Saturday, August 31, 2013

Discussion: Time Management

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single bibliophile in possession of a good book to read must be in want of time to read it. Am I right or am I right? As bloggers, I think we all struggle - a lot - with managing our time, reading, commenting, reviewing, and formatting our blogs. It's time-consuming and it doesn't really give us all that much in return. Except, you know, that little thing called happiness. ;) 

I've been asked - multiple times, actually - to write up a post about how I manage my time. Many people seem to be in awe of the fact that I comment on roughly 12-18 blogs a day, post reviews once in two days (max.), and manage to read at least three hundred books a year. 

Well, I'm here to tell you it's not all that unusual.

A List of Reasons Why I Can Read As Much as I Do 

1. Adulthood = Sucks. Many bloggers who read YA are adults, which means you have to take care of kids or cook meals or pay bills. I don't have to do any of that. I wake up, go to school, come home, study my butt off, and repeat the process. So, if there's any secret to my reading habits, it's probably my age.

2. Boring Blogging = Easier Blogging. In case you haven't noticed, my blog is very green. (It's my favorite color.) Maybe your blog is blue or red or purple or maybe it's ALL of those colors. What I'm saying is this: I don't spend a lot of time formatting my blog. I know my header and button aren't very pretty. I'll change it. Eventually. I know my posts are plain. "Title, Author, Rating, Review. Add a picture." BAM. But this works for me. I know tons of bloggers who have gorgeous blogs with reviews that have links to bookstores or include a synopsis or do a number of other creative things. I also know tons of bloggers who are active meme participants or vloggers. I don't make vlogs or participate in too many memes, which is a personal decision I made because I found that (a) I look/sound terrible in videos and also happen to get a lot of my books on my Kindle and (b) back when I participated in memes I used them as placeholders for reviews instead of enjoying the meme itself, which I recognized as incorrect and stopped. For a lot of bloggers, though, these memes and vlogs really work and I absolutely love seeing them (so don't stop!), but it does take a lot less time to organize my posts when I don't have to edit videos or format ten pictures for Top Ten Tuesdays. 

Now, I just wanted to get that out of the way. I'm not here to boast about how many books I read (honestly, I feel awfully embarrassed writing up this post, but a good friend convinced me that many readers were interested in this topic, so here I am, writing this post!), but I am here to tell you that although you may not be reading as much as you like, you're probably doing a lot of other wonderful things, like spending time with your family or on other areas of your blog. 

Time Management Tips & Tricks: How to Squeeze in Reading & Blogging into Our Everyday Lives

1. Read Fast. I read roughly a hundred pages an hour. I don't know if that seems like a lot or not, but it will help to keep that in mind as this list progresses. 

2. Read Everywhere. I mean this statement literally. I, for instance, manage to read for seventeen minutes before I even leave the house every morning to catch my bus. How? (1) I read my Kindle while I brush my teeth for two minutes and (2) I read my Kindle while I eat breakfast every morning which usually takes fifteen minutes. Which means that before I've even left the house, I've read roughly twenty-five or more pages. I also find time to read in school, especially if I've finished a test earlier and have free time. Or on the bus back since my friends and I usually stay after school for various activities, so I find myself a nice twenty minute reading slot, so on a normal school day, I return home at 3 PM having read a total of fifty pages, combining my morning and afternoon reading slots. 

3. Read Regularly. No matter how busy my day is, even if I'm pulling an all-nighter and only finish my physics project at 3 AM, I make it a point to read for thirty minutes before I go to bed. Which means another fifty pages, usually. If you're doing the math with me, this equates to roughly a hundred pages in one day. If I'm reading a normal, four-hundred page novel, I can have this done within a week. And over the weekend, I put in some extra time to have another book finished within those two (or three) days. Which means that during the school year, I finish two books a week. 

