September 2019: The Ups, Downs, and Woes of College Reading

⬂↘⬊ College Reading ⬋↙⬃
​

       It feels like forever since I’ve sat down to write a blog post. In a little over a month, my life has completely turned upside down. When people say starting college is a transition, they do mean it! Between schoolwork, clubs, exercise, and my job, it’s been hard to find time for reading. There is always a looming deadline for work or school to tackle even if I don’t have homework due the next day. I never want to feel behind, so I am always putting in the time to

stay ahead. What I’ve realized these past weeks is that in my life, reading is also important to me. It shouldn’t be something I can keep pushing to the side time and time again. More recently, I’ve been carving out little pieces of my week for reading, and I can’t believe the difference!

Click Here to Read More

⬂↘⬊ Reading with a Busy Schedule ⬋↙⬃
​

       High school busy is much different from college busy. In high school, I didn’t have to worry about making time for homework and juggle a job. Now that I’m in college, even though I technically have more “free time,” I feel like I always have something I need to be doing for work or school. All of those little pockets of free time seem to fill up before I have a say in what I do during those times. The good news is, in the past couple of weeks, I’ve been reminding myself of all my tricks to read more. Since they’re working so well for me, I thought I’d share them with you, too!

⬂↘⬊ 1. Don’t wait to start reading. Do it first! ⬋↙⬃
​

       I am so guilty of this first one. Most days, I sit down and write out everything I need and want to accomplish in the day, which typically includes homework, projects, work tasks, exercising of some sort, and any scheduled events like club meetings or work shifts. Then, I’ll add some other things I’d like to do. Some classic examples are reading and painting my nails. By the time I get done with everything that has a specific time or deadline attached to it, I don’t have any energy left for the things I want to do!
       Recently, I’ve made it a point to start my day off with reading! During the week, my first class doesn’t start until 9:00 AM. Instead of rolling out of bed at 8:15 and running by the dining hall before class, I’ve been waking up a little earlier. By the time I get to the dining hall around 8:00, I have about 45 minutes to eat and read before my first class. Reading at breakfast has been a great ritual to start my day, and I find myself wanting to get up because I enjoy having some “me time” in the morning.

⬂↘⬊ 2. Schedule it in. ⬋↙⬃
​

       This one is a little harder for me since my schedule is different every day. But, if you have a specific time during your day that you can always read, do it! In high school, I loved away games because I had some quiet time on the bus dedicated to reading. I know lots of people who enjoy reading before they go to bed. Whatever time you have, whether it's twenty minutes during lunch or right when you get home, carve it out and guard it fiercely.

⬂↘⬊ 3. Try Audiobooks. ⬋↙⬃

       Audiobooks are my favorite tip when it comes to reading more because it’s passive reading. You get all the enjoyment of a story without having to isolate yourself to just reading. I started listening to Lord of Shadows two days ago, and I’m already six hours into it! Worried about finding a good time to listen to your audiobook? Well, do you:

• Exercise?
• Drive places (to school or work)?
• Walk places (for me this is in between all my classes!)?
• Eat meals by yourself?
• Play that one game on your phone that you won’t give up no matter how hard you try?
• Clean?
• Cook?

       These are all excellent tasks to do while listening to an audiobook. A great rule of thumb is any time you go to turn on music, swap it for an audiobook! You’d be amazed how quickly you can get through a book when you listen to it fifteen to twenty minutes at a time.

⬂↘⬊ ⬋↙⬃
​just Remember...

       When it comes to making time for your reading, don’t get discouraged! Maybe you didn’t read last week. That’s okay! As long as you find little snapshots of your day to read, you will see the difference it makes!

Happy Reading,
Ashton