I wrote a silly rant post about the whole “finding time to read” thing many, many years ago when my old boss was condescending about how much I read and proclaimed HEEEEE didn’t “have time to read because he has a life” like his life was so much more important and busy than mine. I can still feel my blood boiling just thinking about that conversation.
But recently a conversation with a friend made me want to write this post about how I find time to read as a busy mom because I promise you I don’t have some magical time turner or something that creates time for me.
Anyways, I was catching up with a friend online, who knew me pre-baby, and knew that I used to read 100+ books a year and reviewed books/had this blog.
I mentioned something about it and she said, “wow you still have time to do that? How do you even find time to read as a mom? I just can’t seem to find the time to pick a book up since my son was born and it makes me so sad.”
And I was kind of surprised because she LOOOOVED books like I did so I just assumed she was still reading — just maybe a little bit less than before.
It’s not like I am super mom or have more time in my day or any sorcery magic helping me or anything that would make it easy for me to make time to read 75+ books a year now.
So I started to think about all the ways I fit reading into my life as a busy mom, things I told her, and wanted to share with you all. I think a lot of these tips can apply even when you aren’t a mom, honestly.
I think, for me, reading has remained my sanity and my anchor in the ups and downs and chaos of motherhood. It was the one thing that still made me feel like myself in a time when everything changed and I was struggling to grapple with my identity.
So whether you are a reader who hasn’t been reading much since becoming a mom or you are busy mama wanting to create space and peace in your life by creating a reading habit as a new year’s resolution…these are my best tips for making time to read as a mom.
Full disclosure, I only have one child so I cannot speak to multiple child life and I stay home with her…so take everything I say from that lens. Not everything will apply exactly but I KNOW you can use most of these tips in some way. They just might look different for you.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which means that if you click on a link and purchase something I’ve talked about or recommended, I’ll receive a very small percentage of the sale. Please see my disclosure policy for more info
P.S. Keep track of all the new books you are going to find time to reading with one of these great reading journals.
How To Read More As A Busy Mom
Some of these tips are for FINDING more time to read and then the rest of the tips are more strategies for how I find even more time in my day to help me read more books…..beyond the basic reading sessions I give myself.
Tip #1 – Schedule it
I know that sounds silly– schedule your hobby or leisure time? But you know, as well as I do, that if you don’t make time for something as a mom…it just won’t happen. So, if you are having a hard time making reading a part of your daily flow, then schedule it.
But I feel like my biggest and best tip out of this whole list is just– make time for it. And maybe that sounds reductive but I do find that what is important to me ends up being what I prioritize in the end.
So sit down with your calendar/planner (or your mental planner in your head) and write down a 30 minute or an hour slot of when you are going to read. Commit to it. When things get busier than normal this is how I make sure I even just have 10 minutes to read every day.
It doesn’t even matter how long you plan to read for — just put it as a non-negotiable every day that you will read for 10 minutes in the morning with your coffee before the kids wake up or 20 minutes while your husband does the bedtime routine or in the wee hours of the night when you should be sleeping but the house is quiet. That last one is my personal fave reading time haha
Mine isn’t the same every day — though if you are trying to make it a habit THAT part might be important to keep it at the same sacred time every day. Do what works for you.
Right now I’ve been committed to stopping everything at 9pm and reading until 10. But sometimes I pick the morning and sometimes when days get too busy…it gets shoved to my final 20 minutes of the day when I should be sleeping. Or I just grab 5 minutes randomly and call it a day. It’s FINE.
Action step: Grab your planner or calendar and block off time to read this week — even if it’s only for 10 minutes.
Tip #2 – Make it a family affair
One of my favorite ways I’ve gotten more time to read is doing it with Riley. One winter, after I’d get her up for nap, she’d want to curl up in my bed and read books so I’d read to her.
Soon this turned into her saying, “mommy you read your book, I read mine.” I started calling it our “reading togedder” time since that’s what she’d always ask for. “Read togedder?” Yes, you bet, baby girl. Those times are some of my most cherished moments with her.
Now sometimes it only lasted 10 minutes but sometimes she’d sit there looking at her books for a good 45 minutes curled up next to me and WOW suddenly I had 45 minutes of reading time.
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Maybe you start your mornings with some quiet book time on the couch or carve out a little bit of family reading time at the end of your day. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes. That’s 15 extra minutes you get to read.
Action step: Grab some books and find a time for a reading date with at least one member of your family!
P.S. Find some new books for your kids to read with one of my favorite book subscription boxes for kids.
Tip #3 — Put your phone far, far away
I don’t know about you but, especially since becoming a stay at home mom, my phone is my lifeline to the outside world sometimes.
