How To Deal: Finding Time To Read While In College

How does one find time to read when there is so much going on in college? School, work, social life. Where in the world is there time to pick up and finish a book?

This is a serious problem I struggled with throughout my first year of college. It wasn't until my sophomore year that I really started being able to read what I saw as an adequate amount while attending college. The following are five things that I have done in order to make more time to read:

1) Have books to read.
When I went to college, I brought three boxes of books with me. This was perhaps the first thing that I did right when I went to college. I've gotten through only a small amount of the ones that I brought up to Seattle three years ago, but I had books to read. I didn't have to worry about going out to buy books if I didn't have the money or time. I had them with me. This year I only brought up a single box of books with me, and I have slowly been going through them. Having these books, even if there's only twenty instead of fifty of them, has let me finish one book and immediately start the next. What I'm getting at is, get a personal library. It's worth it.

2) Read books that interest you.
This may seem self-evident, but one doesn't usually get through, or at least get through quickly, the books that they dislike or find boring. It can even put them into a reading slump. This often happens to me, and for a long time I didn't allow myself to put down books I hated. Only in the last few years have I realized that sometimes putting down a book that is keeping me from actually wanting to read is worthwhile. Also, trying to buy or acquire books that only sound super interesting is a good idea. If when you get it you think, this may be good, I'll read it a few months after these next few, you probably will never read it. My advice: get the books that you want to stop everything else to read immediately.

3) Realize that reading for school counts as reading. 
For a while, I didn't think about my school books and my textbooks as actual reading. It was for school, I couldn't enjoy it, right? Wrong. Now, I've found that looking at school books as just regular books leads not only to me feeling like I'm reading more, but also makes homework more enjoyable.

4) Read before bed.
Making time to read before bed is so important. Not only is this a great way to relax before bed, but it is also the perfect time to get through the book you're reading. Setting aside twenty or thirty minutes every night makes all the difference. Little by little, page by page, night by night, you will make your way through the book you read before bed.

5) Read in the in-between times. 
This has probably been the biggest implementation for me since starting college. I used to be able to sit and read for hours, but now I just don't have the time to do that. When I do take more than thirty minutes to read for pleasure, I find myself feeling guilty and anxious about the other work I could be doing instead. Picking up a book in the few free minutes you have throughout the day, though, is the perfect way to get some serious reading done without feeling guilty. I read before classes, in between class and work, during my lunch break, during the few minutes I have before meetings. Sometimes I intentionally get to class early so that I have time to sit and read for a few minutes. Even though I only get through a few pages, it is a few pages closer to finishing the book.

Well, that's my advice for reading while in college. I hope you find it helpful!

Your Pemberley Reader,
Acacia