Do you schedule in time to read?

I have a morning routine that takes me up to 20 minutes. Start to finish, I can get everything done and done well in ... yeah 20 minutes. First, I'll break down my steps, show you what works for me and WHY it works for me. Then I'll explain why I think this helps specifically with making sure I reach my reading goals. Also, I'm pretty sure I can find links to most of these things so if you're interested in anything, you can just pick and chose which ones will help you!

My Routine

First, I get an iced drink. This will either be an iced tea, an iced water, or a 16 ounce glass of pre-workout if I am exhausted or going to workout once my routine is finished. That is important because how often do we struggle to reach our minimum water intake? I know that I can do really well at the start of the day---getting about 65 ounces down. But after 3pm, it's like fighting an alligator with a cavity to get even another 16! So, by starting my day with 16 ounces and knowing I need 100, I'm already knocking out a good percentage bright and early. This makes getting the remaining 84 ounces less hard. Not easy, mind you. Just easier. I feel like this needs to be highlighted. And I'll come back to why in a minute.

I have my iced water and then I sit down. I have found that some areas of my home are WAY more conducive to being effective with the rest of this morning routine. Example: I cannot complete this in my bedroom. I have a vanity/desk set up in the corner where I sometimes work on writing projects (ahem.. this blog! 😉) but even that space is not great for me to get the most out of my routine. It feels too easy to just forego it and stay in my comfortable bed. Or skip past it if I'm mentally beyond the "bed" phase of my morning. You know... Once you get past that transition period where your brain is tempting you to just go ahead and get back to bed and actually feel like you can move forward with your day.

My kitchen table or the island are acceptable if need be, but if I am able to, I like to have my tools set up at my office desk. The office is a space I spent almost 4 years designing and redesigning to get it just right. The wall color, the furniture colors and textures, my bookcases, the curtains, ... even the fact that my office supplies are organized should I need something. All of this means I feel 100x more focused in my office than even at the kitchen table/island.

Alright. So now I have ice water and I'm in my office. What's the actual routine?

First, I pull out my 1 Sentence Journal. I bought this in December 2018. I have written a sentence of memory or just a basic "this was what we did today" for every single day, except one. And it's incredible to me how much I remember about an entire day with just a single snippet; and how much I wish I could remember the single day I didn't write anything.

I do my daily devotional. I have done religious devotionals and non-religious ones. I've done year long ones, 100 day ones, 6 month ones, etc. I have yet to do a devotional more than once, but I do practice florilegium. This is a ritual practice of writing down 1-2 sparklets that shimmered at you while you were reading. I have done something like this my whole life; the difference now is I have journals where I write my thoughts for every devotional. This allows me to look back at each day and see what spoke to me. I am able to reflect on my mental state even better by reading what it was I heard or needed to hear on any given day.

Once I finish those, I move on to my 5 Second Journal. Another tool I've used consistently for 3 or 4 years. The night before I go ahead and fill out the right page.

• I start with my morning routine -- because seeing it written out is another reminder.

• Then I have the book(s) I want to read that day.

• Next is my daily water intake goal. This hasn't changed in over 2 years, but again-- seeing it activates a reminder in my brain on how much water I should be taking in every day.

• The next pre-filled item is my 5 daily gratitude. These don't change often, but I also use this section to list things that irritate me but I should be grateful for. Example: Clean Clothes. In order to have clean clothes, I have to wash, dry, fold, and put them away. I hate this. A LOT. But reminding myself that I should be grateful for the clean clothes makes it mentally easier to do the laundry. Again: it's easier; not EASY.

• The final pre-filled section is my To Do List. Note this isn't always completed the night before, but the items that I absolutely MUST do that day are filled in. Any doctor appointments, school projects for the kids, the workout for the day, etc. Each morning I add a few things to the list, but honestly-- whenever possible-- I try to keep this list to about 6 items. This does include what we're having for dinner if I'm in charge of making it.

• The last section is something I add to as the day goes on... and I always write it in a different color than the pre-filled sections. It is my TA DA list. These are things that popped up over the course of the day that I got done that I hadn't planned on. It can be simple things (called a friend) or big things that popped up (went to the dr for the kids ear infection). This allows me to see what I get done every day that I don't think about or consider "important." It's also really cool to see that list get longer and longer. Sometimes I'll start my day with something to add immediately just to get that boost.

• Only after I've completed the right side of the day's eval do I move to the left side. This is because the left side is all about how I'm feeling at that moment and what I want to focus on specifically for the day. I try to be really honest with how I'm feeling. I try to be specific with actions I can take to make myself feel better. I try to keep my "daily project" specific and achievable because setting goals that aren't realistic won't help me in any way. The last part is just as important as the first. What time am I done for the day. This is typically 8pm, except on Book Club nights. Any other night, the kids are in their rooms with electronics at 8pm. They only come out to go to the bathroom. This gives my husband and I one hour to relax, watch TV, read, and basically recharge even before we go to sleep. We get to be a couple every night for 1 hour that isn't tied to parenting, directly. I feel that this hour is vital as a mom, partner, and introvert.

The last aspect of my morning routine is my overall planner. I am a big fan of the Happy Planner-- you can get them from Walmart or Michael's that I know of for sure. Erin Condren has a lot of variety and is customizable but can be a bit pricey unless you have a promo code. So anyways, we're just going to move on with me explaining why my planner works for me. I again understand this isn't for everyone.

• Basic monthly view: I don't think you should get overly dramatic with a monthly view when you have a weekly planner. I like the wide blank spaces that give me plenty of room to fill in what I need to. Also, this one does have a small section on the side for any notes. Like, I can put release dates to be on the lookout for. "Be sure to schedule upcoming dr appt this month" notes. That sort of thing.