There’s always something to scroll on, someone to chat with or even something to research for my kid (yeah, you know you spent hours researching sippy cups, too).
My phone is probably MORE of a burden on my reading time than having a child. There, I said it.
It’s honestly probably my phone that is the reason I get less reading done than the fact I’m a mom.
For two reasons I think that:
- It’s my phone I will pick that up first when I get a few minutes to myself. It’s my phone I will pick up first once she’s gone down to bed. It’s my phone I will scroll on in the waiting room. But those moments add up — if I’ve scrolled for 30 minutes….that’s 30 minutes of my reading time I missed out on. And now, sometimes, I do INTENTIONALLY just want to scroll or catch up on Instagram or research something and that’s okay. But sometimes when I realize how much passive time I spent on my phone when I could have been reading it makes me sad.
- It is the BIGGEST distraction when I actually do sit down to read. I’ll be reading and, if my phone is in my reach, I will pick it up like a reflex for no reasons because I feel the urge that I need to check it. OR I will think of something while I’m reading and think “oh i want to look that up” and then down a rabbit hole I’ve gone down 30 minutes later.
Keep the phone far, far away if you want to read more. I promise. When I leave my phone across the room, I read WAY more in a night. When I make a conscious choice to pick up my book instead of my phone during downtime…I get way more reading done in a week.
Action step: Find a spot, out of your reach, to put your phone when you read. Bonus step: Try to not have your phone next to you at all times during your day and, when you have a small pocket of time when you’d normally reach for your phone, reach for your book instead. Even if it’s only 5 minutes of reading.
Tip #4 — Relatedly, have a book always with you. Within reach.
Whether you throw a book in your purse (or maybe that diaper bag) or just have one always sitting within arms reach, have a book nearby. This is the sneaky way I add way more time to read.
It’s easier to find time to read when you are waiting for an appointment…if you have your kindle/book in your bag. I look it at as a treat and will more often opt for my book than my phone KNOWING that it’s extra time I wouldn’t always get.
When Riley was younger and struggled to play solo, I’d always carry a book to each room (or outside) with me for those moments when she would be TOTALLY content and playing independently and I’d snag an extra 5-20 minutes of reading.
IT ADDS UP. I PROMISE.
When anyone makes fun of the fact I always have a book or two in my bag, I tell them the story of the time (pre-Riley) when I was driving home from work at the time a snowstorm descended and turned my 30 minute commute into a 4 hour commute.
Wanna know what I did when my car only inched up every 15 minutes? I READ MY BOOK ON MY KINDLE. Wanna know what my husband did (on a road stuck like me trying to get home that day)….drained the battery on his phone and was so bored.
You literally never know when the reading gods will pour down random reading time like manna from heaven. I literally never complain when I have to wait for things because I use it to my advantage and am ALWAYS prepared.
Action step: Try keeping a book within arm’s reach for a week (and hopefully you put the phone out of reach) and see how much extra reading time you get just by having one near you. Bonus step: Put a book in your bag for when you are out and about!
Tip #5 — Know what you want to read next
One thing I find that helps me is always knowing what I’m going to read next and having it in my possession either from the library or elsewhere.
That doesn’t mean I HAVE to start it as soon as I finish my other book but I can’t tell you how much potential reading time I used to waste by hemming and hawing over what I was going to read next.
Suddenly a week could go by without reading a book solely because I couldn’t choose what to read next or because I didn’t take the time to find something to read next and then life got busy to even think about it.
One of the easiest ways to do that is to subscribe to a book subscription box like Book of the Month. It solves both of these problems in an easy way — you get to pick from a handpicked group of books AND it shows up at your doorstep each month.
Struggling with what to read next?
Check out Book of the Month — a curated monthly book subscription box that narrows down all the must-read, new books out there and delivers one (or a couple add-ons) right to your doorstep eliminating that “what to read next” problem.
You can also check out plenty of my posts for good ideas of things to read if you are struggling to find things to read:
- Must-Read Books For 2024 (Adult Fiction)
- Must-Read Books For 2024 (Young Adult)
- Upcoming Book to Movie Adaptations
- New Thriller Books
I also highly recommend following a few Instagram accounts that are book-centric to give you some great ideas of things to read. You can follow me @perpetualpageturner and here are the best Instagram accounts for book lovers. Or maybe you are more of a podcast person — check out my favorite book podcasts for recommendations.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t tell you to sign up for my newsletter — lots of book recommendations and reading inspiration.
Action step: Pull out or research a couple books you want to read for the month. You don’t HAVE to read them but sometimes just even having an idea of what you want to read next will save you time trying to decide.
Tip #6 — Multi-task with audiobooks
Moms are the perfectors of multi-tasking and, while I strongly believe in minimizing your multi-tasking as much as possible, this is an area that truly adds SO MUCH reading time to my life.
