I took three days off from reading.
No reading books. Or magazines. Or recipes. Or emails or texts or Facebook.
And I was amazed how little I missed most of it and how many more enjoyable things I found to do with my time. It really showed me how reading can enhance my life and how it can weigh me down.
Without being able to read, I spent more time ...
- sewing
- talking to my kids
- meditating
- thoughtfully eating
- sleeping
- walking
- doing yoga
- drawing
- writing in my journal
-talking to people in person and one the phone
- running errands I have been putting off
-cooking
- letting my kids read me bedtime stories
Without being able to read, I really missed ...
- snuggling in with a book before bed
-texting
- being able to refer to recipes
- checking my calendar and to-do list
- Pinterest
Without being able to read, I realized I can do without ...
- Facebook
- checking my emails more than two times a day
- reading while I sit in the car waiting for the kids to get out of school
- opening my computer before 8PM unless I am working on a specific project
After my three days, I feel much more appreciative of when I am reading for the joy of learning and organizing and more aware of when I am reading to escape doing something that requires more energy. I have vowed to put my computer away until the kids go to bed unless I am working on a specific project, I have vowed to look at Facebook no more than once per day, I have vowed to check my email at lunch and in the evening and I have vowed to allow spare moments to be just that. I have vowed to be fully present when I am reading instead of just using it as a distraction.