• Weekly layout. I prefer a vertical, 3 section style.

  • The first open space:

    • Birthdays. I'm very lucky that our combined families don't have too many overlapping birthdays. In fact, there's only 1: my daughter/sister's. Everything else falls close to another one, but not the same day. 😰 I put the birthdays in red ink so that I will see them first and foremost. I am pretty good about 1) remembering birthdays in general and 2) remembering to mail out cards; but if I have to hand deliver a card, I'm absolute SHITE! So, yeah: red ink for birthdays and anniversaries.

    • Also: any and all appointments. Dr appointments.

  • The second large section is for...

    • Work & School.

      • My work (book process, blog, possible photography in the long range future).

      • My husband's work (on call dates, required work trips, scheduled overnights at the nuke plant, etc).

      • My kids' school requirements: days off of school, Early Release days, picture days, spirit days, etc.

  • The third small section is

    • Nighttime:

      • Workouts. I try and follow programs with pre-determined workout calendars. I use those to fill in what that day's exercise will be.

      • Sports. I have 2 kids who refuse to play the same sport. So I use the space that the bottom to see like jiu jitsu is every T/Th 5-6, bball practices and games.

      • Dinner. Yes. I write what I plan to cook in there. It helps me see how to use leftovers, what nights are going to get away from me and I should just plan on takeout.

      • Daily Chore: I've broken down the housework by days so they're easier to remember, I have less guilt if I don't finish something "not scheduled," and I'm not overwhelmed trying to get everything done every single day.

        • Mopping Mondays: Clean entire first floor including mopping

        • Toys & Toilets Tuesdays: Kids' bedrooms, all bathrooms, and the playroom OR basement.

        • Wash Wednesdays: laundry and windows.

        • Therapy Thursdays: I try to schedule very few things on Thursdays. This is my favorite day to do nothing!

        • Food Friday: grocery pick up.

        • Weekends are catch up days and when we have all the fun things planned so housework isn't a must do on the weekends for us-- well me. 😉😉

How does this really impact my reading?

I know I just threw a lot of info at you. My morning routine does seem like a lot. BUT there's a lot of prep work that goes into each item so I'm only spending about 20 minutes on the actual routine. I mean, I have to put the appointments in my planner as I make them in order to know who needs to be where and when. I can't remember that on the fly! I have to write a few things on the To Do List the night before so it can jog my brain and I'm not relying on it being operating at 100% at 4:30-5am. Even I -- a self-proclaimed morning person-- realize that 4:30am is sort of an ungodly hour to be fully functional!

But the question is: How does this routine help me read more or read better?

Simple: I've already scheduled it in-- multiple times!

Take a look back. The first thing I do is a 1 sentence journal entry and a florilegium/devotional. After that: my 5 second Journal wants me to write down what books I'm going to read that day. Now, I don't mean I only read those books or even that I plan to read the entire book that day. No. Maybe I read a few chapters or a good chunk... maybe I do start and finish what I mark as TBR. But the simple fact is: I already am cognizant of what books I want to read.

Next: my To Do List and EC Planner. With these two things, I can make a general plan for the day. I can see that I have PT as soon as the kids are on the bus until 9:30; I have to edit at least 2 chapters for the book because I have a deadline in so many days; I have to do a crockpot dinner because the kids have jiu jitsu 5-6p and hubs from 7-10p leaving no time to make a meal we can eat together; kids are in bed from 8-9p at which point I take electronics and we're in bed for the night.

Alrighty, just from seeing that I know I have from 9:30-11a to read OR edit chapters. Then I have time to prep crockpot dinner. More housework or bookwork Noon to 3:30 when I have to get the kids off the bus (I have a kindergartener and am legally required to be there to get him off the bus). Then we haul tail to get snacks and then get ready for jiu jitsu. After we get home and eat, then I have from 6:30- 9 or 10p to read or edit chapters while hubs is at his jiu jitsu.

See what I did there? I was able to chunk off my day with all the have to's. Then I filled in the time with the big projects. I feel like this would work for every tendency (Obliger, Rebel,. Questioner, Upholder). It gives Rebels the option of what to fill their in-between-time with as they see fit. It puts accountability on an Obliger because there are others counting on you to complete the allocated chunks of time. Questioners can clearly see why a project might be feasible or not because there's only so much time until the next "Have To." And Upholders are generally good about meeting outer and inner expectations so by having a list, they can choose options to meet their expectations.

So there you go.

I know. This was a LOT of information. Probably one of my longest posts to date! But I hope you were able to see how planning your day, how having an established morning routine can actually allow you to read more often, read "better," or read more effectively. I'll post the links to where you can get my tools below. If something works for you, I'd love to know. If you have something life altering you think I should know about... Please tell me!

Additional Resources

1 Sentence Journal from Barnes & Noble (this is the one I have. It's a 5 year one!) One from Gretchen Rubin's newest collection here

Amazon is where I get all my devotionals. I try to coordinate them to my WOTY.

My florilegium journal is from B&N but you can use anything. B&N just usually has some great crafted journals.

5 Second Journal. I got mine from B&N during their 50% hardbacks sale but they sell out fast. Amazon usually has some in stock.

I've used the Erin Condren planners in the past but honestly, Walmart's Happy Planner is just as good and like half the cost.

My FAVORITE pens! And yes, I 1000% have a favorite style of pen. Second choice is these. Sharpie Pens are another okay option but I tend to stick with the first two since I've found the Sharpie pens run dry too fast. I don't use highlighters or markers-- I'm just not that creative and too much clutter tends to make my brain hinky. But I do like these gel highlighters when I need to emphasize anything.