Ask HN: Do you make time to read? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Do you make time to read?

8 pointsbradhe8 comments

I have a big stack of books I'm hoping to read but between my 9-5 and my side projects (plug: http://hoptopus.com) I can't seem to come up with time to read. When I was young I would read before bed (go to bed, read for a while, sleep) but I find that I don't retain any info when I do that.

Interestingly, I can find plenty of time to keep up with Reddit and HN -- probably because it's so convenient given my work. Does anyone have a "system" for this, or some suggestions?

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I used to read a lot, but have seen that rate declining steeply over the years. I spend a lot of time commuting to and from work, anything between 2-3 hours. This year i made a decision to make use of that time for reading. As of yet i've finished 24 books. Hoping to keep up for the rest of the year.

I suppose i can be more effective with reading different books with tailored strategies but haven't been able to find out anything substantial about that yet. Have ordered "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Adler to see if it can help.

Also, at the beginning of the year, i just jumped in, without much of a definite idea on what to read. The priority for me then, was just to get started. It served the purpose. But right now, i would probably need to revisit that.

I've been doing most of my reading on a Pocketbook 360 and long hours with that, despite the e-Ink screen, feels more fatiguing as opposed to a paper book. I'm looking to alternate more between paper and ebooks.

- Always carry something to read with you - so if you have 5 mins downtime you can dip into it quickly and easily.

- Try audiobooks - if you drive 30mins to work each way thats 5 hours of listening to audiobooks a week!

- Since you find time to read reddit and such, try something like dailylit.com where they email you a small section of a book each day.

I had the same issue as you. I had a stack of books that I wanted to get through but always found it hard to force myself to make the time in the day to read them. I started taking books to work and reading in my lunch breaks. This worked quite well and also provided a good break from work which left me ready to get stuck into work for the afternoon.

I have recently moved over to London(UK) and now I catch the train to work(25min train time each way). I now use this time to read and I love it. I am actually getting through the books on my list.

The commute to work is obviously not for everyone but I would recommend giving the lunch time reading a go.

I was already reading my Kindle books on on the bus. But when I realized I had a lot of technical books I bought last year but haven’t read yet—and are pretty unwieldy to read on the bus—I just made the time to read them; I Instapapered less pages to read, went on a video game abstinence and other small, temporary changes. Suddenly I had large chunks of time in the evening and on weekends to catch up on my backlog.

So, what can you give up to make the time? Could you try dropping Reddit or something else for a bit and see if that time is better spent on reading?

I just made reading one of my hobbies and I read the really good ones twice, keeping notes as if I was engaging in conversation with the piece the second time around.

You'll have to make some sacrifices. Reading is a large time/energy investment, no matter how you cut it, but it has by far the greatest returns.

I kept a reading list for a bit, but never really used it. I usually just pick out books as I see them.

I try and compliment my online reading with the physical as much as possible. I like to keep three different types of books nearby per week; one career related, one non-fiction that is not career related and one fiction. This is my baseline and I add to it on a weekly basis as I see fit - no fewer than three books a week though.

Programming and reading tend to take up the same mind-space for me; after working all day, the thought of reading a book just doesn't seem relaxing.

when i have a nice book i usually stop almost everything that is not essential(work) to read it. It's like the coffee break but longer, it's a way to refresh my mind. But i think your situation is a bit different.

I also travel a lot, so i read in airports etc...

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