Whenever I share about what I’m reading recently, I get many questions about how I possibly find time to read, so I thought it would be helpful to share my top tips for fitting in reading as a busy mom.
I am a wife, mom of 6, and business owner. Yes, life is full, but reading is such an important part of my life that I make sure it’s a priority for me each and every week. I personally think everyone should and can try to find time to read.
I am such a fan of reading, because of how it has impacted and changed my life. I am a different person because of the books I have read. It causes me to think, challenges my mind, helps me understand other perspectives better, and transports me to different worlds to give me a break from everyday life.
My 7 Top Tips for Finding Time to Read
Life can feel like a never-ending to-do list, but even in the busiest seasons, carving out time to read is possible — and so worth it. Here are my favorite simple and practical tips to help you fit more reading into your everyday life, no matter how full your plate is.
1. Set goals for your reading.
“We arrange time for what we think is truly important.” -Gladys Hunt, author of Honey From a Woman’s Heart
You can’t just say, “I want to read more” and expect it to happen. If you don’t come up with a plan of how to make it happen, it will stay in the want category and never move over to the do category.
I know many of you are overwhelmed at the thought of setting goals, but if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? When you set a specific goal for reading, you’re committing to make reading more of a priority in your life.
Think about how many books you’d realistically like to read. Only think about yourself, and don’t compare yourself to others when setting your reading goal. Set a goal that you know you can reach. Maybe it will be one chapter a week or one book each month.
Once you decide how many books you want to read this year, break that down and figure out how much you need to read each day to meet your goal. Then make that a daily habit of a specified amount of time or number of pages/chapters.
Decide when and how you will accomplish this each day. Will you read for 10 minutes before bed? First thing in the morning? During a work break? Do what works for you and your season of life.
Personally, I try to block out at least a little time every morning soon after I get up for reading and then block out a longer stretch each Sunday to relax and get lost in a book. In my head, it’s blocked out as a priority each Sunday when I’m at home. It’s really important for me to take time to refresh myself, and reading is something I absolutely love. If I set aside specific times to read in my life, I know I will get through quite a few books by doing that. I’ve also found it motivating to track my reading on GoodReads as I go!
I don’t always reach my reading goals, but setting them inspires me to always be looking for opportunities to improve my mind through reading!
2. Listen to audiobooks.
Consider audiobooks as a great alternative to enable you to read and multitask. You can listen to audiobooks in the car, while you’re running on the treadmill, or as you do dishes. If you don’t know where to start, this post has some of my favorite audiobooks. Also, I love how many ways there are to get free audiobooks!
3. Read to and with your kids.
As a mom with young kids, it can be especially hard to find time to read, but including your kids in your reading time is a fun way to spend time together and a great way to model a love of reading for your kids!
You could even have family reading time for a set amount of time each evening. Put together a book basket with everyone’s book in it, and decide to sit down as a family each night after dinner and read.
When we have Book Basket Time at our house, I usually set the timer for 15 minutes and then every sits and reads — and I get 15 minutes of relative quiet to read, too! Not only does this introduce your children to reading from a young age, but it also gives your children the opportunity to see Mom setting a great example for them. If we want to raise our kids to be readers, they need to see us reading, too! Figure out a creative way to make it a part of your life!
You could also read aloud to your kids every night at bedtime. Want to know a secret? Many of the books I read to my kids are ones I’ve chosen because I want to read them, too! And I know that when I start a book with my kids, it’s pretty much guaranteed that we’ll finish it in good time since there will be so many pleas for “just one more chapter!”
4. Read books that interest you.
If you’re trying to make reading more of a habit, then it’s important to start out with books that interest you. This will help you make reading more of a habit from the get-go. You want to look forward to reading!
While I think it’s great to sometimes push ourselves outside our comfort zone and read things that require some mental gymnastics to wrap your head around and contemplate, make sure that you have plenty of reading that is just thoroughly enjoyable to you. If you’re trying to develop the habit of reading more, it’s so important to read books you love and don’t want to put down. Once it becomes a regular habit, then you can shift to more challenging and thought-provoking books.
