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Melody's 2025 Reading

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  I read 72 books (21k pages) in 2025! That’s fewer books (and fewer pages) than I read in 2024, but still a lot of books, and I’m happy with the numbers. More e-books than last year but fewer audiobooks and print books. The print book situation is one I want to address in 2026; this has little to do with the sacredness of print and is more because of how I read the different formats. I typically turn to e-books when I would be scrolling instagram (or thredup), which means I’m rarely reading for more than a few minutes at a time. It does not lend itself to long books or rich books. Yet there are long and rich books I want to read! For the first time ever, I’m going to make a list of books I plan to read this year, and these will be long, rich, and print. The most intriguing element of my reading this year was my commitment to the Goodreads challenges, where you earn badges by reading books from specific lists during a specific range of time. I’m pleased to say I got every badge pos...
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The "Box" Method of Time Management

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In March 2024, I decided to start tackling the pervasive feeling of overwhelm I’ve had since…forever. I could not tell you exactly what part of life I was overwhelmed by. Just…everything. I knew that “everything” would be an unhelpful answer if I did decide to seek help, and so I did the first step of any budgeting project: I started tracking my time. I used the toggl app  (not a sponsor), which allowed me to quickly “time in” and “time out” of any given project. This time tracking led to time budgeting, which led to a weekly project that, though rigorous, is working for me. I can’t remember the last time I spiraled into tears because of an overwhelming task list and an inability to prioritize it in the moment. For me, this is huge. This change is not because the task list has gotten any shorter, or because I’ve found a way to make more time. Neither is true, and I have a long, long way to go in protecting my calendar.  Here are the solutions my method provides for me: Quickly...
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Melody's 2024 Reading

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I started out the year with a 48-book goal and a mentality of grace. I didn’t want to strive for it. Just be chill. Apparently chill is 74 books, the most I’ve read in a year since 2012. How to account for this metoric rise? My initial guess was a combined explanation of more print books (due to vacation time and improved time management) and more audiobooks. But let's look at the data. Turns out, my print-book reading didn’t change much from last year! However, I did intentionally increase my audiobook reading this year--and it shows. I’m really grateful for the ability to adjust playback speed…for most of my life, audiobooks and I have had a tenuous relationship. The speaking speed of most narrators is slower than that of my thoughts, and this means I lose focus very quickly. Yay for 1.5x! The e-book reading increase I don’t really have an explanation for, other than…I really love Libby. It’s is the most-used app on my phone on any given week, by far. Shameless and apparently ann...
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