If you commute via bus, train, or even car, your regular reading time could be during this time period - an audiobook while driving, an e-book on the bus or train? Just make it a point to read every day at one certain time (maybe after you make dinner but before you eat it?) and you'll likely find yourself reading more during the week. Otherwise, I used to read kind of any time I had free time, but that free time takes forever to present itself and before you know it, it's been three days since you last even looked at a book. It happens. *sigh*

4. Trust Yourself. Now, this is probably easier for some people and harder for others. I say trust yourself because I know a number of reviewers who write their reviews and re-write them and edit them and edit them again. Well, I'm telling you now: don't. Does your review read better when you edit it? Yes. It does. But does it really have a whole lot of different content? No. And this is an important thing I began to realize. I used to edit my reviews a lot - and I still edit any guest posts I hand it - but now, I've learned that just typing out a first draft of a review and running over it for spelling errors is more than enough. Ask yourself: what do you want your readers to know about this book? Characters? Plot? Flaws? If it's all in your first draft, then post it! We're not rating anyone on their best writing capability; we read reviews to find out whether or not we want to read that particular book. And if a reader can figure that out from your review, they're good to go. So: don't stress. Just write. (And post.)

5. Technology is Your Best Friend. I'm sure you've heard this one, but one thing that always surprises me is how few bloggers use their i-Devices or phones to comment on blogs. Both Blogger and Wordpress have very accessible websites on technological devices which have made my life about fifty times easier. I sometimes have mornings where I just want to snuggle in for a few extra minutes, although I'm already awake, so I use those mornings to log into Blogger and start reading and commenting on blogs. It's so much easier to read blogs on my iPhone, believe it or not, and I've become very adept at commenting as well. I also comment on blogs all the time. When I'm waiting for the microwave to heat some food, I'm commenting on a blog. When I'm waiting for my computer to boot up, I'm commenting on a blog. When I'm changing or packing my bag for the next day I'm usually reading a blog post. I carry my phone everywhere, which also means I have an ability to comment everywhere I go. It's quick and extremely efficient too.

Also: USE APPS! I use the Twitter App all the time to read author interviews or just find new blogs that have reviewed a book I'm curious about reading. The GoodReads App is my favorite, though, since I can read & like reviews (without the distraction of those shiny polls and thoughtful quotes) and occasionally jot down a few thoughts on a book I finished to help guide my reviews. 

6. Inspiration...Use It! I tend to review books in one of two ways. Either I finish a book and immediately know exactly what I want to say, in which case I type out my review immediately and format it on the blog as well. Or, I usually have no idea what to say and leave it on my GoodReads shelf to return to. And once in two or three weeks, I am struck by an intense urge to review. I don't know if this happens to a lot of other people, but it happens to me, and I usually manage to belt out three or four long reviews and have them formatted for the blog over the course of an afternoon. Which usually means that my "draft" shelf on Blogger is a lot longer and I don't have to worry about reviewing for almost another month, in-between guest posts and "Showcase Sunday" memes. I know writer's block can be a pain, but when inspiration strikes, drop everything and run to the nearest computer. Also: don't just stop at one review. When I get my reviewing done in chunks, I feel so relieved afterwards and can really just focus on enjoying the reading part of this hobby instead of worrying about the other parts. 

7. Find a Review Format...and Stick With It! I know a lot of reviewers who have a very distinct style, which I love - especially on dual-run blogs - since I can tell who wrote the post without even needing to look at their name. I also know a lot of reviewers who are extremely creative in their review approaches every week. And, you know what? - to each their own. I do think, though, that it's important to create a general format, if not of the review of what you want in each review, so that reviewing is easier. I used to be really tense about reviewing because what if I forgot the character's personality? or didn't mention the romance I really liked or skipped over the action sequences? Now, however, I have a mental checklist of everything I want to include in any review, regardless of the book, and while reading I try to add to that mental list if the book has something extra I want to discuss. 

