Squeezing in that Reading Time!

I’m starting to gear up for my residency in July by flipping through all of the syllabi, ordering my books, and starting my readings- which are numerous. I am attempting to get into the habit now of organizing my time to find spots in my schedule to stay afloat and really bite into the concepts. It’s not easy to find this much needed reading time with a full time job, trying to stay fit, and helping to put on a prestigious event in Buffalo– which is why I have to get creative!

I’ve loved the concept of labyrinths ever since I read about their modern purpose in A Whole New Mind. These structures have been around for centuries and now people are crafting smaller versions in their back yards. Many people use them to help them reach a contemplative state- like a form of meditation. While I haven’t found a great labyrinth to walk around in my surrounding area, I discovered my College Quad as a nice replacement. I can go around in a circle, and if I walk really slow, I can read at the same time. During the Summer, our lunches are shortened to a half an hour- in that time I can loop around 3 times and get in some great reading. (See if you have a labyrinth by you.)

Then there’s the good old treadmill. I used some personal time yesterday to get out a little early and hop up on the treadmill. I was able to plow through the last part of Apology in 4 miles! (Check out this free download for your Kindle.)

Weekends are pretty busy during the Summer- trying to squeeze in weddings and a million family events, but every Sunday night I take about an hour to prepare the week’s lunches. As this Get Organized post suggests, I squeeze in a little “reading” time by turning my Kindle on ‘text to speech’ while I cook.

I’d like to know what others are doing to squeeze in some reading time and still stay active!