My Reading Routine & Tips

I am a huge fan of books, and I write about them on a regular basis. I have my monthly reading reports, as well as numerous other texts about reading. For example, a post on the importance of books and the one in which I share my process of choosing what to read next. From time to time I receive questions about reading, and the most popular one is — how do you manage to read so much? I used to answer it a lot privately and tried to make it as informative as possible. I was convinced that it was enough, but I do not think so anymore. I would like to give a lengthy and detailed answer in this text, and I hope that it will be helpful. Open the full post, if you would like to create a reading routine and to read more.

What is my attitude towards reading?

I love reading. I have grown up surrounded with books, and reading has always been a very natural way of spending time for me. There were a couple of schools years when I only read what I had to, but luckily this pause did not last too long. When I started university, I got into reading again. I have not stopped reading since. There is no way to express how much I appreciate what happens to me thanks to reading. I am fond of words, texts, books. All of it is an important part of me and my life.

Why and what for do i read?

Firstly, it is a habit. I have already mentioned that reading is natural for me. I struggle with watching a movie if I am alone, but I can spend hours reading. Even though I get distracted then too. Sometimes I realize that I have been thinking of something else, so I go back and re-read as much as I need to. Sometimes I get this intense desire to check instagram “for five minutes only”. I try to ignore these thoughts and to train my ability to focus on whatever it is that I am going at that particular moment.

Secondly, i enjoy discovering new things. I like learning, growing and changing. I do not want to be the same forever, I do not want to keep the same view throughout my entire life. I do not want to limit myself to the environment that I live in and the people that surround me. Our world is extremely diverse, and extraordinary people inhibit our planet. Some of them write books and give us an incredible opportunity to see their world through their eyes, to learn and to think about new things, as well as to reconsider our views and beliefs. I think it is silly to ignore such a chance.

Thirdly, I am interested in people. I read to discover as many human stories as possible. I am curious — what kind of emotions they felt, what kind of thoughts they had and how they dealt with whatever they had to face. I read neither fantasy, nor fantastic books, because I care about the outer world very little. The inner one is essential to me. I am extremely intrigued by the events that take place inside of us.

Fourthly, reading calms me down. Spending ten minutes with a book means ten minutes without thinking about problems and difficulties. For me, even this short reading break is enough to make my day much better. I used to have challenging periods when I felt as if I had no idea how to go on and what to do next, so I stopped and spent some time with books. I did not have to read it, flipping through was enough. My problems did not solve themselves, but I felt calmer and more confident that I would manage.

What do i read?

I read essays, short stories, novels, biographies, memoirs, collections of letters and diaries, as well as self-help books. I enjoy alternating genres. I think it is more interesting and exciting that way. I have already mentioned it here.

I read in Russian and English. I used to read in french as well, but then I had to give up on this hobby because of other priorities. I plan to go back to it at some point and take up reading in french again, as well as learn Swedish and read books in it too. By the way, i also alternate languages.

I read print books, but I do not ignore digital editions anymore. Sometimes I buy a subscription on Bookmate and then read as much as I can. I love going to bookstores, choosing books and buying them. I love holding books and enjoying them, which is why I am not planning to deprive myself of this source of pleasure, even though reading digitally is less costly.

When do I read?

Any time :) I wake up earlier to read in the morning. I do not leave home without a book in my bag to read on my way somewhere or while waiting. I put my laptop and phone aside to read in the evening. When I worked a lot, I woke up at six am and then at five am to be able to read and write before going to the office. I gave up on some social activities, if I knew that reading at home would make me feel much better. I am sure that you can make time to read as well.

How do I read?

When it comes to my personal reading, I simply read. I do not use any kind of techniques, including speed reading. I simply read! Some books take more time, some books take less time. It is natural, and I always remember about it.

When it comes to reading for my studies, I try to organize the process. If you open my January reading report, you will see a book that I had to read for university there. I knew I had a limited amount of time to read it, find what I could use later and make notes, as well as bring it back to the library on time. This is why I scheduled one or two-hour stretches fo reading this particular book, I used the timer and I read.