For instance, I always mention the protagonist, the love interest, and any flaws I saw in the novel, but in some reviews - like my recent review of The Bone Season - I felt compelled to discuss the genre because I thought readers might like to know that this isn't a book that belongs in one genre, but rather one that elements of multiple genres. So, even if you don't have a strict five or six paragraph review format, knowing what you want to say really helps. I know I have a tendency of thinking about a book long after I've finished it and finding more and more interesting things about it, but prioritizing - secondary characters, summary, villains, time period, etc. - can make sitting down and writing that review so much easier.

8. DNF, DNF, DNF! A lot of readers feel guilty for not finishing a book - and I totally get that. I was exactly like that last year. I've come to recognize, though, that I'm happier when I'm reading what I want to read and what I like to read. I hate slogging through a novel because I have to. No matter how much better the book gets by the end, there is no erasing the fact that hours of your life were wasted flipping page after page. I believe that DNFing a book is perfectly acceptable as long as you've (a) given the book a chance and (b) explain why you were unable to finish the novel. Of course, if you really, absolutely, cannot DNF a book, that's fine, but think about it. A bad book takes at least two times as much time to read as a good one, so you could be reading two great books instead of finishing a bad one. Just my take on it. 

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Um...that's all I've got! Obviously, what works for me isn't going to work for everyone. I'm one of those highly competitive people who is competing with her own book pile, so I have a fierce determination to just keep reading. Also, reading (honestly) keeps me sane since I go to an extremely competitive school district and find it easy to lose track of where I end and my grades begin. So, really, I do extreme things like reading while brushing my teeth to keep my sanity intact. I really tried to think, though, of both things I do consciously (using my iPhone to comment on blogs, reading regularly every day, reading on the bus, etc.) and things I do subconsciously (mental checklist of topics to discuss in a review, random intervals of inspiration, etc.).

Also, I think it's important to keep in mind that while my challenge is to read at least three hundred books a year, whatever your challenge may be, it is a challenge, and that's the important thing. I hope this managed to help some readers, so let me know if I missed any important tips or tricks in the comments below! Happy Reading! :D

22 comments:

  1. KEERTANA. I LOVE YOU.

    I freaking love this post. Not only did I find out that we are very very similar in our blogging/commenting ways, but I also learned a few tips from you that I feel Iike will help me get through junior year! First: I'm obviously also a teen, so that also takes away the working and taking care of a child, etc., but I definitely have extracurriculars. And I find that yes, memes sometimes feel like they take more time than reviews; they are definitely more complex in formatting (memes will be decreasing on my blog this year I think). And vlogs.. I do make vlogs, but I don't post them. Pointless? Maybe, but their so fun! (I love talking to myself...)

    And unfortunately, I'm nowhere near as fast a reader as you are, I actually only read a page per minute, so around 60 pages an hour. But I can utilize the "read everywhere" tip! I read on the bus ride to and from school, but perhaps I should try reading when I brush my teeth as well :) And I SO agree with you in the "read regularly"! Usually if I don't touch a book for a day, I end up not touching it for a week. Consistency is key!

    And I'm definitely not one of those bloggers who edit their reviews over and over again. I can honestly say that it saves me so much time! And EEP I was so excited to see that you're a mobile device commenter too! (I'm actually commenting on my iPod as I speak). I find that I read and comment faster when I use a smaller screen (although I tend to have more typos when I use a mobile device). I also comment in bed too!

    I actually remember you talking about DNFing books when you feel like it, and I took your advice! It's made reading so much more fun and less tedious. What's the point of pushing yourself through a book that you hate, when reading is supposed to comfort you?

    Wow I basically wrote my own post in this comment, but I seriously love this post, Keertana! Thanks for taking the time to write it and sharing your tips and tricks. :)

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  2. Can I just start off by saying how flipping awesome you are Keertana? My first week of school was this week, and I wanted to slap somebody because of the insane amount of homework I had. Seriously, I've already had to stay up until 1 in the morning, and debate season has even started yet. Le sigh. I barely even got the time to look at my blog, let alone comment back or do any reviewing, which made me so sad. I go to a RIDICULOUSLY competitive school as well, and it is so awesome to know someone who understands this pressure with rank being EVERYTHING. Your whole existence, basically.

