What To Do When You’ve Got Too Much To Read

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Books. They’re lovely, but I know I’m not the only one with the habit of stockpiling them and then never reading anything, because I look at the pile with panic rising in my throat and no idea what I should start on next.

Fret not, my friends! I have a way to solve your problems. You might get through things a bit slower than you normally would, but that’s better than not getting through it at all, right?

So here’s what I want you to do:

1. Make a list of what you have to read. Mark everything that’s time sensitive (a library book, or related to a deadline, for example) and the due date, so you have those to reference.
2. Now draw up a list of the days of the week, Monday through Friday.
3. Assign books to days! Depending on how many books or infoproducts you have and how much free time you have, you might have one book a day, or three.

Here’s what my list looks like right now:

(affiliate links, btw)

Mondays: Evolutionary Witchcraft and 31 Days to Become a Better Blogger*

Tuesdays: The UnderWorld Initiation and The Fire Starter Sessions

Wednesdays: Shamanism As a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life and the World Changing Writing Workshop

Thursdays, Fridays and the weekends are whatever I want to read. Of course – I’m almost done with 31DBBB, and I just checked out a bunch of new library books, so this will be revamped for next week. That’s actually the only downside to this method – I have to keep rewriting schedules since it’s actually helping me get through things!

This sounds a bit odd, I know, but it works so well. Here’s my theories why:

• Most importantly: It keeps me from getting bored. If a book is going slow or is written rather thickly but is still something I want to read, I know I only have to read one or two chapters and then I’m done for the day, and I don’t read it again until next week. It also leaves me looking at the schedule and saying “Oooh, I get to read on that one tomorrow!”
• I have no rule about reading books on days they aren’t scheduled, so if I find a book particularly compelling I can curl up with it and read it all at once.
• If I have a time sensitive book, I can schedule it twice or more a week, and I actually get done reading it before its due date!
• Also, it makes me feel like I’m following a curriculum titled Being More Awesome, or something. But that’s pretty dorky, so I know you’ll keep my secret.

Give it a shot, if you’ve also got too many books to read and too little time!

*If you’re interested in the 31DBBB ebook, use the code “november25″ at checkout to receive 25% off your purchase! (Also works for the Copywriting Scorecard ebook, in case you’re curious.)