Read a Book in 5-Minutes-to-Spare Sessions

Picture by Mo Riza

Ideally, reading a book is something that you take time for. You submerge yourself in the alternate universe for hours on end, and let the story take over. But who has time for that in these busy days? And yet, if I ask people what they'd like to have more time for, reading is a common answer. We love to get acquainted with a new world that we can construct in our mind. It becomes part of us for a while. Very different from watching a movie or TV, where the world we see is on the screen and perfectly separate from us.

So how can you find more time to read without turning around your busy schedule? You'd be surprised how much you can do with 5 minutes. I just tested this out for you, and in a random novel I just picked up, I read about 5 pages, halfway through chapter one and about 2% of the book's length.

Keep a book with you that you enjoy reading. Don't worry about 'I've never read ... I should really read ... it's a classic ...' Just find a book that you enjoy.
When you're in a situation where you don't have anything to do for a couple of minutes, just open the book on the page where you left off and read for a bit. Don't worry about having to stop before you finish your chapter, or even the page. You'll find these odd capsules of time more often than you think, and if you read frequently, you'll remember where you were in the story without a problem.

I read when I take mini-breaks, in between my classes (10 minutes here and there) and on the bus. I also read a couple of pages before I go to sleep every night, because it helps me calm my mind and it's part of my sleeping ritual.

Do you wish you could read more? Do you usually read in big spurts and then stop for a while?