reading in chunks

Over the past few months, I’ve been experimenting with a different way of reading. Specifically, I’ve been reading in chunks. I read a little bit of a book at once, find a natural break point, and put it down.

So far, this likely just sounds like reading a book unless you’re one of those folks who can sit down with a book and consume it in one sitting. I’m not, so on one level almost ever book I’ve ever read was read in chunks.

The distinction I’m making here is with the intentionality with which I’m reading in chunks.

For example, I like to spend ~30 minutes in the morning reading. I’ll pick up one of the books I’m currently reading and read until I get to a natural break in the text. This is most often a chapter break (if they’re short, I can sometimes get through two chapters in one sitting), but the key is that I’ll have a hard stop and not feel bad about it. If the chapter’s long, I’ll stop midway so I can get on with my day.

I repeat the process at night with a different book. At night, the temptation to keep reading is stronger - after all, I have nothing I’m running off to after, just sleep - but I do my best to stop so that I can repeat the next day.

From time to time, if I’m able to spend “another chunk” of time on a book, I’ll pick up a different book and repeat the process.

Reading in chunks like this means that I make slow progress in books, just a few pages a day. But, and this is the crucial part, I’m making progress in a number of books simultaneously.

This approach is certainly not the fastest way to finish a book, but it benefits from methodical progress that can be measured daily. I find that this approach to reading is a nice antidote to the uncertainty and fluidity of our days right now. Confined to our homes, the days can bleed together. Reading in chunks helps me to demarcate my days by measuring progress. Sometimes that’s enough. So, for now, I’ll keep reading in chunks and trusting that in time my progress will yield results.