Many people want to read but struggle to find or make time for it. If that at all sounds familiar, keep reading. 🙂
Reading isn’t a race or competition
The first thing to remember is that reading is not a contest. At least, it’s not inherently or necessarily a contest. I’m aware that some schools do incentivized campaigns to encourage reading, and that’s great. But, as a general rule, it’s not a contest. The only person you’re “competing” against is… you.
Don’t worry if someone else reads 100 books a year and you struggle to finish 10 in a given year — or perhaps even one or two in a month! That’s okay. A million variables make up a person’s schedule and reading capacity. Don’t compare yourself to someone else. Just do you. If you can only read one book a month or one book every six months, that’s okay.
“I’m too busy to read!”
I understand. Most people, especially if they are working adults with families, are busy. A study was done a few years ago that said the average American adult has about 5 hours of free time per day.
That time fills up quickly if you have young children or if you’re a care-giver to someone who is elderly or who has special needs. Or if you work more than one job or have a “side hustle” part-time business. Or… you get the idea.
You may only have three or four hours each week –if that!–that you can dedicate to reading. If you’re taking classes, most of that reading time will be taken up with your studies. If you’re participating in or pursuing work-related training, same thing.
A lot comes down to the stage of life you are in — and the obligations and responsibilities you currently carry. So, don’t beat yourself up if you find you can’t read that much right now. Just do what you can.
Now, that being said… I think you’ll find that (with some time management as well as some diligent, consistent effort) you’ll be able to read a lot more than you think. This is especially true if you’re able to give up some things that might otherwise take away the little time you do have. For example…
- Are you willing to sacrifice some TV time?
- Are you willing to stop mindlessly scrolling TikTok videos or IG reels? or at least limit that time?
- Can you cut back on the time spent playing games on your PC or device?
There may not be much free time to work with, but if you carefully comb through your daily habits and weekly calendar, you might be able to carve out an extra hour or two.
How fast can you read?
Depending on age, health, education level, and reading comprehension, people can read anywhere from 50 words per minute up to 400 (or, in very rare cases, more) words per minute — with the average falling around 238 words per minute.
For the sake of this thought exercise, let’s put you at the low end, shall we? Let’s say you only read, on average, 100 words per minute. Again, it’s highly likely you read faster than that. But…let’s keep it low and simple, okay?
If you read just 30 minutes per day (at a speed of 100 words per minute), you can read 3,000 words per day. That stacks up over time. Stay consistent and you’ll read 90,000 words in a month and 1,095,000 words per year.
At that pace, you can read the entire King James Bible (783,137 words) and still have over 300,000 words left. The average adult book is about 100,000 words long, so that means…
Even if you’re a slow reader (100 words per minute), if you just set aside 30 minutes a day, you can read the entire King James Bible plus 3 additional books of your choosing — all in one year’s time!
There is also listening
Don’t forget. You can also listen to books!
Now, personally, I find that — between paying attention to the traffic with most of my mind and the rest of it wanting to wander to other things (thinking about work stuff, errands to run, etc.) — I sometimes have a hard time concentrating on an audio book when I’m driving.
Sometimes, that is. There are times when I can and times when I can’t. That’s okay. If my mind is struggling to stay focused, I will just turn on some music while I drive. Or drive in silence.
No big deal.
It’s easier for me to actually walk and listen to an audio book.
I will also sometimes listen to the audio version of the book while reading it at the same time. Obviously, I’m not walking or driving when I do this.
My point is… Be creative and do what works for you.
I like ebooks – do you?
My “secret sauce” (if you will) is I do most of my reading on my iPad or phone. I always have my phone with me, and I usually have my iPad with me. This means I can grab time throughout the day to read.
This is huge!
I may not have a solid 30 or 60 minutes –uninterrupted– on some days. In fact, I can tell you that I don’t have that uninterrupted time some days. But… I can grab 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, 15 minutes on my lunch break, 10 minutes at the doctor’s or dentist’s office, and so on. That adds up. A lot.
Abandoning or Switching Books
I don’t have the time to read every single book in my digital or physical library. I read from every book I buy, but I don’t finish every book I buy.
A book is a tool. That’s how I see it. It’s a tool for entertainment in the case of fiction. It’s a tool for acquiring knowledge and a little bit of wisdom in the case of non-fiction. If the tool isn’t working, I put it aside. If the tool works a little bit, then I use it for a little bit and put it aside. No harm, no foul.
Also, my interests are many and my attention can wander. So, if I feel like switching books, I do. This is why I usually have a dozen books-in-progress at the same time. Obviously, I’m not reading all of them simultaneously, but I will read a little of one, then put it aside and read some of another. And so on.
This helps me immensely, because it is very easy to get bogged down in a book. Maybe you’re just not “feeling” it or maybe it just isn’t “clicking” for you. Well, you can put it aside permanently – or temporarily. But put it aside and pick up another book.
Two words of caution on this…
- Don’t put the Bible aside. 🙂 You can sometimes skip Leviticus (temporarily) perhaps, if you’re bogged down. But don’t just put the Bible aside with a “Yeah, that’s not doing it for me.” The Bible isn’t just any book. It’s the most important Book!
- Don’t get into the habit (like I did years ago) of rarely or never finishing a book. For years, I was in the habit of partially reading dozens (probably 100 or 200) books every year — without finishing any of them. That’s not good. Now, I sample, skim, or read parts of maybe 30 or 40 books a year — and completely finish between 50 and 100. I feel better about that.
A Note for the Non-Readers
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably a reader. 🙂 But some people just aren’t readers. This is because of health issues (ADHD, dyslexia, etc.) or because they process learning differently. Not everyone learns best by reading. Some prefer listening, watching, or doing.
And that’s okay.
Not every major (or minor) figure used by God in the Bible was an avid reader.
I do believe that every Christian should read or listen to the Bible at least once — preferably several times — through the course of his or her life. But when it comes to other books, you need to do as God calls and wires you.
Final Thoughts – Do What Works For You
I’m able to read between 50 and 100 books each year, and that’s in addition to my Bible reading and Bible study time. I can do this because I…
- read more than I watch TV or play games
- listen to books when I can
- grab time when I can throughout the day for reading –which adds up
- do most of my reading on my day off (Monday)
- read faster than 100 words per minute (250-400 words depending on the nature of the material I’m reading)
So, I can get a lot of reading done throughout the week by listening some, grabbing time here and there (when I can), and taking advantage of my day off. I do most of my reading on Mondays.
All this means that I’m able to read and study the Bible plus consume between 50 and 100 books every year (usually closer to 50 than 100).
But…that’s me. That may not be you.
I have a very good friend who easily reads over 100 books every year. I’ve met some people who read up to 300 books annually. I have no idea how they do it!
When it comes to reading, ask God what He wants you to read and how much He wants you to read, and then be obedient to that.
God bless you!
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