As a busy parent of even busier kids I often ask myself, when is the best time to read a book? Do you sometimes wonder how it’s been years since you last read a full book? Until recently, this used to be me.
It’s odd how life impacts the things you never thought to change, isn’t it? I come from a family of avid readers. For Christmas, birthdays, Easter and any other gifting occasion we would shower each other in books. Once read by the recipient, the book would do the rounds to be enjoyed by all other friends and family members. This is one of these scenarios where “a lot, a lot” is a thing. My family doesn’t just read a lot, they read “a lot, a lot”.
What’s the best time to read after you had kids?
Before I had kids, I used to spend hours reading myself. Whenever I had a moment (and before kids you have a lot of moments), I explored book shops and libraries to then settle with an arm full of finds in a cozy corner. Sadly, this all changed when our family of two grew. Feeding a little person was a challenge in itself, I couldn’t figure out how to balance a book AND focus on its text at the same time. Watching tv was a much easier option, especially after parental exhaustion hit.
When I wasn’t feeding the baby I was bouncing the baby. Or pushing the baby in a pram. Calming the baby because it just would not stop crying. And when it finally did, I would collapse wherever I was to get a few minutes of rest. Just as the baby started to turn into a beautiful little girl, I fell pregnant again. I went back to feeding, bouncing, being exhausted.
If you’re a parent yourself you know exactly what I’m talking about. I love my girls beyond belief, but these first few years of their lives were hard.
As the girls grew older and a little less dependent, I wanted to re-claim a little “me time” again. It had been quite a few years since I had read a full book. At least one that wasn’t dominated by pictures. Some would now say, “You just have to get started”. That’s true, to some degree, but there’s more to it as I found. Raising two young children while having a high pressure 9-5 full-time job came with obvious limitations. But as I took the time to understand what works for me, reading books became one of those things again that just happens.
Challenge 1: When am I awake enough to focus on reading?
There are certain times a day where I can openly admit, I don’t function. The minutes between waking up and my morning coffee. The hours between 2 and 4pm. And most definitely anything past 10 at night. With this in mind, I started to look at the opportunities I had for alone and quiet time. While my quest to find the best time to read a book came with a number of times that just wouldn’t work, it also gave me some ideas around when to consider picking up my next read.
Challenge 2: When do others not need me?
With the first construct in mind, I moved on to stripping out the busy hours. Evenings are usually rushed with activities, dinner and bedtime, but there are a few exceptions to our weekly rule. While the activities themself take place, they involve my children, not me. Sure, I would need to spend time driving there and back, but instead of watching the full session, I could move myself outside to catch up on my reading. If I stopped scrolling my phone in return.
Challenge 3: Digital detox
As I found a few slots during my busy week’s schedule that I wasn’t actually doing anything productive, it became apparent that a digital detox was needed. You want to know the best time to read a book? Check your phone’s screen time. You’ll find it under Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. If you’re up for the challenge, check how much time you’re spending on these apps a day. That’s how much reading time you have as an absolute minimum. Because the time spent watching tv hasn’t even been considered yet.
Challenge 4: Personal relaxation preference
Look, I get it, it’s nice to zone out. Scrolling your phone, binge watching a series – we’ve all been there. And while I won’t ask you to stop any of it completely, we need to understand that watching 10 episodes a night AND reading a 300 page book a week with job and kids might become a little stressful. It doesn’t mean we have to cut everything out, but we need to be a little more strict with ourselves.
What works an absolute treat for myself is my Kindle. My kids are still young and want me to lie in bed with them as they fall asleep. As I was trying to find the best time to read a book for myself, I took my Kindle to bed with them. As we cuddled and their little bodies relaxed in my arm, I read page after page in the cosiest environment. You wouldn’t believe how many pages you get under your belt while tucking your little ones in. Surprisingly, this still leaves enough time to watch an episode or two before bed. And you know what? With the routine established, my brain knows it’s time to get into reading mood the moment the lights turn low.