If you are going to be on the treadmill, listen to an audiobook.
If you are folding some laundry and putting some away, listen to an audiobook.
If you have a commute, listen to an audiobook (a great road rage helper when stuck in traffic lol)
If you are doing dishes, listen to an audiobook.
If you are working on a project around the house, listen to an audiobook.
You get the point. I don’t always do these tasks with an audiobook but a lot of times if Riley is otherwise occupied I just pop my audiobook on my phone and set it next to me while I’m doing these tasks.
It was a life-saver for one of my most daunting projects — sorting through all the clothes from Riley’s first two years of life and selling them at a consignment sale. I got through a whole book while doing that.
This one tip helps me read a few extra books every month depending on how often I’m working out or commuting (my two biggest sources of audiobook time).
Action step: Try adding an audiobook somewhere in your day. My audiobook platform of choice is Libro.Fm — the BEST Audible alternative that didn’t have be regretting the switch. Check out my review of Libro.FM to see why they have me excited!
Tip #7 — Make it your social thing with a book club or community
Once Riley turned one I felt like I was reading a little more steadily again AND I missed having a book club now that we had moved so I started a new one through the local mom’s group I joined on Facebook.
I craved socializing and I knew that it would make me at least prioritize one book a month. It gave me once a month to get out with other moms and talk about books and the things that came up within that book. I looked forward to those meetings so much as a new mom.
This tip is a good one because of the accountability factor. You don’t want to be the only person showing up without having read the book and it gives you a deadline to keep by needing to read it before the meeting. It guarantees that you will be reading at least one book a month!
The other thing positive to this tip is, if your book club is anything like mine, we talk about all the other books we love and your reading list grows exponentially.
Join Moms Who Read on Facebook
Want a group where you can get great book recommendations and chat about books with other mamas?
We are going to be starting a book club real soon in my Moms Who Read Facebook group so even if you feel like you can’t find time to find a book club or create a book club….come join us!
Related: Great book club ideas to create a fun book club
Action step: Find a book club or a reading buddy!
Tip #8 — Give something up
This is my least favorite tip, honestly, as a person who wants to be able to DO IT ALL. Sometimes what I realized is that I might have to give up something to make more time to read.
Most of the time that meant not watching another episode of a show I was on the road to binge watching. It meant giving up chatting on Instagram or via text.
But sometimes it was harder things to give up for my sanity. Sometimes I gave up precious sleep that I knew should be a priority but I wanted to read for my own self care. So I either gave up sleeping in in the morning or sometimes gave up a better bedtime in order to read.
And some nights if I am being BRUTALLY honest with you? Some nights, because I just wanted to curl up with my book, I gave up tidying up. I did all the big things I needed to do but I gave up the idea that things were going to be perfect. Some nights I went to bed with the house in semi-disarray just so I could read…..and I learned to just give it up and not care some nights.
And everyone will be at a different place with what they can or are willing to give up for some reading time but that’s often how I do it: making the hard decision to give something up.
Action step: Challenge yourself to find something you can give up to create a little more space for reading — that extra episode, 30 minutes of sleep, happy hour one night with your co-workers, that scroll session before bed.
Tip #9 — Put it down if it’s not working for you
So this isn’t so much as “finding time to read” but rather maximizing the time that you DO have to read more books. This is the one tip I have to remind myself of weekly…and is the one tip that can be the difference between a month I read a lot or months I barely read anything.
PUT THAT BOOK DOWN IF YOU AREN’T ENJOYING IT.
Repeat that. And then do it.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve slogged through a book that I wasn’t enjoying and it takes me 3x longer to finish the book because I can tell I don’t really care to pick it up and I was SO distracted reading it that I was physically reading it slower. Honestly sometimes if I’m not loving a book I notice it’s almost like I’m avoiding the book.
Think about a book you are enjoying on the other hand. You probably can’t wait to pick it up and will find any way to sit down with your book and you will probably move through it pretty quickly.
A book you aren’t enjoying is only going to slow you down. Pause it for now and move on to something else.
Action step: Make yourself a deal that if you aren’t into a book by a certain amount of pages that you will put a pause on it for now and pick up something else.
Tip #10 — Do a reading challenge
This isn’t a tip that is going to physically FIND you some more time but, if you are the type of person who likes and thrives with a challenge set in front of you, find yourself a reading challenge to help motivate you and keep you on track.
Types of challenges to check out:
- Numbers based challenge: Every year on Goodreads I set a number goal of books I want to read for the year. It’s simple and Goodreads makes it easy to track with their reading challenge tracker. You don’t have to do it on Goodreads…you could track it another way…on paper or a spreadsheet. You could also set a page number goal instead of a number of books (I wish Goodreads had that as an option).
