I’m a college student. This means not only am I swamped with piles of homework and surrounded by panic-inducing deadlines, but also that I have very little time for my precious fiction. All of my grab-a-cuppa, cozy-blanket reading time is spent studying school-related topics. For a sci-fi, fantasy, and classic literature-loving book nerd, this is somewhat saddening.

Many people experience this. Busy lives often get in the way of our bookworm-ing pursuits. One of the hardest parts of growing up and taking on more responsibility is finding time for the little things you love.

But fear no more! I’m here to bring fiction back into your life! In smaller dosages than you’d like, maybe, but we bookworms will take what we can get. Right?

So here are five ways to find reading time when there isn’t any!

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1. Switch out phone time for book time.

Many of us are guilty of spending a lot of time on our phones. Personally, I have a nervous habit of opening Pinterest or Twitter when I’m feeling stressed. If I counted how much time I spent on social media every day, I’d probably be too embarrassed to share it with anybody. Because it’s a lot.

I’m not saying let a book distract you instead of a phone. (Procrastinating by slaying dragons in your head is technically no better than procrastinating by scrolling through Instagram.) I’m also not saying give up your social media time altogether.

However, if you spend a lot of time on your phone in the morning or on break or before you go to bed, in one of those time-slots, try turning off the phone and picking up your book instead. You’ll be surprised how much you can read in the time you would have just been twiddling on Facebook.

2. Schedule reading time.

Make fiction a priority by penciling it in on your schedule!

Try making it a date! Go to Starbucks with your book. Go to the park with your book. Heck, have dinner with you book if you want to!

If fiction is something that really matters to you, try treating it as one of your priorities.

3. Take a book with you wherever you go.

If you keep a fiction book with you at all times - in your purse, backpack, adventure satchel, etc. - it follows that at some point you’re going to pick it up and read it.

You’ll find there are a lot of empty moments that you can spend reading. And even if there aren’t, keeping a book around will make you prepared for when there are.

Also, consider e-books for extra easy access to a supply of fiction.

4. Audiobooks, audiobooks, audiobooks.

This, my friends, has been my secret weapon. You can listen to audiobooks on transit, while you’re walking, while you’re picking up your laundry or doing your dishes, before you go to bed, walking the dog while getting ready in the morning. The possibilities are endless!

Not only are the possibilities now endless for where you can read, there are also quite a few possibilities for where you can get audiobooks. Programs like Overdrive or Librivox are great ways to get free audiobook downloads on your phone. There’s also a trove of books on Audible that are quite reasonably priced and very well performed.

5. Short stories

And lastly, there is nothing wrong with shortening your reading. If you’re not feeling up to a full length novel, try a something a bit shorter. You could read a short story. Many are only a handful of pages long, but still very rich in content. Or you could pick up a children's book. Again, much shorter, but no less valuable. There are even some great fanfics out there you could read

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And so there you have it! Five ways to increase your reading time.

Just remember that reading fiction is about you. It’s for stretching your brain and going to new places in your imagination. You shouldn’t feel any pressure to read any faster or slower than you’re able to read right now.

If you really want to read, you will read. And it’s okay if that takes a little more time than you’d like it to.