I would love it if you try them and come back here and comment about whether they worked for you or not.

And you can also join me on twitter with #ReadWithManpreet to be my reading friend. I tweet the last line of the book I read each day using this hashtag and would love it if you do the same. Let’s start reading!