Read in the morning

If the early sunrise has you up, use these extra minutes for something more satisfying than your phone

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to read in the mornings. If you're up
a little before your alarm clock, spending a little time

(00:25):
reading can be a great way to make this time
feel satisfying. So this episode is airing right around the
summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, when the days are
the longest that they are going to get. The sun
is up early, and while maybe some people have great
blackout shades and imasks, I tend to just accept that

(00:50):
I will wake up earlier during the summer that I
might during the winter. If you are up before you
truly need to be up, what you do? I know
a lot of us pick up our phones and scroll.
It is easy, it is brainless, But then it can

(01:11):
feel like this bonus time was just thrown at something
you might not have actively chosen. Especially if your partner
or kids are still sleeping, You probably don't want to
get up and create a lot of noise. That's what's
so appealing about the phone. You can use it without
getting up or turning on the lights. But your phone

(01:34):
is good for more than headlines, text threads, and social media.
One of the best things you can do on your
phone is read books. Reading an ebook on your phone
is absolutely as easy as opening any other app, and
has the benefit of feeling a bit more satisfying than

(01:55):
many other apps. Lots of people say they would like
to read more if you're up a little early with
the sun during the summer, this is a great way
to get just a few more minutes in minutes. Add
up fifteen minutes a morning for just four mornings a
week is an extra hour, which means that in a

(02:16):
month you could read an extra book over the course
of the summer. That's three more books on the summer
reading list that you just might get through. I tend
to buy a lot of e books through Amazon. They
are cheaper than hardcover books and get delivered instantly. Here's

(02:37):
a little hack that might get you reading more. You
can get a free sample of most e books, and
it's a pretty generous sample. So even if you're not
sure you're going to like a book, or if you
want to invest the money in buying it, you can
get the sample, and that way you're going to know
by about ten percent into the book. If you are

(02:57):
going to want to read more. If you don't, no harm.
You're not out any money, but you still spend the
time reading instead of doing something else. So other retailers
like Barnes and Noble also sell ebooks for their eReading apps,
and you should check them out as well. You can

(03:18):
use the Libby app and borrow ebooks from your library.
This is completely free, though, as with anything that is
free in monetary terms, sometimes you pay in waiting time.
It's going to be harder to get a popular book
on Libby because there will be a line for it.
That's why I tend to buy ebooks, as these are

(03:40):
pretty cheap entertainment in the grand scheme of things. But
in any case, you want to make sure you've got
ebooks ready to go in the morning. That way, if
you open your phone early in the morning in this
extra time, you will be ready to read. If you
somehow forgot to get in an e book, just go

(04:01):
to Amazon and get the free sample of whatever the
hot new title is and start reading that now. If
you are up hours before you need to be up,
that's a slightly different matter. Maybe you want to go
do a workout in that time, or start a big
creative project. But if it is really just a few minutes,

(04:24):
reading is probably your best bet. It feels better than scrolling,
but handled right really doesn't take any more effort. In
the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening

(04:53):
to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
you can reach me at Laura at Las, Laura vandercam
dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For
more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

(05:15):
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.