Reading has become vague and unimportant in this era where people struggle with the rising power of mindless scrolling and exponentially growing screen time. While some consider reading to be a waste of time and scrolling to be responsible for their “happiness.” many in this debate try to find the balance between the two. There isn’t room for 24 hours of reading daily. (I seriously love reading this much that I imagine this too!) But, in time that we can allocate to reading, a few minutes particularly, let’s explore how we can master reading time management and get more out of reading in less time.
The Importance of Reading Time Management
We all must prioritize time following the responsibilities we try to fulfill. During such hours of the day, we may have some spare minutes to spend. Usually, individuals these days pick up their phones and mindlessly scroll social media, which turns minutes into hours. However, during such short breaks, those moments can be spent productively by picking up a book and starting to read.
As aspiring readers, books on our shelves or cupboards, we wait for the perfect hour to arrive to have a reading session out of our busy routines. Be assured that it will never arrive, unfortunately. If you seriously want to read a book, you must understand you can treat it as you treat your phone, opening and going through it anytime, even in places like toilets, subways, and lounges.
Reading begins in those tiny breaks you get throughout the day. Reading time management is important. Never wait for the perfect hour to arrive for a reading session. Have small, yet consistent reading sessions to savor reading and gain the true benefit from it.
Indulgement into reading a book isn’t just going through the letters of literature. It also actively involves cultivating sound reading habits and a strategic investment in personal development and growth.
Properly managed time and a good consistent read allow readers and individuals to achieve a good dopamine rush from the contents covered. It becomes increasingly important along the way into the book since time management in our routines allows us to strike a balance between the content covered and comprehending the material read.
Below are some techniques and tips to cultivate reading time management in your routine so you can “finally” read something on a perfect savoring opportunity or invite.
Strategies to Implement Reading Time Management
Prioritizing Reading in daily life
There won’t be a relaxing, comforting invite to sit down under a lamp, on a cozy sofa to start reading. Reading can be as quick as reading on the go. If you have a minute spare to chill out, grab a book or open an online blog, read a few lines, and get back to your routine. Instead of staring at a screen for some visuals or drooling over by sticking your eyes randomly on empty walls, it’s a far better option to read a few sentences in such instances.
Have this thing in mind the next time you take a break, the first thing you will do is pick up a book and give it a read. To implement this more practically, carry a book or Kindle alongside so you can literally read on the go!
Setting realistic and achievable reading goals
With the intention of reading in your head, you must also aim for a certain milestone you want to achieve. This can be completely personalized according to how much time you can spare out of your routine to read. For individuals, this can go from reading a few paragraphs to even reading the entire book! Decide for yourself what you can realistically achieve, so it keeps you motivated and consistent at reading.
Effective reading techniques
Active Reading
To save time and to get the most out of the time devoted to reading, you can approach literature with “Active Reading.” It simply involves reading with the intention and mindset of deriving something out of it. It minimizes shallow reading and enhances comprehension. It is a great technique for individuals who have less time and want to avoid baseless or shallow reading. Having this intention of reading for a purpose and understanding the text fully would enable you to utilize your free time productively and efficiently.
Bird-eye view
Gaining a bird’s eye view by flipping through the pages of a book or scrolling through a published article can entice you to read it thoroughly. The text may not seem interesting to you before that bird’s eye view, but after that, it may ignite a spark of suspense and interest in you to read that thing. Bird-eye views can be taken in spare free minutes, and that content can be read thoroughly when you can spare a longer period.
Selective reading and prioritizing
One of the most common techniques includes selective reading and prioritizing sections of a text that matter to you. For instance, if you’re going through a dense thick book but you just need to cite something out of it, you would then just be concerned about selectively reading the section of interest here. This is a technique of how you manage time while reading and getting the most out of it. Through this, you gained knowledge, cited something or did your work, and productively used your time too!
Overcoming different time management challenges
Procrastination
Procrastination has been a lifelong problem for mankind. Delaying the tasks we aim to do depends on many factors and excuses. However, tackling the situation of delaying things can be done through several techniques.
Consider reading here, the article that covers the dangers and possible solutions to procrastination, in its later part. Dealing with procrastination would help you develop reading habits in those small spans where you procrastinate and tend to not come out of your comfort zone of preferring to scroll your social media instead of reading something meaningful.
Managing distractions
Managing distractions and sticking to your reading habits is crucial to getting the most out of a small period of reading. Distractions like messages and notifications from your phone can put your focus away from reading. Obviously, who doesn’t prefer texting over reading in today’s world?
The solution to such distractions can be keeping such sources of distractions away from you. If you’re reading a physical book or from a Kindle, keeping your phone a little away from your access can be a great way of getting distracted from such things. If a friend or a colleague distracts you during your “reading time,” lock them out of your room (lol).
Technology and Reading
Technology and Reading can be two stalwarts of one another. Or it can be the other way around. Technology such as mobile phones, e-book readers, laptops, tablets, and desktops can be a viable way to access e-books, blogs, magazines, and news. However, things can take a u-turn if such technology creates a hurdle in cultivating reading habits, diminishing reading comprehension, and managing time alone. Such technological devices allure you to watch content, interact, and play rather than read since reading is more brain-consuming than such things.
This is where you need to decide whether the integration of technology in your reading experience shall play a productive part or whether would it just be another big source of distraction. Experiment and see what works the best for you and read accordingly!
To conclude, this guide would serve how you can get the most out of a small reading session. This would also pave the way for getting out of a reading slump and achieving the daily reading goal you set for yourself. Remember, there won’t be a perfect opportunity to read than the free time at hand!