When it comes to reading a few books at the same time, I prefer not to do it, but sometimes it happens. I am currently writing a blog post about it. I will publish it on Thursday, so come back here then. In short, I believe it is much better to read one book and then move on to the next one, but there are reasons why I break this rule from time to time. Also, I do not care if I have a pile of new books waiting for me on the shelf. They might be there, but it does not mean that I will start reading all of them at the same time.

My not-to-do list:

I do not see reading as a competition. I do not keep track of my books or write my reading reports in order to prove something. I do not share the lists of books that I have read in order to show off, make someone admire me or feel guilty for reading less.

I do not spend all of my time using my phone. Yes, i am addicted to social media apps. Yes, I love Instagram — scrolling down the feed, watching stories and publishing my own content. However, I realize very clearly that I do not want to spend my entire days that way. I make a conscious effort to limit the amount of time I use my phone, and I am eager to become even stricter after reading “Deep Work”.

I do not watch movies or TV series regularly. I know that this is the most obvious way of spending spare time for some people. I know that it is a tradition or a habit to spend a few hours every evening and weekend watching something, but that is not what I do. If you do, I am not saying that you should stop right away, but that is just not how I prefer to spend my time in a different way. This is definitely one of the reasons why I manage to read so much, and I would like you to keep this factor in mind instead of thinking that I have a secret way of doing. There is no secret, right?

What to do to read more?

Read regularly. If your reading routine is chaotic now, make an agreement with yourself that you will start reading every single day. I am going to make the most banal comparison of all now, but you do brush your teeth every day, right? Use the same approach to reading. Start waking up ten minutes earlier to read and finish your evening routine ten minutes earlier to spend some more time with a book.

Start slowly. I have already mentioned that reading is a habit of mine. Well, habits come and go. You can create one! I understand that if you do not have a habit of reading, it might be hard to spend a lot of time with a book, which is why I recommend reading for just ten minutes at first. Do it twice a day, and you will notice that it is getting easier to focus, while your reading pace is getting faster, and your desire to read more even bigger.

Make reading a part of your daily schedule. I have been using a daily planner for years, but I have never been as detailed as lately. I am thinking of writing a separate post about it. Anyway, I add “reading” at the end of my daily to-do list. It reminds me to stop myself and think, whether I have read that day, whether I have made time to do what is very important for me instead of letting the daily buzz distract me.

Reconsider what you do in your spare time. What do you when you are done studying and/or working? How do you spend your spare time? What do you do in the evenings? What do you do on the weekends? Give honest answers to these questions and then get rid of something in order to read.

Read on your commute. I do realize that the circumstances are different for everyone, but I assume that most of use some kind of a transport. While being a student in Kiev, I spent two hours commuting minimum. I spent a bit more than an hour on the subway train. I quickly realized that I was losing a lot of time, so I started reading. I think this habit will stay with me forever. I cannot imagine going somewhere without a book now. It feels boring and useless. I understand that reading on a bus might be less comfortable, but that is when I read digital books on my phone.

Bring a book wherever you go. Sometimes you have to wait for someone, sometimes you have to stand in a queue. The typical solution is to get the phone out of the pocket and open one of the apps. Why? Why not use the time well and read instead? Yes, it might be weird at first, but you get used to it.

Read with pleasure. Please do it this way only, even if you need to read or if you make a conscious decision to learn to read regularly. Do not make yourself do it, do not see it as a torture or a challenge. Keep in mind why you are doing it and what for. Reading is an incredible process, so I ask you to appreciate it ❤ Think about me and imagine us being in different parts of the world, while doing the same thing together.

If you have any left — please use the comments section below and leave them there. and please let me know if you thought it was a useful post. thank you very much :)

Find more of my writing on my new blog.


Originally published at whatbeingtwentyislike.blogspot.com on September 5, 2018.

Anastasiya Mozgovaya

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Words are essential for me. You can read more of my writing here: https://anastasiyamozgovaya.com/blog/

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