Do You Need to Shake Up Your Reading Routine?

Are you in a reading rut, where your reading life feels like you’re just going through the motions?

Everyone falls into ruts from time to time. It is just what happens when we fall into a routine, but in today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 ways to shake up your reading life to get you out of a reading rut!

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Full Show Notes (Transcript)…

Hi there, I'm Stephanie Leopold and I am excited to welcome you to the Readerly Collective Podcast, where bookworms unite and geeking out is highly encouraged. Join me as we explore the world of books in the reading life, celebrating all types of readers and all types of genres. Grab your favorite beverage, cozy up in your reading nook, and let's dive in.

Hey there, fellow readers. You are here because you love books! Well, I have a special gift for you. I have a free audio that guides you through the five questions for your reading life to help you get the most out of your reading life. Head on over to www.thereaderlycollective.com/5questions. to grab your free audio.

Hey there, readers! Welcome to another episode of the Readerly Collective podcast. I am so glad you're here. Today we're going to talk about shaking up your reading routine, how you can shake up a reading rut, how to get out of a reading rut. In the last episode, you might want to go back and listen if you haven't already, I talked about how to get out of a reading slump.

Now, some of the tips today are gonna have a little bit of overlap and I also think they are nuanced and different in particular ways. In my first episode, Ruts vs. Slumps, I shared that ruts can happen in any area of life, not just reading. We can get into ruts at work and ruts in our relationship and ruts in our general day to day life. I believe these happen because we get into routines and patterns, which our brain likes and thrives on. And once we're in those patterns, it can be hard to do something else and we start to feel like we're just going through the motions. While our brains love routine, they also like to have new stuff every once in a while. I think it's that our brains get kind of bored; we're just going through the motions. Those routines can become very mindless. If you have never experienced a mindless rut in your life, I'd like to talk to you, because I think I don't believe you exist! It's like we go through the motions and then we're done and then we don't even remember doing it. THAT is a rut and I also refer to ruts as “the blahs.” They're not bad, but they're just ‘blah’ - they're not anything super great or exciting Stick with me because in this episode we're going to talk about some different actions you can take and maybe some different perspectives you can think about to help you shake up a reading rut.

We've just talked about this - you've probably experienced a rut and just imagine being back in that place, you're just going through the motions, you're just blah; things could be more enjoyable, especially in your reading life. I enjoy reading, and also because I do it so often, I do just kind of go through the motions sometimes. But after today's episode, you're going to recognize when you start feeling like that, when you start feeling like, ‘ooh, I am kind of bored, or I feel like this could be more exciting, or, I've noticed I've just been going through the motions,’ you will be able to think about these tips, perspectives, activities that I'm going to give you to get out of a rut and it's going to bring a new awareness to your reading and it's gonna get you in action to get out of a rut - to shake it up.

So let's get into it! So I've just said it the the biggest thing (and i'm going to deep dive into these) is you've got to shake things up! You've got to do something different and it's not that you have to completely change your perspective, habits, or your patterns or this has to be a long term thing, but we need to shake things up if you're in a rut.

Number one: think about what you've been reading lately and do you need to change that up? Kind of like the slump, where it's like read something completely different. I am a mystery suspense reader give me all the plot twists and unreliable narrators, but sometimes if I'm feeling in a rut, I maybe change up what I'm reading just to, again, shake it up.

(That's going to be the drinking game. Whatever your beverage, coffee, tea, or adult beverage, every time I say shake it up, you can take a drink.)

So that might be an option is to just read something completely different, just to give your brain something new to absorb.

Number two: Just like in a slump, maybe you change the format. This, I find, is really helpful for me if I have been reading a lot of print books to maybe switch it up and go to audio or even switch it up and go to digital. This one I think can be really beneficial if you primarily stick to one format. But again, if you are a pretty eclectic reader, you know, like me, I've got, one audiobook going, one print book going, and usually one digital book going. This one isn't as helpful for me personally, but if you primarily stick to one format, this could be a good one for you to change things up a bit.

Number three: change your environment - change where you are reading. Again, I'm just using personal examples because that's what I got for you. I typically sit on the couch and read. And there are times when, I'm in the Midwest, so right now in the midst of July is not the best time, but when it's beautiful, you know, 70 degree weather, I like to go sit on my deck and read outside. Maybe you have a reading chair, maybe you go sit on the couch. Maybe if you sit on the couch, you go read in bed. This can also be outside of your home, clearly. If you typically only read when you're at home, maybe you take a book and go get coffee. Or even go to the bookstore and just sit and read there. In the slumps episode, I talked about taking yourself out on a book date. This can kind of be the same thing. I think that can always shake things up. Or maybe that is if you have a particular cozy reading nook, maybe you change out the pillows or blankets or maybe you get a new candle or, you know, just little tweaks like that can even change things up, shake things up enough to help you start to get out of that rut.

Number four, tip number four is: immerse yourself in other media! I think one of the greatest things about social media and bookstagram and booktalk is the creativeness of the people on those platforms. Finding creators that are making book related art; finding people that are making amazing arts and crafts and and other projects with book media. It's amazing what is out there. I find that really gets me excited to dive back into a good book. Also, maybe attending an author reading or signing or any type of event that your local bookstores are having. Something book related that is not actually reading. That's kind of what I mean with immerse yourself in other media.

Alright, tip number five, the last one, because I like to have, you know, five. And that is to shake things up, get yourself out of a rut, reach out to your book friends and your book communities. Now, I'm not going to go too much into this today, because this might be a topic for next week, but I think having amazing conversations with other book lovers can absolutely shake things up and get you out of a rut. When I'm chatting with my best friends about books, I feel so recharged. They usually give me some great recommendations and they also may vet out the books that I shouldn't be reading ahead of time, so that's a bonus! But there's so much to gain. And again, with your brain being bored, talking books with other book lovers is just a way to make your brain happy. With stimulating conversation, you're maybe being challenged about your own thoughts about a book or given new perspectives or, gosh I love it when you just geek out about how much you love a book. It can be amazing and can get you right out of a rut.

So to, to review, You gotta shake things up. You gotta do something different in, many aspects, but not all at once, but think about that when you are feeling like you're going through the motions, something new will help.

So, number one, change up what you are reading.

Number two, possibly change up the format, if that's not something you do on a regular basis.

Number three, change your environment. This can be as little as changing out a candle and a blanket in your reading nook or going out and taking a book to a coffee shop and reading if you normally read at home.

Number four, immerse yourself in other book media.

And number five, reach out to your bookish friends and your book communities.

And we're going to talk more about the communities next week so stay tuned for that. As always, my readers, I hope that this gives you something new to think about and I hope that this helps you get more enjoyment out of your reading life. As I like to say, we already have to do so many things as adults that we don't want to do or that are not super fun and reading should not be one of those. Reading should be one of our most enjoyable things. So until next time, take care friends.

Well that closes another chapter on this week's episode of the Readerly Collective podcast. Remember the conversation doesn't have to end here. Connect with me on Instagram at the Readerly Collective or over in our Facebook group. All you have to do is search the Readerly Collective.

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