Ever want to do something but think you don’t have the time for it? That’s how I felt about reading for a long time. I decided that needed to change. I took a look at how I spend my days and honestly, was disgusted at how much tv I watched. Or maybe not even watched, but kept on.
Earlier this year, I was in the hospital for a few days and I literally spent my days in a dark quiet room, blinds down blocking out the sun, tuned out from everything. I did nothing but sit there for two days and when just once I tried to watch a movie, I turned it off before it ended. Part of it was the pain I was in but part of it was that for once, I was in a very quiet spot and I just wanted to revel in the quiet. Honestly and oddly, if not for the circumstances, it was the most peaceful I had been in some time.
When I first came home, I tried to replicate it. Even for a little bit every day. But life happens, work needs to get done, pets need you and outside noises of neighbors and hey that remote is looking pretty nice right about now!
I eventually fell back into my old routine. Even after I had surgery a few weeks after I was initially released, it was during that time that even more television and screen time came into play. I couldn’t sleep, I was in pain and at least with the tv, I didn’t have to sit up to watch it.
After I finally got into somewhat of a normal pattern again, I decided I needed to change some habits.
Over the course of the last month, month and a half, I’ve swapped out one to two hours of tv time per day to sit with a good book. I shut off my phone and iPad during this time, so there’s no distractions from texts, emails and message notifications going off. I don’t have kids so in my case, I’m not dealing with questions, snacks or homework. Now that it’s Spring and the weather is a little warmer, I open the windows to let in the fresh air and listen to the birds. And of course, I have a giant cup of coffee next to me...because tech isn’t the only thing I’m addicted to.
In the beginning it was so hard to tune out. I get distracted by absolutely nothing and am mildly dyslexic so concentrating on the words in front of me, while always a challenge, was that much harder when hey! Is that a Robin that just flew by?
Have I mentioned I’ve been an avid bird watcher for many years?
A few years back I wrote a piece called “Start With 30 Minutes” for LinkedIn. It was all about tackling a task you may not want to do or think you don’t have time for, (i.e. cleaning, email, returning phone calls, etc) setting a timer for 30 minutes and soon you’ll find that by the time the timer goes off, you’ll have completed what you needed to and can move on or will be on such a roll and want to keep going. This is how I approached my reading time...and it worked.
Those first couple of days, I’d last maybe a half hour, if that. I’m a painfully slow reader with some texts and I get frustrated easily because of it. But the book I started out with was one I had wanted to read for a while and once I got further into the chapters, I couldn’t put it down. The words jumped off the pages and I was in the groove.
By the middle of the second week I was dedicating more and more time to reading and for the first time in I can’t tell you how long, I finished that first book within two weeks. This is a major accomplishment for me. I know some folks who can pick up a book and finish it in one night, I know others it could take years for a book because of both time restraints and the length of the text. I can take weeks depending on the size and genre so this felt good and now, I wanted more.
I think books, like music, come into our lives at certain times for certain reasons. I love to buy books. Love bookstores; love shopping for books online; scoring freebie and cheap ebooks and I love finding and buying used books. There is just something about paperbacks of all sizes that make me happy. But the reading of them? Well that’s already been established here...it takes some effort on my part. So here I have been sitting next to this stack of unread works waiting to be cracked open for quite sometime, (with some new additions of course) and the time has come to make a good dent in the pile. I believe I’ve been picking out the books I have been because they have something for me relevant to my mindset now that maybe I wasn’t ready for previously and so far, it’s worked out perfectly.
Now I can’t get through a day without my books. It is how I start my day. They clear my mind of the current world around me, setting me up for my own writing and letting me focus on the tasks at hand. Plus, I find inspiration in whatever I’m reading. There is always something to learn from the work of others and for that, I am truly grateful.
I hope that I, an admitted television and tech addict, have inspired you to unplug for a little bit each day. Even if it’s just a few minutes. Adding more reading can do so much for your well-being and mind. Not into reading? How about finally making some time for a new hobby you’ve been wanting to try? Start small and work your way up and you’ll be happy you did!
Remember, we need to do what we can take care of ourselves...body...mind...and spirit.
Happy reading all! 📚
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