“I don’t have time to read!” is a common saying for busy moms. If you love to read but think you’re just too busy, you can totally make time!
Reading is a form of self-care that we often forget about. It’s an activity you can do to calm yourself and stimulate your mind. (Especially when you spend all day with a toddler.)
Here are a few tips to read more books even if you’re a busy mom.
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So just as a disclaimer, you probably won’t be able to do all of these. Or maybe not any of them. It depends on your situation, your needs, and your kids.
If you can’t fit reading into your busy schedule, it doesn’t make you a bad person or a bad mom.
I know you probably want to read more books, but don’t judge yourself too harshly if you don’t meet your Goodreads goal for the year.
Read Before Bed Every Night
This sounds like a duh tip. But even if you manage to read for 10 minutes before bed, that will add up to reading a whole book eventually.
Plus it helps calm down your mom brain with some fiction or fantasy or even nonfiction if that’s your jam.
Hopefully it will squash out all of the racing thoughts of what you need to do tomorrow and what you didn’t do today.
Get Up Early to Read
If you can’t read before bed, try getting up early.
I fall asleep too quickly at night to read. I put the Office on, and I’m out before the opening theme song.
But I can get up in the morning and read while I have my coffee. Especially if Toot is still sleeping.
Reading with a cup of coffee is more relaxing than a bubble bath for me.
Have Quiet Reading Time with Your Kids
Try starting a quiet reading time at a point in the day where your child or children are going to be the quietest.
Even toddlers need some quiet time to just sit and look at picture books. Make it time spent together.
Kids who grow up watching their parents read will love reading when they’re older. They’ll associate it with reading for fun and not just for an assignment.
And if you have a child who just needs a screen to be quiet for a half an hour, that’s totally cool too.
There have been MANY times I put on an educational TV show for Toot just so I could read for a bit.
Okay, even some shows that aren’t educational. The point is, she was quiet and I got to read. Self-care.
Also cuddling is important. You can cuddle and read while your kid watches YouTube videos. Win-win bonding and calm down time.
Swap Facebook Time for Reading
Check your screen time report on your phone for how much time you spend on Facebook or Instagram. How many hours is it? Swap some of that time for reading.
I know, it can be addicting and it’s easier to focus on some short posts rather than a storyline of a whole novel.
But if you just swap out your habit of opening Facebook to opening the Kindle app, you can read more books. One way to do this is to put your Kindle app in the spot where your Facebook app usually is.
If you’re a Prime member you get a free Kindle book every month. And you can also enjoy the Prime Reading library.
Kindle Unlimited gives you a lot more choices.
Audiobooks Are EVERYTHING
I started reading more books when I started listening to audiobooks.
Yes, audiobooks count as reading. I don’t know who started this rumor that they don’t.
Audiobooks allow you to read while you’re doing other things (as we will discuss down below.)
And it helps some people, like me, focus on the book for longer periods of time. If I read a book physically, I can pay attention for about 10-20 minutes. I’ll listen to an audiobook for up to 4 hours at a time.
Yeah, it can take longer to listen to an audiobook than actually read a book because your eyes can move faster than a narrator’s mouth. But I got used to listening on 2x speed.
So I can finish a 10 hour audiobook (average book length) in 5 hours. That’s only 5 episodes of Game of Thrones to read a whole book.
Listen to a Book While Doing Chores
I listen to an audiobook while cleaning the house, folding laundry, and doing the dishes.
It actually makes doing household chores easier for me because I can focus on the book and not the mindless task I’m doing.
It can also give you an excuse to hide away from your kid. Tell your husband or significant other that you’re going to go fold laundry. Voila. The kid is their problem now and you get to read.
Plus your laundry actually gets put away.
Read on Your Commute
If you work or have to drop your kids off somewhere, you’ll have some time in the car to yourself.
Use that time to listen to a book.
Whether you’re a working mom or a stay at home mom, you’ll have to drive somewhere.
I can listen to 40 minutes of an audiobook on school days because it takes 20 minutes to drive back from preschool and 20 minutes to go get her. (The other two trips end up being the Frozen 2 soundtrack.)
Busy moms are usually moms who have to run their kids to activities. So while you wait for them to finish soccer practice, read a book. Or read while you’re in the pick up line at school.
If you take public transportation like the train or the subway, then you don’t have to even worry about driving. You can just read a physical book or an ebook.
Listen While You Do Another Activity
Are you a crafter or just like coloring? You can listen to an audiobook while you do it. It’s so soothing.
Anything you do for self-care that doesn’t require much brain power can be done while listening to an audiobook.
I have also done my nails, cooked dinner, played video games, and taken a bath while reading.
And you can get ready in the morning while listening to a book. If you’re one of those moms that takes 40 minutes to put on makeup, that’s 40 minutes you can listen to a book.
I use Audible for audiobooks and I also use Scribd.
Scribd is like Netflix but for books. (I know, libraries are Netflix for books but you have to share one copy with everyone in your town. Scribd doesn’t limit copies.)
Scribd lets you listen to audiobooks or read ebooks however you like. And they have new releases available pretty much immediately. You can try it for a month for free.
Just Read for 2 Minutes a Day
You can trick yourself into reading more if your goal is super low. So tell yourself you’re going to read for 2 minutes a day. Any busy mom can read for 2 minutes a day.
You’ll probably just end up reading more than 2 minutes. And all of those minutes will end up as a whole book finished.
How Do You Read More as a Mom?
Let me know in the comments below!
Do you think it’s easier to read more as a working mom or as a stay at home mom?
I used to listen to a lot of books while I was working. But now that I’m a stay at home mom, I have to listen to books while cleaning.
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