How I make time for books

It’s very easy to delay reading a book. Now, most especially, I have very little will to use my spare time to sit down and flip the pages. Each time I try, I find other more gratifying things to do.

It isn’t easy with a myriad of distractions. I find myself getting lost in people’s beautiful feeds or watching videos, that I lose track of what I should be doing with my time. It is harder because like a muscle, reading also needs to be exercised, so you can find your own groove. Admittedly, I sometimes forgot where I left off after some time has passed.

Only recently have I started making an active effort to complete books. It has been a while since I last lost myself in the delicious fictional world of my heroines. This year, although challenging because of a a major life shift and other distractions (hello social media), I decided to stop making excuses and get on with it.

Enter Audible.

I know, I know. In the strictest sense, you may argue that it is not *really* reading. But hear me out. I never fancied myself as an auditory person and so had reservations whether it will work.

I already tried using my Kindle while nursing but found it cumbersome. Sure, the e-reader is light and can store a lot of books (it’s also drool proof!), but there are limits to how often I can open it and hence make some progress. In the blur of activities in a day involving the baby and household chores, I end up preferring the less brain-intensive work of checking my social media.

To be able to read, I needed to work around my preference for quick gratification (e.g. social media) and make the book a convenient companion as I go about my day. The solution to these two issues, I have gleaned are: (1) I need to take my eyes away from the dazzling distraction of my phone screen and (2) put the book in my ear (obviously!).

I’ve had Audible for a while already but did not think I’d enjoy it, so I just didn’t pick it up. It took me a while to warm up to it but ever since I have, I am quite pleased at how easy it is to integrate into my routine.

Since then, it has become my constant companion in the daily grind. How have I gone so long without it when it’s not at all hard to accumulate about 1.5 hours of listening time each day?

How do I incorporate listening to audio books in my daily activities? It’s fairly a no-brainer.

1. I listen while I do housework (provided that my daughter is sleeping). It’s like having my very own happy working song. I just put it on and get to my task.
2. I get my morning running with it. We all prefer to start our mornings a certain way. Mine is always with a mug of coffee and a slice of bread while I get my daughter’s food and tea ready. As all that is happening, I play the book I’m reading on the background.
3. I carry the audio book with me on walks with Eli. With Eli on the pram snoozing, it’s a great way to pass the time on the way home.

Nothing earth-shattering here. But these are small ways I’m bringing books back into my life. I hope to keep this going and get lost(-ish) – even for just a little while each day – in the world of words.

Bis zum nächsten Mal!