How to Read More Books on a Busy Schedule

You know you should read more. Every successful person you admire talks about their reading habits. But between work, social life, exercise, side projects, and the general busyness of your 20s, reading feels like a luxury you cannot afford. The truth is you have more reading time than you think. You are just spending it on things that feel urgent rather than important. The average UK adult spends over 3 hours per day on their phone, much of it scrolling content that adds nothing to their life. Reclaiming even 20 minutes of that time for reading would add up to 20+ books per year. Here is how to make it happen.

The 20-Minute Rule

Forget ambitious targets like "read for an hour every day." That is how reading habits die before they start. Instead, commit to just 20 minutes of reading per day. That is it. Twenty minutes is short enough that it fits into any schedule, long enough that you make real progress, and sustainable enough that you can do it every single day without burnout.

Here is what 20 minutes per day actually achieves:

• Average reading speed is about 200-250 words per minute
• 20 minutes = roughly 4,000-5,000 words = about 15-20 pages
• 15-20 pages per day = roughly 1 book every 2-3 weeks
• That is 20-25 books per year from just 20 minutes daily

Twenty books a year puts you ahead of 90% of people. And it only costs 20 minutes. The key is consistency over intensity. Twenty minutes every day beats two hours once a week.

Where to Find Your 20 Minutes

The most common excuse for not reading is "I do not have time." But you do. You just need to identify the time that already exists in your day and redirect it.

Morning Routine

Read for 20 minutes as part of your morning routine instead of checking your phone. This sets a productive tone for the day and gives your brain quality input before the noise of work begins.

Commute

If you take public transport, your commute is prime reading time. Twenty minutes on the train or bus, twice a day, gives you 40 minutes of reading without carving out any extra time. If you drive, audiobooks transform your commute into a learning opportunity.

Lunch Break

Instead of scrolling social media during lunch, read for 15-20 minutes. This also gives your brain a genuine break from work rather than the false rest of social media.

Before Bed

Replace 20 minutes of phone scrolling before bed with reading. Screens emit blue light that disrupts sleep. Physical books or e-readers (with warm light settings) help you wind down while also building your reading habit.

Waiting Time

Carry a book or have a Kindle app on your phone. Waiting rooms, queues, delayed trains, the 10 minutes before a meeting. These micro-moments add up to significant reading time over a month.

How to Make Your Reading Habit Stick

Remove Friction

Put a book on your bedside table, in your bag, and on your desk. If a book is always within reach, you are far more likely to pick it up. Put your phone in another room during reading time to eliminate the competition.

Read What You Enjoy

Do not force yourself to read books you think you should read. Read what genuinely interests you. If a book is boring, stop reading it. Life is too short to finish bad books. The goal is to build a reading habit, and you will not do that with books you dread opening.

Use the Two-Book System

Always have two books going: one non-fiction and one fiction (or one challenging and one easy). This way, you always have a book that matches your current mood and energy level. Tired? Pick up the lighter read. Energised? Tackle the challenging one.

Track Your Reading

Track the books you read and the pages you complete daily. Seeing your progress is motivating. Apps like Goodreads or a simple note on your phone work well. You can also track reading as a daily habit in PeakLevs.

Join or Create a Reading Group

Social accountability works. A reading group, even an informal one with friends, gives you external motivation to keep reading. Discussing books with others also deepens your understanding and retention.

Audiobooks and E-Books

Physical books are wonderful, but they are not always practical. Audiobooks and e-books can dramatically increase your reading volume:

• Audiobooks: Listen while commuting, exercising, cooking, or doing household chores. Audible and Libby (free via your library card) are excellent options. Speed up to 1.25x or 1.5x once you are comfortable to get through books faster.
• E-books: A Kindle or the Kindle app on your phone means you always have your book with you. The built-in dictionary and highlighting features are also useful.
• Combine formats: Read the physical book at home and switch to the audiobook during your commute. Many services sync your progress between formats.

Reading More and Remembering It

Reading more books is pointless if you do not retain anything. Here are practical retention strategies:

• Highlight and annotate. Mark passages that resonate. Write brief notes in the margins or in a separate notebook.
• Write a brief summary after finishing. Spend 10 minutes writing the key takeaways from each book. This forces your brain to process and consolidate the information.
• Discuss what you read. Explaining ideas to someone else is one of the best ways to solidify your understanding.
• Apply what you learn. After finishing a non-fiction book, identify 1-3 actionable ideas and implement them. Knowledge without application is just entertainment.

What to Read: Building Your Reading List

If you are not sure where to start, here are categories worth exploring in your 20s:

• Habits and productivity: Atomic Habits, Deep Work, The Compound Effect
• Psychology: Thinking Fast and Slow, Influence, Predictably Irrational
• Finance: The Psychology of Money, Rich Dad Poor Dad, I Will Teach You to Be Rich
• Career: So Good They Can't Ignore You, The Defining Decade, Range
• Biographies: Shoe Dog, Steve Jobs, The Hard Thing About Hard Things
• Fiction that matters: 1984, The Alchemist, Man's Search for Meaning

Start with whatever genuinely interests you. Do not read a book because it is on a list. Read it because the topic excites your curiosity.

Start Tonight

Put a book on your pillow right now. Tonight, instead of scrolling your phone before sleep, read for 20 minutes. Tomorrow, read for 20 more. Do this for a week and you will have finished nearly 100 pages. Do it for a year and you will have read more books than most people read in five years.

The compound effect of daily reading is extraordinary. Each book adds knowledge, perspective, and vocabulary that compounds over time into a significant intellectual advantage. Start small, stay consistent, and let the habit build.