When I was introducing myself to my coworkers over the summer, the first question everyone asked was about my hobbies. I would list reading as one of my hobbies because I’ve loved reading since I was really young. It was pretty embarrassing though, when they asked what books I had read recently and I had no answer.
I feel like I hear this from a lot of people, that they loved reading as a kid and now as a young adult they haven’t looked at a book that wasn’t assigned in class for years now. It’s not that I don’t have anything to read. Like any good book lover, I have many books that I have bought and not yet read piling up in my room and on my kindle.
I think the issue is reading feels like it takes a lot of time. It’s hard to pick up a book in between classes and meetings when I have to put the book down way too quickly to move onto the next thing on my schedule.
So my plan is this: read at night, instead of using my phone. Yes, yes, I know what you’re reading this thinking “Wow like we haven’t heard that before,” and you’re right. It’s old news, but it’s advice I have yet to follow!
This is a winning situation that I’ve just lacked the motivation to follow through on. I’ll be getting less screen time, less blue light keeping me awake and most importantly, I’ll be reading all of the books that I keep buying.
The trick is keeping this motivation and following through. I could get an app for tracking the books I’ve read and setting goals, but I’m leaning towards old-fashioned self-regulation. At the core of me wanting to get back into reading, it’s because I enjoy reading. Not because I feel like I need to read a certain amount of books in a year or I have to read all the time to prove that I like reading. I want to want to read. I want to get ready for bed, plug my phone in and grab a book because it’s really good and I need to finish the chapter. I want to read my books between classes or during lunch because I don’t want to put them down. I want to enjoy reading like I did when I was younger. I think I can do that by simply prioritizing reading again.
So, I’m getting back into reading. I’m getting back into doing things that I enjoy for the sake of feeling good and also maybe to get some of those books out of my unread pile. I’m excited to rediscover something that used to define part of who I was and make it part of who I am now.