No Time to Read

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No Time to Read

Continuing my series on the Miracle Morning SAVERS (the things that get me out of bed in the morning and help me start my day in the best way) I'm going to touch on the R in SAVERS today. The R stands for one of my favorite activities: READING.

Now if you're groaning and rolling your eyes right now, telling me you'd rather wait for the movie, I will admit I can't make you love reading if you don't want to. But I think I can make a case for why you may want to make time for it. I don't really need to cite research to prove that reading is good for us as that has been well established. I've never heard anyone say reading makes them dumber.

But from those I know who don't read much, I hear things like, "I wish I had time to read." Or, "I read too slow." Or, "I try to read before bed but I always fall asleep." So whether your lack of reading is a time issue, a speed issue, or a time-of-day issue, I just wanted to offer a suggestion as to how you can make reading a more regular part of your day, week & year.

I've always made time to read fiction at night because that is my entertainment. I'd rather read a good novel than watch a good TV show on most days (except when I'm sick..then it's Netflix Binge Time). But non-fiction—while I love to learn new things and read inspiring stories—I've traditionally had at least five (okay, ten) non-fiction books going at a time, all in various states of unfinished. I found it really hard to make time for a non-fiction book unless I REALLY loved it. Like the few authors who manage to combine serious, interesting subjects with pee-your-pants humor and a healthy dose of, "I hear ya" head-nodding (Jen Hatmaker and Jon Acuff, I'm looking at you)—those I can finish off in a day or two. But anything else? It found its way to the dusty pile of half-read books by my bedside. 

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Is Silence a Good Thing or a Bad Thing?

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Is Silence a Good Thing or a Bad Thing?

What do you do each morning to start your day the right way? What’s your morning routine? I used to laugh at the idea of a morning routine. First, I didn't like mornings and second I didn't like anything routine. To me that was code for boring. So it was a tall order to sell me on the idea of creating a healthy morning routine for myself. 

My "morning routine" used to be rolling out of bed a couple minutes ahead of my kids, donning my grey bath robe (Bill calls me Gandalf when I wear it) and trying to tame my bedhead a bit before going downstairs so I didn't scare my children. But when I started my day that way, I felt like I was running behind all day long. So while my recent earlier mornings are a result of needing more time to plan my days and more time to just wake up in the morning, they are also about starting my day with gratitude and finding joy in simple pleasures, like a few minutes of silence. 

Whether you’re a working mom, a stay-at-home dad,

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Night Owl or Early Bird?

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Night Owl or Early Bird?

Are you a night owl or an early bird? Do you fall asleep by 9pm and wake up in the morning like a red-bull fueled, whirling dervish checking all the items off your To Do list by 8am? Or do you find you have to force yourself go to bed at night ("Okay, I know I've said goodnight five times but this time I'm really go—is that a two hour episode of the Voice?") and then you have to force yourself to get out of it in the morning with self-bribery involving hot caffeinated beverages? The latter has definitely been my pattern for as long as I can remember. 

I always thought it was just how I was wired. That I was a night owl and would never be able to get up early and function well throughout my day. But I think I've been wrong all this time. I don't think it's because my body is wired that way. I think it's much more to do with how I structure my day and my ADD brain and the way it functions (or doesn't function in this case...you can read my last post for more about that.) I think the number of hours of sleep a person needs is quite individual. But let's say it's 7 hours for me. I think as long as I'm getting the amount of time my body needs, I can do that from 10pm-5am just as effectively as 1am-8am. My body will adjust if I'm consistent and I can actually turn myself into a morning person. (Okay, still not the whirling dervish type...and I still need my caffeine, but I can get up earlier!)

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