Reading for Pleasure with a Busy Schedule
Like many of my law school peers, I love to read. I think you have to because it comprises the vast majority of what law students do, particularly in our first year. Yet, I know my friends and I struggle to make time to read for fun.
I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert on this topic. During some months, I get through a book or two a week. Others, I’m lucky if I read one book total. That said, I really enjoy hearing how my friends fit more reading time into their schedules, so I thought I’d share my own tips with you all.
Read what brings you joy.
There is no magical hierarchy of books. If my goal is truly to read for pleasure, I’m no better off reading Ulysses than I am reading the newest Dan Brown release. Sometimes, I crave something challenging, like all 850 pages of Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries (one of my favorite books of 2019). Other times, there is nothing I want more than to put on my comfiest pajama pants and read the newest YA post-apocalyptic novel, ideally with a fairy tale twist. Most of the time, it’s somewhere in between. I find that it’s much easier to motivate myself to read when I get to pick up something I’m genuinely excited about, especially after a busy day.
Just start.
When I decided I wanted to prioritize reading in law school, I set a goal to read every night before bed. It didn’t matter if I read for 2 minutes, 20 minutes, or 2 hours. I just had to open a book (or audiobook) and make it through a few pages before passing out. In the early months of my reading mission, my average reading time was probably around 15 minutes, and there was usually a night or two each week that I’d be so tired of reading cases for school that there was nothing that would possess me to do anything besides watch a few (read: many) episodes of Friends before bed. But I did my best. My nightly ritual started to remind me how much I loved to read. Before I knew it, I was actively seeking out pockets in the day to read, sometimes even getting up early to get in a few chapters before the day began. By taking the pressure off reading a certain amount (pressure that I didn’t even realize I had been putting on myself), reading became something I increasingly wanted to turn to in my spare time.
Audiobooks.
I’m hoping to write a longer post on the many reasons I personally love audiobooks and why audiobooks are a totally legitimate form of reading. I’ll preview it here by saying audiobooks have dramatically increased the number of books I am able to read. I utilize audiobooks in two main ways. The first is to fill gaps in my day: whether I’m on my commute to school, taking a shower, or doing chores around the house, I love being able to read at the same time. The second is to relax. When I’m staring at a casebook or laptop all day, my eyes can get tired, and looking at a book seems like a chore. Listening to an audiobook just flopped in bed can be so soothing, and often reminds me of being read to as a child. While my preference is usually to read a physical book, audiobooks allow me to fit more “story time” in a busy schedule.