Challenge 5: Setting the mood around reading rituals
Our cozy bedtime routine is perfect for me. It’s dark, warm, my girls are around me. Having cuddles until they fall asleep makes it all the better. It’s the perfect mood for my reading ritual. Without other stimulants my senses are at ease. Bedtime can often take a while, but since introducing my Kindle it really has become the best time to read a book. It’s my me time. My daily reading ritual that only gets longer as my little ones are trying to resist the land of dreams.
Of course, my personal ritual is very much based around bedtime and my e-reader. But there are other queues you can establish for your brain to get ready. Lighting a candle, nestling yourself into an arm chair with a cup of tea, sitting under a tree and inhaling the scent of bark and wet soil. Find the spot that works for you, where your mind is at peace and work with the signals it sends to your brain that it’s time to unwind and focus.
Challenge 6: Reading to suit your Work-Life Balance
While my current schedule has me reading mostly during bedtime, my routines in past years have been very different. Some of my jobs required me to be on late evening calls several times a week and I couldn’t participate in bedtime. With changing schedules and commitments, it’s important to stay flexible and not overcommit yourself to things you won’t be able to accomplish. Commuting on public transport is often a great opportunity to get a few pages in. Incorporating reading in your daily routine – may it be on your commute, lunch break or during bedtime with your children – is such a wonderfully easy way to dedicate time to yourself. Remaining flexible and adapting to changing schedules will allow you to stay consistent in your reading. While the duration may vary, the daily pattern of prioritising yourself remains.
Challenge 7: Matching Genre to Season and Mood
I cannot stress enough how important it is to listen in on yourself when choosing your next title. Your mood can elevate your reading experience immensely, and this applies to all genres. A beach holiday read creates an entirely different experience when read by the beach than it does in gloomy winter weather. Dedicating your moments before work to a heartbreaking story sets a certain tone for the day, which only an uplifting tale can counterbalance.
The best time to read a book is when you’re in the mood for it. Think about the sensations you are keen to experience and choose your title accordingly. Do you want to cuddle up and feel your heart go out to the hero in your love story? Or turn all the lights on and be on high alert because the description of the serial killer roaming the streets of New York just seems all too real?
Challenge 8: Explore and exchange views on books
Starting a book club was one of my biggest post-Covid accomplishments. I put the word out to a few school mums and found a beautiful circle of friends. Our local library offers book kits which we can borrow. We meet each month to discuss the latest title, suggest new reads and just be social. So far, rarely anyone has missed a session and with our children being of similar ages, we all love to challenge ourselves to read more. If you know someone who’s already part of a book club I cannot recommend you enough to join one of their next sessions. It’s exciting to meet new people and get encouraged to read something you may not usually pick yourself. For inspiration on what to read, Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club site has great suggestions.
Whatever you do, wherever you start, just remember that some reading is better than none. It’s perfectly acceptable to start with a trashy novel you’ll know to breeze through. And who knows, a few books in you might actually crave something a bit more serious and thought provoking. It’s nice to let the mind wander. Reading is after all, a holiday in your head.
Frequently asked questions
Is the best time to read in the morning or at night?
Generally speaking, most people tend to be most awake after waking up from a good night’s sleep. For most of us, that’s the morning. Following a good night’s sleep, your brain is well rested and ready to receive new information. It’s those hours of optimal cognitive function that allow us to focus most on our book. While there is nothing wrong with reading books in the evening, some of us are exhausted from the stress of the day and fall asleep only a few pages in.
What hour of the day is best to read?
Studies suggest that the best reading time is between 4 and 9am. In the morning, our brain is still fresh and ready for the day ahead. It is easier to focus on tasks and process information. Concepts like “Eat the frog” leverage this freshness of the mind to get the most difficult tasks done first. Why not use the same idea to accomplish what you want and start your day reading?
How many hours should I read a book per day?
Most sources suggest a minimum of 15 to 30 minutes a day. While this exceeds the daily toilet stop for many, we often find ourselves with this amount of downtime wasted on meaningless social media scrolling. Once we start to reflect on our own daily patterns, we are surprised to find a few possible blocks we can spend reading.
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