Window Reads
Dear Reader,
One of the best ways to approach the “read, just read” imperative, however much its innate value is overstated, is to plan in advance for reading windows.
The most obvious approach to this involves saving readings on your phone, as it’s always handy. Of course, phones are also designed for distraction, so your reading windows might quickly mutate into endless scrolling or some other semi-interactive internet amusement. This isn’t to denigrate the phone read (or other online reads); it’s to note that phone reads can’t be the total of our window reads, not if we truly wish to make use of such windows.
Window reads generally have to be planned for, which is rather annoying. Who wants to plan for what seems best suited to whimsy and the joys of the unexpected?
Here’s the thing: window reads have to be planned for in order that they can happen. “Planned for,” does not necessitate “scheduled,” however. What you must ready yourself for is the opportunity presented when windows appear (which often appear unexpectedly). You should also consider the types of windows that can appear. Someday, a full classification of the types might present a worthwhile project, but for today, we’re just going to look at them rough-hewn form.
So let’s consider three possible windows:
1) The Occasional Five-Minute Window
2) The Semi-Alert Daily Ten-Minute Window
3) The Fully-Alert Thirty-Minute Window
For each of these windows, your relative mental focus is among the considerations you’ll have. The reason we plan for reading windows is so that we can accommodate our future selves—whether we’re tired or alert, seeking respite or edification.
Five-minute windows are what most people get in their day. For these windows, books that are structured at the paragraph or two-to-three-page level are ideal. Business books are great for five-minute windows, as are pop “takeaway” books (these are sometimes called “big idea” books, but they are generally indistinguishable from business books). Many memoirs are structured to fit into a five-minute reading window, and how-to manuals can be an ideal five-minute companion. Magazine articles and many online reads can also be comfortably squeezed into five-minutes. (For kids, joke books and comic books are great. For overgrown kids, even more options exist.)
So you’ll want to select a few possible reads, whichever ones might grab your fancy, for the five-minute window. You can leave some in your home; others, you may wish to stash at the office or in your car.
For a semi-alert ten-minute window, one that is scheduled-in by your commute or something else, you can easily double your five-minute window reads. You can also select materials that you’re mostly interested in—novels and short stories can be progressed through in these regular windows. Nonfiction reads—articles or books—that require a little more mental investment fit here. Some fiction and nonfiction reads will be too long (or too difficult) for your daily ten-minute window. Consider this the time for reads of intermediate difficulty or length. You can have one book only or several books if you’re thinking a parallel read might best appeal to you during your regular ten-minute windows.
The fully-alert thirty-minute window is certainly a luxury. Some people schedule them in regularly (their day job typically overlaps with these enterprises). For most people, though, a thirty-minute window that can be used for engaged reading is an irregular occurrence. The best use of these really depends on the person. If you’re an absolutist type of serial reader—even if the possible interrupting read would be from a vastly different genre—then you should use that thirty minutes to settle into a nice groove with the reading you’re already in the middle of.
For most people, even regular serial readers, these thirty minutes present a great opportunity to do mentally taxing work, to stretch your boundaries. Some academics write in such organized fashion that you can put down their book and then pick it up again two weeks later and continue from where you left off, when your next thirty-minute window is found. These academics are rare, however, so be careful about your ambitions there. Harder articles and books do fit well in the fully-alert thirty-minute window (e.g., those found in “Paired Reads”). Some magazines can be read cover-to-cover, so if finishing your read in the thirty minutes is important to you, make certain you have one of those at hand. If you have a good memory, harder novels can fit well here. Plan for a few different reads that would fall into the “saving for a day when I have the mental energy for this” realm. Then you’ll have options when opportunity strikes.
Obviously, there are other windows one can find for reading. One thing window reads hold in common is that they aren’t typically scheduled, aside from something like a train commute (and the commute is what’s scheduled, really, you’re just adding your reading endeavors to it). Window are prepared for, but that’s simply so they are available when you want them.
So, what are your reading windows? And if the concept is new to you, which type of read do you find most appealing to have at the ready, for when the mood strikes?
Happy reading to you all,
Kreigh