When considering what you’ll read, use the KonMari method of which books spark joy in you, and most importantly, give yourself permission to stop reading a book if you don’t like it. If you don’t like it or it’s not for you, simply put it down without guilt.
I used to always feel like I should finish a book if it was a classic or it was recommended by multiple people, but there are far too many other books in the world to stick to a book to the end just because. Give yourself the freedom to do that so that you can focus on reading books you enjoy. There’s no point in wasting time reading something that does nothing for you — especially when there are thousands of other fantastic books waiting to be read!
5. Have multiple books going at once.
I know some people are one-book-at-a-time people, but I’ve found I read a lot more when I have multiple books going at once. Why? Because I pick up the book that fits my mood.
Sometimes, I’m in the mood for light reading and know I have more time so I’ll pick up my current fiction read. Sometimes, I know I just have a snippet of time, so I’ll pick up my current deeper non-fiction read. If I only had one book going, I’d likely only pick it up when I was in the mood for whatever the topic was.
One caution, though. If you’re a great starter and a bad finisher, set some boundaries for how many books you can have going at once.
For instance, I never have more than one fiction book going at once and no more than three non-fiction books going at once. I have a rule that I can’t start a new fiction book until I’ve finished one non-fiction book. This might seem silly to you, but it’s a way that I guarantee that I’m not getting in a rut and just reading the same sorts of things, but constantly reading from different genres and perspectives.
6. Keep books in multiple places.
In the same vein as having multiple books going at once, I’ve also found it’s helpful to have books stashed in different places so that they’ll be handy where I’m prone to be at different times of the day — in my purse, on the kitchen countertop, or in the car. You never know when you’ll have a chance to read. You may get stuck in line at carpool, have to wait at the doctor’s office, and countless other scenarios.
If you have to go to some effort to locate a book, you’re probably just going to skip messing with it. But if it’s right at your fingertips when you have a minute or two, it’s a no-brainer to pick it up and read a little bit while you have a little block of time.
If you don’t want to carry a physical book around, have an eBook on your phone that you can read on-the-go. You can often get a great deal on Kindle books or get the eBook you want from your library through the Libby app, and it’s a great way to make sure you always have a book handy.
7. Get some accountability.
Accountability is such an important part of goal-setting. Find a way to get accountability for your reading goals!
Join a book club, track it online, or read through a book with a friend. Reading through a book with a friend is a safe and fun way to foster a relationship as an Introvert. Post on your blog or on social media.
In addition to blogging through books here (here is my most recent list from 2024!), I also love keeping a record on GoodReads. It encourages me and keeps me accountable.
Other suggestions from readers:
I read while brushing my teeth and blow drying my hair. I’m constantly amazed by how much reading I can get done while doing those two things! -Jen {Wow, Jen! I’m impressed! You need to make a video blog on how you pull this off — I want to learn!}
When I gave up Facebook for a month I was surprised how many books I could read. Not because I spend that much time on FB but because I was spending a lot less time on the computer total. -Diane
I also keep an “emergency book” in the car for those times I find myself waiting for someone or something. -Tracy
Related Links:
- 25 Books You Should Read This Summer
- How to Get Your Children Excited About Read-Alouds
- 8 Ways to Get Books for Free or Almost-Free
- Overwhelmed With Household Tasks? Don’t Miss This FREEBIE!
- 8 Ways to Get Audiobooks for FREE
- How Reading Books Can Change Your Life & Challenge Your Mind
- FREE Time-Saving Cheatsheet: 25 Ways to Save an Hour Each Week (so you can read more)!
I also share more about what I’m reading in real-time over on Instagram stories, on the podcast, and in my personal email newsletter.
I would love to hear from you! How do you find time to read more? What are your secrets?
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