I know picking up a book when your life already feels so busy is extremely difficult. I’ve struggled with this a lot myself. I was chugging along with my reading goals over the summer, and then school started up again and the pages really tapered off. Even when you make a conscious effort to implement reading into your day, it can be really hard to motivate yourself when you know you have other things going on that you could be doing instead. This is especially relevant when those other things feel more important than a fun, unnecessary activity like reading. Walking the dog, doing the laundry, studying… These things all feel like they should take precedence over reading, but sometimes that list is never ending. It’s important to implement some tactics that make reading a bigger part of your day.

I have a couple of reading implementation tips that I could ramble on about forever, but my favorite tip is one of the implementation tips that really makes you want to pick up the book rather than simply habit creation as a form of reading implementation. Habits are very important to form when you have a hard time getting yourself to pick up the book throughout the day, but the tip I’m about to explain makes forming these habits SO much easier, as it’s a trick to make you want to read more frequently, rather than forcing yourself.

I know people often read books depending on their current mood or depending on the season, but one of my favorite ways to read books is choosing one based on an upcoming life event.

Let’s say you’re going on vacation to the mountains, and you’re really excited about it. (This was me a few weeks ago) What else would you want to read than a book centered around a mountain trip. Maybe pick up a small-town romance read, a nonfiction on the history of the area, even a historical fiction based on a mountain town. Though it may be harder to find a book that perfectly suits what you’re envisioning for your trip, once you do it is so worth it. You find yourself putting yourself into the characters even more. It makes for a much more immersive experience, which makes you more likely to pick the book up more frequently. It creates an overlap between getting excited for your trip and getting excited about your book.

This method isn’t just applicable to vacations, either. In just over a month, I will be moving to go live in a big city and work an intense consulting corporate job post grad. I might start picking up books that are about boss ladies in big cities (like Book Lovers or the Central Park Pact series). I might start reading books about moving or about friendships post grad. Obviously, on the nonfiction front I will want to start reading career development books or books about the city I am moving to. There are so many ways to connect this HUGE life change to the books I am reading, and this will make me want to pick up the book more often as I can more easily relate to the characters and plot points that are happening.

There are a lot of life events for which this method could be relevant: going to college, getting married, getting divorced, going on a trip, getting a new pet, and they can even be small events like going to a haunted house, putting up the Christmas tree, going on your first date, making new friends… the possibilities are endless. There are so many books out in this world, and surely you can find one that fits a new situation you are entering.

Life on Earth is unpredictable, which is what makes it exciting! We have no idea where we are going to be tomorrow, let alone a year from now with any confidence. These key points in our lives can seem scary or overwhelming, they can also be exciting and thrilling. Aligning reading to these changes can make the event less scary and reading more enjoyable. As a busy, busy gal, I know how hard it can be to consistently read and enjoy doing so when there are so many other events on my to do list that feel so much more important, but when I find a book that is relatable to those events or a book that perfectly matches my feelings about an upcoming situation, I can’t put it down and I feel as though this phenomenon might occur with other readers as well.

I hope you all can understand what I am saying in this article, and I urge you to try to take the time to find a book that will meet you where you are. I can’t make any promises, but I hope that doing so will make implementing reading for fun into your life so much easier and more enjoyable.