Between the months of June and August, you can always find me with a good book in my hands. I love to lay on the beach with an iced coffee and a summer romance novel as I sunbathe and listen to the ocean waves.
But during the school year, between classes, work, the gym, and social engagements, it’s hard to find any time to read for pleasure. After a long day of commitments, the last thing I find myself wanting to do is open up a book. I instead turn to scrolling on TikTok or binging meaningless reality TV.
I prefer to engage in activities that require less brain power because I’m so exhausted from everything I’ve just done throughout the day. And for my classes, as a journalism major, I’m doing A LOT of reading. Not to mention, the high cost of my textbooks leaves me with little cash leftover to shop for books I actually want to buy.
I know I’m not alone in this. No matter what you may be majoring in, we usually all have a good amount of reading to do for our classes, and that can get exhausting. So how do we motivate ourselves to keep reading for pleasure during the school year?
10 minutes a day
Start small. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Even just 10 minutes a day of reading can help you make progress. And once you start, you may want to go for even longer!
Read before bed
Staring at a screen before bed can be really damaging to our sleep hormones and can cause us to have a shorter and more fragmented sleep. But reading before bed can be a good habit to wind us down for the day and get us sleepy.
Start a book club
My girlfriend and I decided to start our own little book club to reach our reading goals. We each read a chapter of the same book and report back on what we thought of it when we’re done. Doing this with a partner or friend can be encouraging to have someone to hold you accountable for reading. Plus, it engages you more in your book to have someone to talk about it with.
Track your reading with an app
One app I really like for tracking my reading progress is Fable. It’s fun and easy to navigate. There are also virtual book clubs you can join via the app to talk to others reading the same book you are!
Don’t just reserve leisurely reading for your beach days. Reading for pleasure can be challenging during the school year, but never impossible! Happy reading!