Self Care Tip #4: A good read
So, a little background information… Growing up I DESPISED reading. If there was a stronger word to describe how much I hated reading I would have used it. As a kid in school, we used to have reading logs. You were expected to read a certain amount of minutes each week. You would log the days you read, the book, and how many minutes. Each week I would procrastinate every second of it and the last day before it was due I would have to sit around all day making up for lost time. Why not just fake it and say I read (my dad's idea)? Well because for some reason I couldn’t lie or else I would be physically Ill, so ya no hope there. I would set a timer and read till the exact second I needed. God, I was a strange kid.
Over ten years later and I am finally starting to really enjoy reading. I am going to be honest, I never imagined myself saying that. I kind of felt like hating reading was part of my personality at this point. But times are changing I’ve officially turned into a “reader”... I think you just need to find one genre that you are able to get into and then you are just hooked from there. I have been really into self-care/improvement, entrepreneur/business, and the typical romance with a splash of spice.
If you do like to read, or you want to challenge yourself to read more, you should get the app Goodreads. You are able to set a goal of how many books you want to read in the year, keep track of books you want to read, are currently reading, and have read. And you are able to be friends with people and see what they are reading and how they rate those books. It is a super fun way to get involved and a great place to find some recommendations.
Something fun you can do is put together a book club. You and a few friends can all get together and choose a book you are all interested in. You can either choose a date to have it read by and then all meet to discuss the entirety of the book or you can read sections and meet throughout the book. It gives you a fun reason to meet up with friends, and it should hold you accountable for reading more. You can come up with fun questions to discuss or you can find premade questions for just about any book online. Your book club can be whatever you make of it!
Reading is a fantastic way to be self-ish. Find a book you really enjoy, choose a quiet and comfortable place to pop a squat, and just allow yourself to zone out everything else around you. You will look at the clock a few minutes later and realize its been over an hour and believe it or not you haven’t been stressed out, anxious, or checking your phone a million times hoping to see a notification from someone (not saying this out of experience or anything…) hehe.
If you are like me and reading has never really been “your thing”, just give it a shot (it's probably been years anyways… don't lie). You no longer have reading logs or book reports where you are forced to read, it is fully your choice. You might be just as surprised as I was, or you could totally still hate it and that’s fine too 🤷🏻♀️
Books that I have read recently and would recommend to you:
People we Meet on Vacation
It Ends with Us
Rich Dad Poor Dad
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
Good Life Good Vibes
Girl Code
Single on Purpose
I am currently reading…
Happy Place
Atomic Habits
Girls that Invest
… and so far they are all super good!
Helpful Tip: If you are normally super busy but still want to get some personal reading time in throughout the day, it is super helpful if you actually pencil it into your schedule. (maybe not using an actually pencil, not sure if many people do anymore with all the virtual calendars we have). But, by specifying a time and place, you are more likely to actually give yourself a break to read. By just saying “ya I’m going to read more”, just like your New Year resolution of “getting to the gym more”, it’ll be out the door faster than your best friend with new gossip she said that she wouldn’t tell anyone about…
