I Read Thrice As Many Books With 1 Simple Habit
Who Would’ve Thought I’d Read MORE After the Birth of My Son!
Postpartum is a fog. You’re hanging on by a thread. Feeding and pumping like your life depends on it. Because your baby’s life actually does.
During the first month, I’d watch an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S when I was breastfeeding. My baby couldn’t see as yet and would hide somewhere inside me, so this worked, that was until it didn’t. Between Chandler’s laughs and my baby’s occasional smile, the time passed. However, very soon, my son became more aware, and with that, I became more cautious with screen time.
The television was now turned off whenever he was in the room with me. The natural transition from there was to then pick up my phone during feeds. I’d hold it at a slight distance and angle, so it wasn’t near my son’s head, and I’d scroll. I nursed for hours in a day, and Instagram kept up. It never ran out of content. I, on the other hand, was running out of energy.
It didn’t come out of nowhere. It was a gradual depletion with every passing day. And I was very aware of it happening. I’d feel it in the form of tired eyes, a heavy head, mental fatigue. I knew I had to stop within just two consecutive days of mindless scrolling. However, as it goes with most bad habits, it took me two-three weeks to finally get up and say enough. We usually know we want to quit long before we actually take action to pull the plug. Even as a life coach myself, I am no different. I did know with experience though, that the longer I wait to make the change, the harder it would be to rid myself of it.
And so, I went cold turkey.
The rule was clear. Phone in the other room when I sit to feed. I’d stare at my beautiful baby and then at the ceiling. An unguided meditation of sorts. The first two times it was refreshing. But then I found myself getting impatient. I was feeding for thirty minutes at a stretch every three hours. That’s a lot of hours of staring. Even consistent meditators usually don’t cross more than one hour in a day. I could feel myself slowly reaching for the phone again. It was only a matter of it being out of reach. But for how long?
And then I found the answer.
The 1 simple habit.
I REPLACED MY PHONE WITH MY KINDLE.
It was literally as simple as that. I placed my Kindle on my feeding chair, so it was always at arm’s length. And my phone, as a rule, never entered my son’s room.
And boom. Two birds, one stone.
Lesser screen time.
More reading time.
This habit underwent some tweaking too. Initially I read a lovely fiction book called Happy Place by Emily Henry. It was one of those books I instantly knew I’d love. Contemporary fiction is my go-to genre, to both read and write. The story and the writing style completely resonated with me too. Within three days, the book was over! A full-time job, a full-time parent and I’d finished reading a book in 3 days with this one simple habit.
I usually alternate between fiction and non-fiction in my reading schedule. And so the next book I picked was Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins. A recommendation by the lovely Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi. As a coach, and lifelong student, the book was completely up my alley. However, there was a catch. When I read a book like this one with so much value, I had a lot of thoughts. And when I have thoughts, I have a habit of putting them down on my phone in the notes section. As a content creator, it’s where my content comes from. As a coach, its often where some of my strategies come from. But while I read in my feeding chair, I had no phone. And so, I was forced to try alternate methods.
I tried to remember the thoughts and jot it down as soon as I was done with my feed. No matter how hard I tried, some thoughts slipped through. And what was worse, I couldn’t enjoy reading. I’d be holding on so tight to the thought I wanted to pen down, that I couldn’t really pay attention to the next page.
Alternatively, I decided to keep pen and paper next to me instead. However, I hold my baby when I feed and so I only have one hand to use. After having a baby, there’s a lot of things I can do with just one hand. Type a message. Pick up laundry. Water the plants. But writing on paper just wasn’t one of those things. Especially since for half the time, it was my left hand which was available.
And so, I decided that I could maybe keep my phone close by just to put down my thoughts. I wouldn’t scroll. And I actually did not find it hard to stay away from Instagram when I did this. But emails and Teams notifications would not be ignored, especially during the day. I had to get right back to work after my feed and those notifications called on me. I couldn’t respond to them properly any way and so this was doing me no good.
I had to pause on the book, and pick up another fiction read. Once again, I sailed through it. Four days and the book was complete. So there I had it, going forward, my feed time was going to be about me, my baby, and the wonderful world of fiction.
I started really looking forward to feed time. Initially I’d be counting days for when my son would need less frequent feeds (because its exhausting!) but if I’m being honest, I’m not in a hurry anymore.
Feed time is peaceful amid the chaos of my day. My son either sleeps or is so much more reactive now that he’s older when awake. Between looking at him, feeling his hands on my face, and getting lost in the world of fiction — I love it.
I’m reading a bare minimum of 1 book a week. And all it took was 1 simple habit switch.
I’ve even started trying it out in other ways. Take your phone to the bathroom? (come on, most of us do). Take your Kindle or a book instead!
Let me know if you try it, and if it works :)
