Reinier Gerritsen

I’m probably not the best person to give advice about when you can fit a few pages in your day. I can barely stick to a routine myself when it comes to reading. Sometimes I can read 200 pages in a day. Sometimes even in one sitting. But there are other times when I don’t feel like reading at all either because it's been a long day at work, or because I’ve been doing other mentally taxing things during the day. I’m sure that many of you feel the same way. Yet, we like to read because books are awesome. Period. 

So, this article is as much for you as it is for me. I’ve jotted down some ideas which can help us make the most of our free time so we can read a few more pages a day. 

Morning Blues

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Fight the morning blues with a few pages from a fascinating book. This is probably not a popular opinion as it requires mental focus during a part of the day when all you want to do is to go back under the covers, curl up and forget the world exists. But don’t give up just yet. I find that reading in the morning not only helps me wake up, but puts me in a good mood as well. That way, when I go out and face the people on the subway (or “the tube" as we call it here in London) I am less likely to frown at those lovely individuals who think they are the only ones in a hurry and try to squeeze in in the already full carriage. Besides, I like to pair a perfect cup of coffee with my morning reading, which makes this combo my favourite thing in the morning.

The Morning Commute (and the evening one, too)

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Speaking of the subway, what better way to ignore that person breathing in your neck than to immerse yourself in an amazing book? Just make sure you don’t miss your stop – I know I’ve done it more times than I care to admit. Reading on my morning or evening commute also makes that wonderful time pass a lot faster. If you drive to work, however, please, please do not read – you can instead listen to audio books. This is not exactly reading, but it’s still fuel for your imagination, so don’t feel like you’re cheating on your beautiful books. There are different formats of reading for a reason – not many of us can afford the luxury of sitting in a rocking chair and spend hours reading. Which reminds me – rush hour makes opening a book on the tube quite a formidable challenge, which is why having an electronic reader is a massive advantage! And there will be fewer disgruntled passengers around you. Trust me, by opening a book on the tube you are bound to trespass other people's personal space. So reading off your phone or another electronic device does wonders to the mood of the people around you. 

Waiting in Queues

I don’t know about you, but here in London, we love to queue. We form an orderly line and wait for our turn. That could be for lunch, for our second morning coffee, to get into the tube station during rush hour... Well, for almost anything you can imagine. Some queues move faster than others, but if you find yourself in a slow one, make sure you always have a book at hand. Reading even a few pages on the queue still ads to a higher page count for the day. You can read when you wait for your order, too. Basically, any time you have to wait for something or someone, open that book sitting patiently in your bag and read it. 

These are just a few ideas about when you can catch up with reading. All of them, of course, depend on your personal circumstances. If you’ve got kids – the mornings are probably quite busy for you, so reading in the evening after everyone has been tucked away in bed might work better for you. The main thing to take away from this article is that you can fit a few pages here and there throughout your day; you just have to look for those gaps of 10-15 minutes when you’re waiting around or not doing anything in particular. Oh, and make sure you’re in the habit of carrying a book with you at all times. That’s kind of an important one. Maybe I should have started with it... 

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