WISDOM – Finding time to read – where to start

I am an avid reader. Be it fiction or non-fiction, books or magazines, Monday or Saturday, I tend to carry with me some reading materials and find some moments to read – everyday. This seems highly fictional to a number of my friends who unarguably have busy lifestyles and hence struggle to find time to read. Yet, this is not despite a genuine interest for reading as I often get the “I wish I had more time to read” or “where do you find time to read all that?” comment.

My favorite answer is to compare reading with an healthy diet. To someone who is used to eating fast-food, takeaways or deliveroos on daily basis, the idea of cooking healthy food everyday appears out of reach. As the diet transformation, the reading habit-building does not happen overnight, its a long and difficult process, that needs to be maintained and treasured, before it actually bears fruits.

There is however, a simple trick to step into this “millionaire book club” of people who actually read more than 15 books a year, it all revolves around a simple concept, to Make reading the default option.

My personal observation is that very few people can have the luxury of dedicating daily set timings for reading due to their lifestyle. Hence ability to read becomes a prioritising matter. Make a habit of keeping your book on hand, no further away than your smartphone – for me that means hand-carrying it most of the day, wherever I go. With a bit of practice you will realise that you can probably find several 5 to 10 minutes slots while commuting, waiting for a meeting to start, taking a short break after your lunch (instead of checking social media) or flipping through a few pages while sipping your coffee…

Reading is all about gaining back control on your own time and building up the habit. Once you are on the correct rail, you can easily achieve a book a month.

The next level is to integrate reading as part of your “evening routine”. Ideally, dedicating at least 20 minutes, after diner or right before sleeping. I have to thank my parents for this habit as they gave me the bug as a kid. Not only the evening is probably the time of the day during which you will face least distractions, it can also help to put your brain on a sleeping track. People like Jocko Willink or Tim Ferris both integrate reading as part of their evening routine.

Please share your tips that help you make room for reading!