How I Read Every Day

Why Getting A Lamp and Taking My Shoes Off Helps Me Read.

I have a deep love for reading. I have worked to cultivate the consistent habit of reading for as long as I can remember. 

When I arrive home from a family vacation I am annoyed that there was no time to read. I always pack a bag of books with novels that relate to the places we will visit. I often do not get to open up a single book.  

When I have any time alone you will find me with a book and a cup of coffee. Today, if you ask me what book I am reading I will probably list 3-4 titles that I have going at once. So you might be surprised that for years I struggled to have consistent reading time?

For years I struggled to have consistent reading time.

To hear more about what stopped me from reading see this companion article:

When My Reading Expectations Fail – My Story & My Struggles as a Reader

My Story – 

I felt like I had no time to read. Overwhelmed by my kids and the needs of my home I wanted an escape. Reading felt like a luxury for other people, or maybe it just didn’t fit anymore. I questioned why I was different and why reading mattered so much to me.

Yet I was still a reader. I still gathered and processed ideas, just more simplistically, and haphazardly. But reading was never relaxed and felt very “necessary”. Not calm and settled.

The fact that you are reading this article tells me some great things about you. You are a reader too. You want to spend more time reading the things that you care about. You are questioning why you do not have the time to read like you used to. You wonder if it makes sense to make space for this activity. I hear you! You are not alone.

After years of frustration, something changed for me.

My life is still busy with kids, activities, and a full schedule. But a switch has flipped and I choose to read every night. I have finished 6 books in less than 3 months.

I am enjoying the process of reading. I relax into the chair, eat some dark chocolate, forget about what is happing in the rest of the house, and stay there for a while. I still read a majority of non-fiction and “self-help” genre types, in fact, those are my favorite.

So, how did I go from being frustrated and not reading consistently to reading every night?

3 Things That I Changed:

#1 – My attitude and my sense of identity.

• I have decided to accept my identity: I am a reader. 
• I am someone who enjoys reading. 
• I “get to” read every night. 
• My day is not complete without some time spent in a book. 
• Reading is necessary to me as brushing my teeth and wearing clothes.  
• It is a basic element of my day.

#2 – My communication with others. 

• I tell my kids “I am not available right now, I am reading”.  
• “This is important to me, please give me space.”  
• “You have all your needs met and now I am spending some time by myself.”
• I claim my spot on the couch even if that means I move a kid or a sleeping cat to have my spot. (Yes this takes training and, honestly, kids being older.) 

#3 – My environment.

• I take off my shoes and grab a couch blanket. 
• I get comfortable. 
• I turn on my reading lamp so I have good lighting no matter the time of day. 
• My phone gets set down in another room.  
  • (If that strong temptation is sitting beside me I will not read, I will scroll.) 
• I get myself a fun treat and a hot tea, coffee, or glass of milk. 
• Sometimes I light candles on the coffee table or open a window to hear the birds.  

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Ideas to Implement

What can you decide in your inner dialog about your identity, or your attitude?

• What are some truths about your identity?
• What kind of reader do you want to be?
• If you read 5 pages a day, are you still a reader? (YES, definitely!!!)
• When in your life have you enjoyed reading? What was that like?  

What can you do to communicate with others that this matters to you?

• Who do you need to tell about your reading time?
• What can you say to others when (not if) you are interrupted? This is inevitable.
• What is an interruption that is worthy of putting your book down?

What can you change in your environment to make it a pleasant place to read?

• Can you get some simple candles to light in your reading spot?
• Can you get a lamp that you love? Or move a lamp from another place?
• Here is my favorite lamp from Amazon.
• Do you have a comfy sweater or throw blanket to snuggle with?
• Can you put your feet up?
• What does your reading spot smell like? Is it a pleasant place to be? 

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What do you need to feel comfortable reading?

• What are you reading right now?
• Here is the link to my articles about my reading – My Reading Stack

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My prayer is that you will find joy on this reading journey. 

What you read, how you choose to read, where, and when will all be unique to you. It will also change with your schedule and season.

What matters most is that we do it. So many people have dedicated their time and wisdom to these books we can so easily access. 

Why would we not jump at the chance to participate in the conversation?  

We can reconnect with this hobby that slows us down and fills us up. We can gather new ideas, visit faraway places, experience new things, and hear from voices of others. We can choose to make space for this beautiful practice.  We can read in our homes every day and not just on vacations that we make up in our heads.

I would love to hear about what you are reading, your reading habits, and how it has impacted you. 

Happy Reading! – April 

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