Book Goals and Pairing

There are things I want to do but don't have time to do.

Actually, scratch that. There are things I want to do but don't make time to do.

Those are very different things and learning the difference has greatly helped me actually do the things I want to do.

BOOK GOALS
Those who know me know that I am a reader. You may have even figured this out by now (I'm sure it's come up a time or two here on the blog). I'm such a reader that I take a book with me virtually everywhere I go. I read in any spare minute. I've been doing this practically my whole life. Or, you know, since I learned to read.

About half-way through high school, I decided I needed to start reading more non-fiction. Read things that were beneficial and taught me something or let me learn something. (Yes, you can totally learn from fiction, but generally you learn more from non-fiction). So I started on my quest to find non-fiction I enjoyed reading.

Last year, I told myself I wanted to read thirty non-fiction books. I made a list, 1-30, in the back of my planner and let myself fill it in with whatever books I wanted. It just had to be non-fiction. I read non-fiction much slower than I read fiction, so it is a bit more involved for me and I tend to be less excited about a non-fiction book than I am about the latest fiction book in my favorite series.

This year, I made categories. I had four different authors and I wanted to read several books they had written. I picked a few books from my "to-read" shelf on Goodreads and for the final category, picked some business books. Next year, my plan is to read twenty books off my "to-read" shelf - physical and electronic.

You may wonder why a reader like me needs these goals. It's simple, really. There are always "newer" books around. I'm never at a loss for something to read. And I collect new books to read faster than I can read them. So making a goal, vague as it is, helps me actually do something about the books I want to read, while still giving me freedom to read what I feel like. If you aren't in the mood for a book, you won't like it and you will hardly read it. Believe me, I know.

(It took me years, but I'm finally becoming okay with NOT finishing a book. That's been a hard lesson for me).

PAIRINGS
This is a relatively new concept for me. Some people describe it as pairing a pleasant task with an unpleasant one. Others describe it as putting together a task that requires attention with one that doesn't. Mine is a little bit of both, with a habit change thrown in.

I like the idea of podcasts. I want to listen to podcasts. Especially when the podcasts are done by people I really, really like! However, there are a very limited number of things I can do while listening to a podcast and I don't like sitting in a chair and listening to one because it feels like I'm not really doing anything. So I fall farther and farther behind on podcasts. What to do?

For a time, I'd listen to an episode in the morning between the time when I would wake up but wasn't ready to get up and the time I actually had to get out of bed. At one point, I had a temporary job and I'd listen to episodes driving to and from work. I usually can get a few episodes knocked out on a long car trip. What it has come down to for me is this - I need to listen to podcasts instead of music. When I'm driving in the car, making dinner or baking, or working outside, my default is music. I need to make a habit change and listen to an episode of a podcast. These things don't take brain power, so my attention can be on what I'm listening to.

I will occasionally listen to a podcast episode while walking on the treadmill, but I like to watch episodes of a show instead. I get to enjoy a show while getting exercise. If I'm watching a movie downstairs, I try to ride the stationary bike, or use my hula-hoop. I really don't like to exercise, so it gets me moving while doing something I want to do (watch my movie).


I'm learning that it's not so much about my time as it is my priorities. There are things I used to do that have fallen by the wayside because they are no longer priorities. There are things I say I want to do but don't because they aren't priorities. It's not necessarily bad or wrong for them not to be priorities, (in the case of exercise it probably is a problem but I'm working on it), but I just have to acknowledge that this is what's going on. Priorities change with the seasons of life.

Can you relate? What's something you want to do but haven't made a priority? Is there a way to make it a goal or pair it with something else so that you can make it a part of your life?