    But yes, this post comes at the perfect time for me as I'm trying to weave blogging and reading into my routine.

    I was just like "YES" to your point about making a dedicated time for reading. I did that this past week, and managed to read a 500 page book over the course of the week, which isn't normally good for me, but with school and all, I'm pretty dang proud. I managed to do this by setting a time to read every day- after I got home from school, I grabbed some food, and then read for at least 30 minutes, before I started my homework. It was the absolute perfect destressor, and I loved slipping into somebody else's worries for a while. I plan to continue this throughout the school year. Although, it's super impressive that you read even if you have to pull an all-nighter. If you're staying up though, it makes sense just to sacrifice another 30 minutes for YOU, and not the homework. This is something I'm going to be doing, because I have no doubt that I'll be having some long nights in my future.

    Also, why did this technology thing not come to me?!? I didn't even make sense of the fact that I could comment everywhere with an Apple device. I don't have an IPhone, but I can definitely use my Ipod and comment when I'm waiting for my food to heat up and similar things. This is GENIUS. I know I'll be able to comment so much more now, since I'll be doing it in tiny chunks. PERFECTION. I love, love, love this idea, Keertana.

    Using inspiration is something I don't do on a regular basis, but I wish I did. I plan to schedule things at least a week in advance now, so I don't have to worry so much about posting, and can focus on commenting regularly. I always feel so inspired when I'm blasting some hardcore music on Friday nights- and I plan to utilize that.

    This was seriously one of the BEST posts I have read, period, and I'm bookmarking it. I loved every single word that you wrote here, Keertana, and you've definitely lifted my spirits after my first week of school and my sadness at the fact that I was barely able to blog. I am always so impressed by how well you manage to balance your life, and this post is such a great testament as to how you do it. <3

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  3. @Jen: I'm so glad you enjoyed this post! I was really nervous that a lot of readers would think I was being really presumptuous by writing it, so I'm thrilled it wound up being useful! And I'm so excited I'm not the only one who uses my iPhone to comment! It really makes everything SO much easier. Also, I'm thrilled that DNFing books has worked for you. I think once you start, you get over your previous inhibitions and begin to read a lot more books. Thanks for the wonderful comment, Jen! :)

    @Aneeqah: Yup, my school starts this week which is why I figured it would be a good time to post this. I totally comment ALL THE TIME, especially when waiting for food to cook, so I hope that tip helps you. I'm also not one of those people who just crashes and sleeps - it takes me a LONG time - so reading helps me de-stress and also sleep better, so it's a bit of a win-win situation. Anyway, I'm really glad this helped you - I wasn't sure if it would actually prove to be useful - so I'm really happy! :D

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  4. You're right, adulthood DOES suck! I'm only twenty-two and don't have kids or anything, but dear god the whole paying bills/maintaining an apartment/having a full-time job and going to school full-time has eaten up so much of my time! I used to read so much, and now I feel horrible because I don't even read 100 books a year on average.

    For those who do worry about not reading as much as they'd like, the reading 30 minutes a day (or even for 20 minutes a day) is a really great rule to have for yourself. I've been implementing it lately, and it helps a lot. It keeps your interest in reading up and makes you want to finish, so by the time you DO have time to just sit down and delve right in, it's like a treat for yourself.

    Great post!

    ~Jaclyn at Ink & Tea Reviews

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  5. This is my reading life in a nutshell! This post is perfection. You read so much more than I do and it's amazing because I've developed the lazy habit of being "too tired" to reach over and pick up a book. This inspired me to start squeezing in time to read. If other teenagers with busy, hectic schedules can do it, so can I! Thanks for the post, Keertana!

