How to Distinguish Between a Reading Rut vs. a Reading Slump

Is it a reading rut or a reading slump? How can you tell the difference?

As human beings, we all get into ruts, and as readers we also experience the occasional reading slump. In this episode of the Readerly Collective Podcast I help you explore the similarities and differences so you can figure out if you’re in a reading rut or a reading slump.

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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.

Well, hello, my readerly friends. I am so excited to welcome you to my first episode. The first episode of the Readerly Collective Podcast. I just love books and I love reading and I'm so excited I get to share all of that with you. So what I'm kind of diving into today is reading ruts versus reading slumps and how do we know which one we're in. And I'm going to get into how they're different.

First of all I want to say we all get into ruts in other aspects of our lives as well. Not just reading. We can get into work ruts. We can get into relationship ruts. We can get into just life ruts. I'm going to talk a little bit more about how those come to be. And then as readers, hopefully you don't have reading slumps very often, but I think if you just love to read and it's something you're doing quite often, it's very likely that you will also possibly fall into a reading slump. So again, stick with me. I'm going to walk you through the differences between a rut and a slump so that you can identify it possibly quicker and use the right tips and tricks, I don't want to say right, the ones that work for you to get out of either a rut or a slump.

Imagine feeling disconnected from your reading. I know I have been there, again, if you're a reader, just in life, you have probably experienced this. You're disconnected from your reading. You feel like you're going through the motions. Maybe you're feeling just bored, or maybe you're picking books. that just are not working for you. You pick up a book, you get 50 pages in and you're like, no, this is not holding my attention. And you pick up another book and you get 50 pages in and you're like, oh my God, no, what is happening? Why can't I enjoy this book? Why am I not enjoying this? And so you maybe are picking books that don't work for you. Maybe, you just can't focus. You're like, hey, I really want to read, but the minute I sit down, my brain starts working overtime, or I get up because I feel like there's other stuff I need to be doing.

But imagine after today's episode, being able to identify whether it's a rut or a slump, and then because you're able to identify which one, while they do have some overlapping ways to get out of them, they also have distinct ways, , in which I think can help get out of either a rut or a slump. So today we're just gonna go over kind of what's the difference, how you identify them, and then over the next couple weeks we're gonna get into really deep diving how to get out of them, the tips for getting out of them.

So first I'm gonna talk about reading ruts. as I mentioned, they happen in other areas of our life. I think of ruts as coming from a place of complacency, a place of routine, a place of pattern in which we are just kind of going through the motions. Our brain can't spend a lot of energy doing new things all the time, and so we just go through the motions. We're in a pattern, right? We're in a rut, and you just keep doing the same thing over and over again.

When I find myself in a rut, I still may be picking books that are enjoyable, But I also am just kind of feeling blah about them, like, hey, this is good, I'm enjoying it, but it's not great. It's not bad either. It's just kind of blah. It's kind of in the middle. Personally, this is my biggest key is that it's a rut, not a slump. Now, I also, , think that ruts can lead to slumps. But we can talk about that in a little bit. So my reading routine is after dinner. I'll sit on the couch and I will probably scroll through my phone for a little while, but then I will sit down and read for a little bit before bed.

This is an enjoyable activity for me, but it's also like just kind of what I do. It's not necessarily anything special. It's definitely not bad. I'm still enjoying it. But again, I'm just kind of in that middle area between like great and terrible. I'm kind of in that blah.

Okay, so moving on to a reading slump. I believe that there can be more factors at play in a reading slump than just not picking the right books for you. What else is going on in your life? Is there a big change you've been going through? Is there increased stress at work? Is something maybe out of the norm that you would be dealing with that can lead you to, maybe you're not able to focus on reading. That's the piece of sitting down and like, my brain just won't shut off and I can't focus on a book. Or maybe that's also at the moment, at this time in life, during these big, big changes and extra stress I might be dealing with, that I am not really enjoying reading right now. I don't dislike it. It's just not offering me anything. I'm not getting anything out of it at this time. Or, along with all of that, maybe it's just like I can't, for the life of me, pick a book that I'm enjoying. Nothing is piquing my interest. Nothing is really drawing me in. It's all just kind of like in that blah, but like, books that you would normally enjoy are feeling blah, are feeling like that middle area.

So, Those are some quick ways I determine. Again, I know there is some overlap, but I also think they can be very distinctive. Ruts happen out of routine going through the motions. Slumps come from possibly outside factors as well as, possibly just hitting a lull in your reading, maybe if you've been reading the same thing over and over and over again, you finally get into a slump where, , books you normally enjoy just are not striking a chord with you. Those are just some quick overviews and ways that you can recognize if it's a rut or a slump. And next week I'm going to talk to you about how to get out of a slump. Tips and tricks. So I hope this was helpful. And I always hope that this gives you something maybe new to think about, , in regards to your reading life. Until next week, friends, talk to you soon.

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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