- Prompt based challenge: These ones are really fun and can really be quite a challenge. I personally really like the Popsugar Reading Challenge.
Action step: Make it a challenge in some way — whether a simple number challenge or prompt-based.
Tip #11 — Do a time audit
Sometimes at the end of the day…you might just need to do a time audit to truly see where you can fit in reading to realize you have more time than you think you do.
I did this while part of a business group and OH MY GAWD does it make you realize where your time goes. I did this recently during my day and WOW did I have a lot of dead spots of my day where I was just scrolling or checking my email.
When you actually have to account for like every minute of your day, you will see, not only the places where you have extra pockets of time in your day, but where some wasted time is that you could reclaim — well if you are anything like me haha.
You might really be a super mom being productive and busy every minute of the day. I am not. And if that’s the case…I beg you…make some space for something you love doing.
Action step: For one day, track basically every minute of your day and find out where your time is really going. See where you might be able to fit in some reading time.
Tip #12 — Ask for it
Here’s the thing, at the end of the day, sometimes the only way I got time to read is because I asked for it (or just stated that it was what I needed).
I would tell my husband that we had a rough day and I REALLY needed 30 minutes of alone time after dinner so that I could slip into bed and read before bath and bedtime routine. He always understood and gave me that space.
Sometimes it might be a matter of saying that two days a week bath/bedtime is not yours and you are going to go read for that time. It is not selfish. It is self-care.
Sometime it might look like asking a family member to come play with your kid(s) or take them to carve out that free time. Or maybe YOU leaving the house to go sit in a coffee shop and read for an hour.
I hate asking or asserting what I need but I learned very quickly in motherhood that it made my life better to do so. Sometimes I just needed to clear the time and set a boundary myself so that I could FEEL LIKE MYSELF and enjoy a book.
It’s not selfish to say “this is important to me and I will make time for it and allow the people in my life to support me in doing so.”
And maybe that sounds silly to you– to ask for time to read in your life because it’s not a necessity. But I beg to differ…if it’s important to you and will make you feel more human or have more peace in your life or have something for yourself then it is worth it.
Action step: Ask for what you need (in general, too, mama).
I hope this was helpful! I wish I had some sort of magical secret way of getting more time to read. Mostly, for me, it has come down to creating the space for it because it’s important to me. And then I build upon that with other maximizing strategies.
I think the other important thing was not worrying about if I was reading as much as I used to or how much other people were reading compared to me or even WHAT everyone else was reading. Just reading the things that made me happy.
Read the things that you want to read. Your reading life is whatever you create it to be. So read those romance books (check out some new romances here) or gobble up all the young adult books you want.
There is no room for guilt in our reading life — you are busy and should only read what you want to read.
Hey, do me a favor and tell me all the ways YOU fit reading into your life as a busy mom.
PIN IT FOR LATER
Jenna @ Falling Letters says
These are great strategies, even for those of us who don’t have kids! It’s always inspiring to see someone giving their best effort to be able to engage in an activity they love.
Jamie says
Yay i was hoping it would also be useful for EVERYBODY though my intent was to show specifically how I do it as a mom. And yes..it’s so important to me so I really will move hell or high water in order to at least get 15 minutes of reading!
Hope you are doing well! xo
Jade @ Reading with Jade says
All super great tips, Jamie, and many I implemented myself when my son was born 7 years ago now. I remember being told by other people in my life how I would not get time to read when I had a child, but as with anything, you have to make time for the things you love. Much like you, continuing to reading really helped me mentally after having my son, and allowed me to hold on to a piece of me. I love that you’ve shared this post and I hope that it helps many other parents out there who feel like they don’t have time for reading… Or any other hobby that had before children, and feel like it is impossible to keep up with now with the extra responsibility.
Also, that photo of you & Riley reading together – CUTE!
Jenny says
These tips are great. My kids are grown now, but I still have a mini-farm to run and reading can fall by the wayside rather quickly. The best one is getting rid of the phone. There is so much to read online that it really cuts into reading time. I also found that if I spend too much time looking at screens it wearies my eyes and I have a hard time switching back to book pages.
When my first child was born I found it hard to read books but I could not live without reading. So while he was nursing I read catalogues! I graduated from things like ll bean with short descriptions , moving ever onward to j Peterman which has whole stories attached to their catalogue offerings . Finally I was able to concentrate on a book again!
I love your blog because I feel like I have found a kindred spirit. I gave up Instagram because it cut into reading time, but I am going to check your account every once in a while! Thank you for all you do to encourage reading!
Leslie says
This list is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas!
Jamie says
I’m glad you found it helpful <3