How I Found The Time To Read 43 Books Last Year

I read 43 nonfiction books, completed 3 online courses, and was part of a year-long mentorship coaching program in 2018, one of the fullest years of my life. (Note: I choose to say “full” instead of “busy,” because that’s what my life is… full of fantastic things I choose to spend my time on.)

Why do I want to share this with you?

Because I want you to stop saying you don’t have time, or there’s not enough time in the day. This is a false belief that adds to your stress levels just by thinking it or saying it out loud. We all have the same amount of time: 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week. How we choose to spend our time is what contributes to the make-up of our day and our quickly passing weeks, months and years. The choice is yours.

When you notice yourself thinking, “There’s not enough time in the day,” say instead: “I have more than enough time for the things that are important to me.” I state a version of this sentence every day in my daily affirmation.

When you catch yourself telling your kids, “I can’t play with you right now. I have to put the dishes away,” remember the truth is that you are choosing to put the dishes away. We are human beings with free will. We don’t “have to” do anything.

When I encounter this situation with my boys I say, “Guys, I am choosing to put the dishes away so we have a clean kitchen. I will finish this and come play with you in a minute.” (Or, sometimes I will choose to leave the dishes and play! Either way, it’s my choice.)

If we reframe our view of time, we will feel less stress associated with time and get excited about what we can actually accomplish with this most precious commodity that isn’t guaranteed tomorrow.

I am driven by growth. This means continual learning and understanding perspectives different from my own is important to me. Therefore, I chose to make these shifts so I could devour more content regularly:

#1 Driving time is Audible time.

I don’t listen to pop music, talk radio, or the news. (The news only depresses me. Instead I place my focus and energy on things I personally have control over, and know that if anything in the news has a direct impact on me, I will hear about it a different way when necessary.)

I don’t chat on the telephone or get lost in the craziness of my monkey mind, re-playing past moments of my life or wasting time worrying about the future. Instead, I turn on Audible and learn something new to become a better version of myself.

A quick aside: There are moments in my car when I need a good jam session to unwind and release tension. If that’s the case, I of course will skip Audible, choose my latest gangsta’ rap or 90s hits playlist and pump up the volume. We’ve got to have space for fun and release in our days too!

Manicure/pedicure time is Audible time for me, also.

#2 I say no to social media before I go to sleep.

I used to regularly check my social accounts after I laid down for bed. Once I finally caught myself, I had been mindlessly scrolling for 20 plus minutes. Imagine how many pages of a book I can get through in 20 minutes!

Nowadays I lay down, check my physical activity levels from my Apple Watch, set my alarm clock, then pull out a book. Reading next to my hubby each night is incredibly satisfying. And it’s more likely to lead to intimacy (a critical component of lasting, healthy relationships) than if we are numbing our brains on our news feed and connecting out there in Internet Land, vs. connecting in here in our own bedroom.

#3 I listen to books or my online courses and coaching calls while making meals, tidying up the house, or winding down for the night.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Netflix show to relax with my husband. But I watch considerably less TV than I used to. And because I protect my time, I ONLY watch a show that’s really good or makes me laugh really hard!

What is it that excites you? What have you been curious about? What has been difficult lately that you could use some inspiration on? What skills are you working on improving this year? How do you need to grow to be a better parent or partner, to move to the next level in your career, to learn a new skill that will add more zing to your life?

There are books (and podcasts) aplenty on anything and everything. Go read them! (And when the books don’t cut it, invest in a coach or online course. No one ever said we have to know how to do this on our own.)

Cheers to your getting growing today!

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