There are so many quotes attributed to a people around what they prioritize, what they are busy doing, and when they’ll make excuses rather than time. I’ve said it a few times before in posts regarding my prioritization for reading to improve my own life and my work in a high school library.

Here is one thing that works well for me: I read during my lunch. I have very strong feelings about people in education who don’t make time in their daily schedule to sit for a few minutes to eat lunch. You might not need one hour or a whole class period, but you also shouldn’t NOT have time for it either– even if it needs to be scheduled. I say this because I dislike when people are eating in a meeting with me because “they don’t have time” to eat and I also don’t want to hear anyone complaining that they didn’t eat at all. Just like “when it’s important, we remind”, food fuels our bodies and it’s important to nourish them but coupled with that is the peace it brings for just a few minutes each day in our hectic school lives. I want everyone to treat themselves well.

So during my lunch, you’ll see me reading. I might spend a few minutes on my phone, but there’s always a book on the table. Often I’ll pick a nonfiction book and a lot of times I’ll choose a graphic novel format that’s separate from the fiction title I’m reading (that you’ll still find me lugging back and forth to work with the off-chance that I am somewhere where I need to kill some time). Plus, they’re often titles from our library’s collection so it’s entertainment, relaxation, and still fruitful. You can find those titles that I read during my lunch at school on Instagram with my hashtag #literarylunchbox. Titles that I’ve read recently during lunch at work:

• Body 2.0: The Engineering Revolution in Medicine
• Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds
• Infinite Hope: A Black Artist’s Journey from World War II to Peace
• Earth Day and the Environmental Movement 
• The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 
• How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert
• Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A graphic novel
• The Great Nijinsky
• Pilu of the Woods
• Sunny Rolls the Dice

An additional reading window I’ve given myself is a 15-minute timed reading session in the morning. My morning routine consists of waking early to work out and then I typically moved through breakfast and tea, the televisions news and the newspaper, and helping my kids before school. In between the post-workout shower and waiting for the hot water to boil for tea, I set my phone timer and read for 15 minutes. It’s not sexy or luxurious to time yourself reading, but again, it gives me an extra few minutes before the day really starts and I feel good about the prioritization.

Where can you find some time to make reading a priority each and every day?