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  6. I second both the read for 30 minutes before bed and the DNF DNF DNF habits. A million years ago when I was in college, my friends were always amazed at my ability to read a for fun book every week (the usual load at my school meant each of the five classes required a book a week of reading, so we already had a ton of reading). But, I kept up the habit I'd started as a kid and always had a novel I'd read before I fell asleep--I swear this really did a lot in terms of helping my exam-time stress too. And man, I embrace the DNF like there's no tomorrow--why finish something you're not enjoying? Life's too short!

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  7. What a great post!! I see that a lot of people struggle with posting and commenting daily, but like you said adulthood sucks :D I want to be a student forever. Also everything is about organization. I like you usually read and then later go back and do a review. Great tips girl. I still haven't managed to read 300 books a year but I'll get there someday ;)

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  8. I know I've said this to you before but you truly are one of the awesome teenagers I have ever met! I would have loved to work with a student like you when I was working in University! I absolutely love this post because you touch upon a lot of things that I think about. In University I used to wake up before my housemates and read for at least half an hour before I got ready to go to school which I loved because of all the silence. If I could manage it I'd read at night, but most times I was too exhausted to give a book any attention.

    I think what you said about trusting yourself is incredibly important. Sometimes I'll write a review and wonder if it's too short or too long and in the end I think to myself "okay you know what, I've said what I wanted to say and I like what I've said, so I'm leaving it at that." Oh and I LOVE the fact that you march to your own drum beat Keertana. I'm seriously proud of you for that :).

    I also like the fact that you don't do the whole links to amazon and other stores thing. I did that with a few reviews and personally I was just thinking to myself, people don't need me to do that for them. They can do it themselves and I feel like I'm forcing them to buy the book. Yes I do want them to check out a book because I loved it, but I want them to check it out because they want to as well. I love the layout of your blog, I never thought it was boring for one minute. I've always admired it :).

    I personally am not an app user on my phone or tablet because I do prefer typing on the computer. That being said I usually try to dedicate time to reply to comments and check out other people's blogs. Sometimes life does get in the way, but I try my best to keep up to date.

    Finally I think I can do the whole DNF thing. I felt guilty all this time for not finishing books. I realize some books are slow and they take time to develop, but if it's with characters I just can't stand then relationship= over with me.

    Thank you for writing this awesome post :D. And I'll get back to your TRB email :). Also I might make a post with songs I thought about for a RVB playlist, if there any that you thought about, send me an email with the songs and I'll link them on my post :).

    Cheers,
    Savindi

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  9. I am an infrequent blogger. Much of that is because I read all over the place. Thriller, Non fic, Photography related books etc etc. and my blog's primarily for YA & paranormal. I am a magazine lover in a big way. So mostly what all I read, I can't always blog about, much to my despair.
    That said, what I totally love about your post is the determination that shines out. That is in a word, fabulous! Keep it up girl. Reading this was brilliant.

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  10. I love this post, Keertana! So many good points and I'm sure I'll forget to mention all the ones I love, but here I go. I totally agree with you about DNF. You're right it does take twice as long to finish a book that's not working out and I've come to realize that I just don't want to waste my time reading books I don't want to anymore. I try to be careful about requesting but the blurb doesn't always match the insides.

    I've been using audiobooks to increase my reading time and it's usually for my pleasure reads that I'm not obligated to review. I love UF & the historical romances in audio book format.

    I like your idea for reviewing without multiple edits, and I do usually go by a set format when I review as well.

    I'm not into prettying up our blog (Jasprit mostly does that) because I usually don't have a clue how to do it. Although we did just get some new banners that I'm excited about, but I didn't do them!

    You are right, having less responsibilities does free up lots of time to read, so I'm glad you're taking advantage of that now, because unfortunately that won't always be the case.

