By Robby
If you are new here please read this first.
Sometimes it feels as if I’m literally devouring my books instead of reading them – currently I’m already on my fourth GONE series book called PLAGUE but it only seems like yesterday when I was reading LIES which is the third book in the series.
And please note that you wouldn’t normally see me lounging on a couch in my living room and reading; I’m not using public transport to commute to work every day either which would be a perfect time for reading (I use car instead).
Also please bear in mind that I spend pretty much my entire free time on writing articles, recording videos and providing customer support to my English Harmony and Fluency Gym customers, so quite naturally it all begs the simple question:
Where do I find enough time to read all those English fiction books if I’m so busy?
This year, for example, I’ve already read the MAZE RUNNER series followed by a couple individual books and now I’m more than halfway through the GONE series.
Now, do you want to be privy to the information on how to manage to read a lot of English fiction while actually spending very little extra time on it?
Then keep reading this article and you’ll find out EXACTLY how I manage to pull it off!
Reading Opportunity #1: Meal Times
I don’t really have a choice when it comes to eating, do I?
I mean – eating is something we simply HAVE to do and we can’t avoid it, right?
Now, let’s do some simple math.
Three meals a day, about 10 – 15 minutes each, that’s AT LEAST 30 minutes of time you can most definitely dedicate to reading! Well, I’m not sure of your particular circumstances – maybe you’re having a nice family dinner when coming home and you can’t possibly be holding a fork in one hand and a book in another.
As far as my own eating routine is concerned, however, nobody bothers me when I’m eating so I can read pretty much during every single one of my meal times!
Moreover – my work breaks are 15 and 30 minutes long respectively, so that’s 45 minutes of quality reading time at work alone!
OK, OK – I get it – not everyone has such a lavish schedule; some folks barely have enough time to make a cup of tea and drink it during their tea breaks. Having said all this, however, please don’t be telling me that you can’t dedicate at least 10 minutes of your total daily eating time to reading some English fiction.
But if your excuse not to read while eating is because you believe it’s not healthy… Well, it’s really up to you! Personally I enjoy having a nice meal and a good read at the same time!
Reading Opportunity #2: Reading Before Sleep
I would imagine that nowadays it’s more popular to fall asleep while watching TV than reading a book…
I’m an old-school guy, so I often doze off when reading in the bed at night-time just to find out a couple moments later that I haven’t got a clue as to what went on during the last page or so!
Apart from being a good insomnia remedy, reading in bed is also a great way of getting another 10 – 30 minutes of quality time reading. And if you’re also a foreign English speaker, it’s a great way of getting that much needed English immersion so that you develop your gut feeling for correct English down the line.
Sure enough, in order to become a fluent speaker you also need to speak a lot, but it doesn’t mean that passive English immersion such as reading shouldn’t be encouraged.
As a matter of fact, plenty of those natural speech patterns found in English fiction books will get transferred into your passive vocabulary, and then it’s only matter of time before you add them onto your active vocab by a way of frequent spoken English practice!
Reading Opportunity #3: Reading at Random Times
I always take a book with me when going somewhere.
Seeing a doctor? Well, I’ve never yet met a doctor or a dentist who sees their patients promptly on time, so I’m almost guaranteed to get 10 – 60 minutes of reading time while waiting for appointments!
Thank God it doesn’t happen too often, yet when there is a need, I use that time wisely.
Picking someone up at the airport?
It doesn’t happen every day either, but as you can imagine, I wouldn’t waste my time when picking up my friends or relations at the airport. Why stress out if I can just get stuck into the book and kill time which would have been pretty much wasted anyway?
Holidaying, waiting for my wife or daughters in a car to come back from shopping, or sitting on a plane (it IS a rare occasion but still it counts, doesn’t it?) – on all such and similar occasions I read and I’m quite sure that over the years I’ve spent days upon days of total time reading in random situations.
Reading Opportunity #4: Reading in …. Well, You Know What I Mean! 😉
Initially I thought I wouldn’t add this one onto the list.
Then I thought – what the heck!
It’s something we all do on a daily basis, and I know for a fact that many people won’t admit they read when going to toilet while in reality they do!
And by the way – are you not at least guilty of playing cellphone games or checking your iPhone apps when engaged in this exercise I’d rather not call by its actual name?
I bet most people do it, so please don’t condemn my toilet reading habit as something outrageous!
As I said in the beginning of this article, I’m an extremely busy person, so it’s only understandable I’ll resort to all means possible to get the most out of my limited time resources and get some English reading done!
Now, you have a clear picture on how I manage to read a decent number of English fiction books despite not lazing around on a couch in the middle of a Saturday afternoon or on a weekday night. I only use time for reading that would have been wasted anyway, and I warmly suggest you do the same if you’re anything serious about your English improvement!
Thanks for reading,
Robby
P.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out my English Harmony System HERE!
P.S. Are you serious about your spoken English improvement? Check out the English Harmony System HERE!