What Is Gap Reading?
In a nutshell, gap reading is the act of reading just a few lines in any and every small gap you can find throughout your day. For example—waiting in line for your morning coffee, sitting in the restroom, waiting for the bus, queuing for your lunch, etc.
While it may take a little getting used to, gap reading is great for those with a lot of reading material to get through and those who say they never have the time to read.
Is Gap Reading Really Effective?
Once you start gap reading, you’ll be surprised how much of your time you actually spend just queuing and waiting throughout the day.
Line by line, chapter by chapter, gap reading can help you to transform these unproductive minutes into a sustainable reading habit. The more you gap read, the more reading material you’ll get through and the more productive you’ll feel.
Tools to Help You Start Gap Reading
All you really need to start gap reading is a gap to fill and a book, but not all of us want to carry a book around with us all day—especially if it’s a large textbook or a chunky novel. Here are a few tools that will make it easier for you to get into gap reading.
1. An eReader
While eReaders such as ReMarkable somehow manage to feel like real paper, nothing quite beats the feeling of a real book in your hand. But real books can be heavy and bulky, and there’s no denying that an eReader takes up a lot less space in your bag and is a lot more convenient than carrying around a book.
Besides being lightweight, eReaders can also store a whole library of books, and many come with a handy backlight that allows you to gap read comfortably at night or in low light conditions.
2. Reading Apps
Depending on the size of your phone screen, reading on your phone can be a little less comfortable than reading on an eReader, but using a reading app is arguably more convenient if you often find yourself scrolling social media when waiting in line.
3. Audiobooks
Finally, if you commute by car, or find yourself walking a lot throughout the day, then an audiobook app may be the best way for you to consume more reading material. While it’s more listening than reading, you’ll still find yourself quickly chipping away at your library of books, all while driving to work or walking from place to place.
Many reading apps also double as audiobooks apps, making it easy to switch between media types depending on what you’re doing.
Making Time to Read Even When you Feel you Have None
So the next time you find yourself thinking, “I don’t have time to read”, stop and think about all of the potential gap reading opportunities in your day.
Picking up a book for just 60 seconds every day amounts to 7 minutes of reading each week—which quickly multiplies to more than 6 hours worth of reading each year!
