Challenge Yourself to Read

Finding time for your hobbies or goals is not always easy. There are many different things that are pulling for your time and attention, and as a parent, there are responsibilities to take care of your child. If you are not actively making an effort to do the things that you enjoy doing, you are likely going to find that you are not doing them. Rather than hoping that you will be able to do them, you need to make the time.

Reading is one of the best ways to disconnect yourself from the stress of parenting and work. It allows you to transport yourself into a different world mentally without having to really go anywhere at all. It allows you to turn off the worries for a period of time while still keeping your mind actively engaged. You should be reading at least a little bit each week in order to reap many of the benefits of reading.

If you find yourself struggling to read, then it’s time to get serious about it. Don’t just hope that you’ll be able to get to your reading - take action to make it happen. Don’t just tell yourself that you want to read everyday, but rather set very concrete goals that you want to achieve each day that will culminate into a bigger goal. Achieving success in life is often done through little goals building to a big goal.

Assuming you’re just getting started on your reading journey, you should start with something that is attainable. Set a goal that you want to read 12 books a year. That may sound like a lot, and if you’re not reading anything right now, then it is. However, you need to break that goal down even further. Looking at a year is too big of a timeline. You want to read a book a month - that sounds easier.

In order to read a book a month though, you’re going to need to actually read each week. So you should set a goal of reading an hour a week. That breaks down to basically 10 minutes per day of reading. Depending on how your schedule looks, you may instead say you’re going to read 30 minutes twice a week, 15 minutes 4 times a week, or 10 minutes everyday. You may also choose to make that 1 hour on a single day.

Ultimately, the actual schedule of how often you read is up to you. What’s important is that you’ve broken your goal down into manageable chunks. You can make 10 minutes per day to read. Saying you’re going to read 1 hour a week may be too hard for you to do as an hour is a lot of time for someone trying to raise a child. Break your goal down into pieces that you know how to actually achieve.

If your child is old enough to read themselves, then reading while they are reading is a great way to find and make time for reading in your life. Sit down and read at the same time that they are. This is your reading time together, and it allows you to make sure your child is reading and lets you achieve your reading goals. There are other ways to make time for reading as well if you need some additional tips.

Challenge yourself to read more, and achieve your reading goals. Reading is an excellent way to relieve stress while keeping your mind engaged. It’s a great tool for parents and non-parents alike.