Hey, fellow reader, do you struggle to fit reading into your daily schedule? Or do you love reading but just can’t seem to reach your monthly or yearly reading goals? Don’t worry—I got you.

Whether you prefer reading hard copy books, eBooks, audiobooks, or a mixture of all three types, there are plenty of ways to reach your reading goals. Take a stab at each one, or just pick and choose the ones that you think will fit your “reading style” best.

Understanding Your “Style” of Reading

When you know how to make reading most comfortable and enjoyable for yourself, you can make it easier for yourself to come back to reading time and time again. For example, if you know you’re not someone who’s great at multitasking, then you can bet you’re not going to be the type of reader who can hold a book and read while eating, exercising, doing the dishes, etc.

To understand your reading “style”, think of times where you have felt the most relaxed and entertained by reading—not rushed or bored. Was that time and place late at night, in bed? Or perhaps was it when you were traveling on a long trip, either on a plane, a bus, in the car, etc.?

Ask yourself the following questions to get an even better sense of your reading style:

• Do you prefer reading during the daytime or at night?
• Do you get easily distracted while reading?
• Can you read chapters on chapters at a time, or are you more comfortable reading in smaller chunks?
• Do you often feel rushed while reading?
• Are you someone who likes to set goals when it comes to reading (for example, so many books finished per month)?
• Do you have a preferred location for reading?
• Are you comfortable reading while multitasking, or does multitasking cause you stress?

Your answers to these questions will help you determine which of the following methods for stuffing more reading into your schedule will work best for you, so keep them in mind.

5 Ways to Stuff More Reading into Your Life

1. Try Audiobooks

This is the best method for those who can multitask while reading, those who often feel rushed during regular reading sessions, and those who like reading long sections of a book quickly.

Audiobooks are amazing—it’s like being spoon-fed a full story without ever needing to turn a page, which, of course, also eliminates the risk of paper cuts, but that’s beside the point. Audiobooks are also great because they allow you to stuff an extra book into your reading routine while you do other things—you can listen to an audiobook while you’re out driving, doing chores, or even while playing a video game!

If you often feel rushed while reading, audiobooks are great because they often give you the option to speed-up the audio playback, so you can get through a whole book fairly quickly. It’s important to note, though, that this also means it’s easy to get distracted and miss out on full chapters at a time if you’re not carefully paying attention to your ears.

For those who like to stick to reading goals, sprinkling in audiobooks to your routine can make it easier to reach those goals. Think about it: you can have a hard copy or eBook that you read in your spare time but also have an audiobook that you listen to in your not-so-spare time. It’s a perfect way to read two or more books at once, folks.

There are plenty of ways to read audiobooks for free, too, believe it or not. Whether you check out an online library app (like hoopla) in connection with your local library, or you sign up for a free audiobook directly with an author (hey, I do that, too!), you can certainly get access to audiobooks whenever, wherever.

2. Track Your Reading with a Free Printable

If you are someone who really liked to set and track reading goals, then getting or making a reading tracker is essential. And, lucky you, you can get a totally free reading tracker right here!

I offer both a printable reading tracker and a digital reading journal for my readers, both of which can help you make and reach goals when it comes to finishing books.

I know a lot of Bookstagrammers like to track their reading habits and post monthly wrap-ups on the books they finish every month, and this is a great way to do just that. Plus, these are free resources, so take advantage of that and feel free to share them with others (pun definitely intended)!

3. Utilize Libraries

I know, I know—we already kind of covered this in the “audiobooks” section up above, but libraries offer a ton of free books for you to enjoy. And, if you struggle to fit reading into your daily routine because of both your busy schedule and budget constraints, then you really need to take advantage of your local libraries!

Aside from audiobooks, you can, of course, get eBooks from select libraries online, and you can always get hard copy books in-person. Look up where a library is near you, and stop by if you don’t already have a library card to snatch a free one. Plus, if you’d like to go to a certain library that’s not inside of your residential district, you can likely get a card from that library for a set price (which is still cheaper than all of the hundreds of books you’d buy without any library card!).

Another reason why libraries are so great is that they provide public, community spaces to physically read. So, if you get easily distracted or you struggle to commit to a set time and place to read every week, schedule a “date” with yourself to read at the library!

4. Try Reading and Multitasking

Now, if you’re not the best at multitasking… you know what, that’s okay! Because multitasking is a skill that takes a lot of time to learn and practice, and it’s always a good idea to just try multitasking while reading, even if it’s difficult for you.

Now, while reading an audiobook, as we mentioned above, you can pretty much do everything under the sun while listening to said book because, well, you don’t have to hold onto and read an actual book. So, if you’re new to multitasking, try listening to audiobooks while you do other tasks first.

If you’re up for it, you can take things a step further by choosing to read hard copy and/or eBooks while doing other tasks. Keep these tasks simple at first, and choose tasks that don’t require much use of your hands or, well, your eyes—you’ll need those for reading.

Personally, I love exercising and stretching while I read hard copy books. It’s something that I already do just about every day, so adding a book in my hand is a great way for me to add reading into my daily routine!

You can get started right now with this idea of “multitask reading” by joining me in some free yoga and pilates “reading” classes, too! Each class is designed to guide you through an easy reading workout or stretch routine, so you can follow along with your own books and make your body happy at the same time.

5. Create a Solid Reading Routine

Perhaps the most tried and true way to fit more reading into your life… is, well, by just squeezing it into your life, wherever and whenever you can.

You can do this by evaluating where and when reading is most comfortable for you (remember those questions you answered up above!) because, after all, you probably won’t stick to a routine that isn’t enjoyable or easy for you to keep. To motivate yourself even more to stick to your routine, consider dedicating a certain area in or outside your own as your “reading nook”, such as a specific chair in a corner or a hammock in your backyard—it doesn’t really matter where your spot is, just as long as you can associate that spot with good, positive reading vibes. Seriously, it helps!

You could also write down a specific schedule for your reading, which will hold you accountable every day. Pen it into your planner, scheduler, or calendar, just as if it were any other “to-do” task in your day. And then, of course, you can reward yourself for sticking to that routine!

This is why I also recommend this amazing, hard copy reading journal—because it comes with a free gift box that you can open once you reach your reading goals! Ah!

Plus, this reading journal comes with tons of monthly wrap-up pages, a reading BINGO card, multiple other reading-related games, reading review worksheets, and more. And, best of all, it’s all going to help motivate you to make and stick to your reading routine-no matter how you prefer to read.

So, fellow readers, take these reading tips, and go forth—into a world where reading can fit into your uber-busy schedule!

–Kari