Finding Time to Read as a Busy Mum

After my previous post 'What Is Mummy Reading?' I got a few questions about how I manage to fit in so much reading with a toddler and a baby. So I thought I'd write a little blog post about it with some tips for reading when you have little children.

Bedtime

The way that I unwind at the end of a busy day is to escape into a story. I find it hard to fall asleep as soon as I go to bed if I don't read something. Even a couple of pages. And if I'm too tired to read I often pop an audiobook on my phone and listen to that whilst setting the sleep timer (both audible and my library apps have sleep timers). But most nights I go to bed at 9.30 to read for at least half an hour before falling asleep.

Books over Buttons

When naptime reading meant  watching this cute one sleep.

In the past, I wasted far too much time on social media. And don't get me wrong, I really like social media but when I consulted my battery usage app on my phone it told me I was wasting up to three hours a day on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, I got a real wake up call for how I could be using that time more productively. So I cut back. I check Facebook twice a day - once in the morning with my cup of tea, and once again in the evening once the kids are in bed; I hop on Twitter to promote blog posts and message my friends but don't usually spend more than a couple of minutes a day on there anymore; and Instagram, which is my real weakness, I pop on throughout the day and save photos using the 'save for later' function and then in the evening just scroll through these saved tabs and check out my favourite accounts as well as preparing a few posts for the next days to share. And I cut my time wasted in half. So there's at least an extra hour I was wasting now repurposed for reading.

The Ten Minute Rule for TV

My husband and I have really cut back on TV shows we watch. So now something has to be really good to capture our attention. We have a ten minute rule (and we use this for films too) if we watch something and in the first ten minutes it hasn't grabbed us, or we feel it has gratuitous sex or violence in the first ten minutes (a sure fire sign that they have had to add that to boost ratings) we switch off. There are so many better things to do than to waste time watching boring or monotonous TV shows and films. Honestly, I'd rather read a good book.

Audiobooks

I find sunshine always makes  me want to read outside!

The Wee Page Turner is still too young to command the radio in the car, so after we have dropped BookBairn off at nursery and are driving to and from his swimming or yoga class I put on an audiobook. That works out at over an hour and twenty minutes of listening time for me in just those two return trips. So I try and choose something that I don't mind him overhearing and have been re-reading the Narnia series and started Harry Potter as I don't think these have content that is too worrysome for him to overhear.

I also listen to audiobooks whilst doing some chores. I don't always listen as I need to be concentrating on the story so I can't do that when I'm doing something that requires my focus. But I can listen whilst doing the washing up, sometimes when cooking, when folding laundry, whilst ironing and whilst doing general tidying up. That's a lot of listening time.

Quiet Time

One of the best parenting tips I got was when BookBairn stopped napping was to introduce quiet time. So every afternoon, when The Wee Page Turner naps, I also put BookBairn in her bed, read her a story and let her choose a selection of toys to take with her. Sometimes it only lasts half an hour, but other times she accidentally takes a nap and I get two hours peace and quiet. So I usually do a few chores, sometimes some blog admin and emails and then I put my feet up and read a few chapters until they wake or until it gets too close to the danger nap time zone when I wake them up and cross my fingers that they will still go to bed on time.

Hiding

Sometimes if a book is really good, I hide from my kids to fit in ten extra minutes reading. I put on CBeebies (or something that I know will keep them glued to the spot for 7-10 minutes), tell them I'm going to the bedroom to put washing away, or in the kitchen to do dishes and I sneak off and read until they eventually come and find me. I'm sure this is not the best parenting strategy but it's a great one for fitting in an extra chapter.

Finding Time for my Hobby

Having a snack always helps!

But in short, I love to read so I make time to fit it in. When my husband looks after the kids at the weekend and says 'go and take some time for yourself', I pretty much always run a bath and read a book. If the sun is shining I desperately want to sit in my garden and read my book. That's my favourite thing in the world. So I find time to fit it in.