Modern life can be hectic and there are plenty of distractions which will stop you from finding time to read and relax. Here are 8 tips and tricks which will help you to find more time to read.

Here is the quick list if you don’t want the details (use the extra time for reading)!

1. Always have a book with you
2. Try listening to Audiobooks
3. Read multiple books at once
4. Swap out social media scrolling for reading time
5. Wake up earlier
6. Set a goal and habit track your reading
7. Don’t read it if you aren’t into it
8. Try buddy reading

Always have a book with you

This is such a simple tip but it works if you want it to. You never know when you find a few quiet minutes, and instead of reaching for your phone, reach for your book instead. Some free time in your lunch break? Some (or a lot of) time waiting for an appointment? Nothing to do on your commute? Some quiet time with your coffee at your regular coffee shop? So many reading opportunities!

If you don’t want to have to lug a physical book with you everywhere you go then consider buying a kindle. It’s small and light and can hold thousands of books.

Click to Browse Kindles on Amazon

If you are worried about damaging your books then take a look at these stunning travel pouches! These are also great as gifts for fellow book lovers!

Click to Browse Book Pouches on Amazon

Try listening to Audiobooks

This apparently doesn’t work for everyone; but that’s not the case for me. I love audiobooks! It took me a little while to get the hang of it and sometimes it can be hard to concentrate on the story. But I highly recommend giving it a go. Make sure you try a couple of different genres and make sure to try a narrators with different accents.

Listening to audiobooks is a great way to read more if you are super busy because you can multitask while listening. You can listen to books while cleaning, driving, exercising, cooking, and more. This way, you aren’t carving time out of your day to specifically read and you won’t have to sacrifice on tasks you need to do.

Read multiple books at once

This is something I do, I always have multiple books on the go. I think it works well for me since I have trouble concentrating. I am more likely to read if I am in the mood for what I am reading, so I usually have a few different genres on at the same time. By making sure they are different genres, it helps to keep them separate in your mind.

Swap out social media scrolling for reading time

I know this one is obvious, and you probably don’t want to hear it. But it’s true. For those of you who are partial to doom scrolling… this is prime reading time.

If you aren’t sure this would work for you, take a look in your phone’s settings and find the ‘screen time’ section. Here you can see exactly how much time you are spending on different apps. You can also use this setting page to set yourself goals like ‘don’t spend longer than 30 mins on Instagram in a single day’, or ‘don’t unlock your phone more than 50 times in one day’.

Wake up earlier

Simpler said than done, but if you are a morning person or feel like you are getting plenty of sleep then set your alarm 30 minutes earlier. Spend that 30 minutes reading every day and you’ll be whizzing through books.

If you struggle with snoozing your alarm in the morning, buy a traditional alarm clock and place it somewhere you’ll have to get out of bed to turn it off.

Click to Browse Alarm Clocks on Amazon

Set a goal and habit track your reading

If you are someone who loves that little dopamine hit when you check off a task then set a reading goal and track your habit daily. After a while the habit will become automatic and reading will become a regular part of your life 🙂

Don’t read it if you aren’t into it

Many people will struggle along with a book which is not enjoyable for them. This is not the way to read more… that’s the way to read less. If you read things you enjoy, it will not become a chore or just a task to complete – it will instead become an enjoyable activity you look forward to and find time for.

If you are struggling to find books you enjoy reading try these steps:

• Think back to books you have enjoyed in the past and find similar books
• Find bloggers or booktubers with similar tastes in books as you and see what books they recommend
• Think about why you want to read and lean in to which books will help achieve this goal
• Try a different genre; shake things up and try something new, look on Goodreads for highly rated books in a genre you want to try and give it a go, you might love it!

Try buddy reading

To try Buddy reading, find a friend or family member who also enjoys reading or wants to read more and agree on a book to read together, then plan a weekly amount to read, i.e a chapter a week or 50 pages a week. Then after each week, take some time to discuss the section you read, this can be in person or, over text or video call. Buddy reading will provide you with additional motivation to regularly read, you might find that you won’t have to think about creating time since it will have climbed in your priorities and you’ll be thinking about it more often. It is also a great way to connect with friends and family and improve effective communication as you chat through your thoughts on the book.