    Lovely, lovely post, my dear! :)

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  11. Keertana this was such a wonderful post! I'm always thinking how does Keertana keep on top of things? I have those days all the time, where I intend to get up early to catch up on posts, but I end up staying in bed longer instead. I usually do try to read everywhere I go, but sometimes I'm so shattered that I don't read before I go to sleep. But I'm definitely going to try your 30 minute rule and try to DNF more books. Honestly I slog through so many books, but I really should spend more time with books that I actually enjoy reading! Thank you so much for sharing your brilliant time management plans, I will certainly be trying a few out! :)

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  12. WHHOOOA. KEERTANA! You incredible person/alien you! This post is amazing. AMAZING. I've always wondered how you manage to so consistently comment on my posts as soon as they go up (you're literally always one of the first!) and I still can't wrap my head around it. And you read so much and write the most wonderful reviews. I'm really not convinced that you're human. ;) Time management is something that I really struggle with as a blogger. I'm terrible at DNF-ing, can never really write my reviews in one go, and spend forever tweaking my blog posts and the formatting. I do comments in batches too, which I've come to learn takes FOREVER. I need to start taking your approach. :D

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    1. Gosh, I totally forgot to talk about commenting in batches! I am scared of it, so I don't know how you do it, Sam. It does take FOREVER and even worse, I start typing silly comments by the end since I'm so tired. That's why I try splitting my comments up in batches, so there's a morning batch and then an afternoon one and then maybe one in the night if I missed a couple of people. I think it's easier and I don't become jaded from commenting too, since that's mostly what gets to me when it comes to commenting.

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  13. WOW! This post is truly incredible, Keertana! I'm not a book blogger myself - just a reader of them. :) I admire those who do this, because it takes a lot of love and quite a bit of time and effort to blog about books. From your post, I learned so much about you as a reader and as a blogger, and it was very nice to get to know you better. I will restate what others have said about you, you are one amazing teenager, Keertana! It's true! The way you manage your time is inspiring, and your tips about reading throughout the busy work week is encouraging. I'd like to approach reading more like you and a little less like me, but I'm afraid I'm a bit slow as a reader. Still, I know I can squeeze in time here and there. I know I can. :)

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  14. I am even more in awe of you now, Keertana! THANK YOU for writing this post. It's truly an inspiration. (these numbers don't really correspond to yours)

    1) I have no idea how fast I read, but I think it's fairly slowly unless I'm deep in a book and then my pace picks up exponentially. But the kindle app on my iphone has insured that I can read ANYWHERE. I love that you point that out. However, I do have a family that I'm responsible for, and I can't ignore them to read. Unfortunately (just kidding!). But I know I wasn't that organized or motivated in high school! So you're far ahead. I read a lot in the summer, but got overwhelmed during the school year and couldn't focus on subjects and reading for fun. I was like that in college too.

    2) You make some great points about the mechanics of blogging and time spent reviewing. I tend to do a lot of formatting of my blog and that's time consuming. I also do a LOT of editing. I've never been a fast writer and rarely does a review flow out of me. Usually it comes in pieces. I've found that I can't rush it, or I will fail at it. You are probably the type of person who can whip out a several page paper for school too (jealous!). I do spend too much time editing though, and you make some good points about that. However, i'm not sure that's something about me that will change and I'm comfortable with it.

    3) I am a failure at commenting through my phone. I always want to edit my comments and when I try to go back it freaks out on me. Is there an app that makes it easier? You probably do that quickly without editing, so I'm sure it's not been a problem for you. Also, I find I really have to concentrate on a blog review to be able to comment intelligently, and I can't usually do that while out and about. But I am really bad at commenting and end up bombing people once a week, so maybe I should try your ideas more.

    4) LOVE what you said about inspiration. That happens to me too. I always write thoughts about a book down right away, but often I will have to sit with a book for a few days or weeks. Sometimes a review comes quick, and sometimes I all of a sudden know what to say! Occasionally I have to just sit down and force it though. I still think about making one easily used review format, though I think for me that may be more stressful than helpful. BUT I do have a few different formats that I use if I don't know what to say.

    5) I am a HORRIBLE DNFer. I'm afraid I'll miss a good book! Though usually that's not the case. I need to work on it.

    THANK YOU for this post! It definitely made me think of my own time management and how I could get better at it.

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  15. This is a great post. Unfortunately I can't utilize some of it as I HATEEEE typing on my phone, but I love reading how other people do it. Especially the DNFing. I like DNFing but I feel I have been doing it too much lately. I need to finish those dang review books that are sent to me. Or at least I am going to try.

    You are so right about trusting yourself though. I write the review, do a quick proofread, and then I am done. I know my reviews may not be as skilled other bloggers, but for the most part I am happy with them and I know I can't improve them much beyond my initial thoughts on a book.

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  16. Whoa, this is an AMAZING post, Keertana. I don't know why you hesitated about writing it, because I was gleefully nodding along in parts and going ohhhhh, that's how she does it in others, hah.

    I read really fast as well, and I also read EVERYWHERE. My teeth-brushing reading is usually a magazine, but other than that, I read in the tub, waiting in lines, when my husband's sleeping (I am such a night owl), etc. I always have something to read somehow, somewhere--and LOVE that you broke down the approximations of how many pages you accomplish in any given unit of time, hah.

    I hate typing on my iPhone, so I rarely comment that way--it's astonishing to hear you do so much of that on yours! I do like the GoodReads app, though it's hard for me to scroll past so many friends that I don't speak to as often.

    I tend to revert to tried and true formats if I'm stuck on a review too, although sometimes I still can't get over a block. Bleh.

    The biggest time suck for me, though, is the editing and re-editing a review. I'm sort of anal about that, and I wish I could get over it.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  17. Keertana, you are seriously one of my blogging heroes with how much you read, review, and comment, so I for one am so happy that you were convinced to write this post! It's seriously very helpful (and also I always find it incredibly interesting to learn about how other people blog). Unfortunately I don't have a smartphone, so I can't use those suggestions. But I like what you said about reading everywhere. I try to do that. I've been reading more on my Kindle simply because it's so much more convenient to carry around. And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who tends to delay writing my reviews. I have five books that need to be reviewed - eek! - but maybe I'll try to devote an evening or afternoon to writing them all out.
    Another thing that could help is designating certain days for reviews/posts to be published. I'm bad at this, but I imagine if you know a review is always going to get posted on Thursdays, that could make things a bit easier to manage.
    Thanks for being so open about what works for you!

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  18. I pretty much stick to everything you wrote and it makes things infinitely easier. I read everywhere! Like, in lines, while brushing teeth, I listen to audio while I'm in the bath tub, while I'm doing house chores and so on. AND I use apps too. I'm not a fan of the Blogger app for iPhone, but I DO use the Bloglovin app and I love it. Twitter app is also very important. I so rarely access Twitter on my laptop.

    Anyway, even with all that, sometimes life just gets the best of you, like it did with me in these last ten days. Moving is hard and I had very little time to breathe, but I'll appreciate being back on track more than I can say.

    Oh, and the most important thing in my time saving-bloggin life is my Google Calendar. I have a color-coded calendar where I write in all the arcs I receive, schedule them around the release date or when necessary and so on. I follow this when I choose what to read next and it helps me stay on top of things. :)

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  19. Reading really is worth the time spent and to spend time reading we need time and peace of mind. Moreover, making time to read is a huge task and we cannot concentrate on reading with tasks pending.

    I do make a priority list every day to complete and then start with my regular task, this helps me with some quality time, which I can spend reading. Also, thanks to Replicon time and expense software - http://www.replicon.com/web-expense and Google Calender.

    ReplyDelete
  20. You can advertise your business by including as numerous facebook likes as you can, as people constantly seek brands and items that have lot of sort on facebook. buy targeted likes

    ReplyDelete

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