Today is the day.
We took a trip to the library last week, me and my boys, and let them wander the shelves until they each found something that actually called to them. No pressure, no agenda. Just books they wanted to read.
Today we start the habit. Fifteen minutes of reading together, every day.
It sounds so simple. And it is. But it also feels like a quiet kind of victory, because getting here, figuring out how to get back into reading after years away from it, took longer than I want to admit.
I Used to Be a Reader
Not just someone who read occasionally. I was the person who couldn’t sleep without a chapter first. Who got genuinely excited to pick up a book at the end of a long day. Who lost whole weekend afternoons to a story that wouldn’t let her go.
Then somewhere in the chaos of mom life, that habit quietly slipped away.
I didn’t notice it leaving. It just went. And without realizing it, the space where reading used to live got filled in by my phone. Doomscrolling in bed instead of pages. Mindless scrolling instead of something I actually loved.
It’s one of those things you don’t fully recognize until you’re already deep in the pattern.
Why Doomscrolling Is So Hard to Break
The phone is designed to keep you coming back. Reading isn’t. That’s exactly why so many of us, readers who genuinely loved books, found ourselves losing the habit without meaning to.
If you’re trying to figure out how to get back into reading after a long break, the first thing I’d tell you is this: don’t try to out-willpower your phone. Replace the habit instead.
For me that meant finding authors who made me want to stay up too late. I picked up a few books and put them down again. Restless. Distracted. Not quite hooked. Then I found a couple of new-to-me authors and something shifted.
I finished one book in a week. Then another in four days.
I remembered what it felt like to not want to put a book down. That feeling I had missed more than I knew.
Start Smaller Than You Think You Need To
A reading habit doesn’t have to be an hour. It doesn’t have to be quiet or perfect or happen at the same time every day.
It just has to feel like something worth returning to.
Ten minutes with the right drink in your hand and a book you’re genuinely excited about will do more for your reading habit than a blocked-off hour you never quite get to. Start there. Build around the feeling, not the schedule.
Think about what makes reading feel like a treat rather than a task for you. For some people it’s a cold drink on the porch. For others it’s a hot cup of something and a blanket. The sensory details matter more than they seem to, because they signal to your brain that this time is yours.
Give Your Books a Home
One of the small things that quietly derails a reading habit is not knowing where your book is.
If it’s buried under the mail or lost in the couch cushions, you’ll skip the ten-minute window you had. Put your current read somewhere intentional. The nightstand, the tote bag, the basket by the back door. Somewhere it’s easy to grab.
And keep the spot you actually sit in mind, not the spot you intend to sit in. A book on the nightstand does nothing if you’re asleep before you reach it.
The Season You Start In Doesn’t Matter
People wait for the right time of year, and there isn’t one.
Summer loosens the schedule and gives you longer evenings. Winter gives you dark afternoons and a reason to stay under a blanket. Both work. What matters is having a spot that makes the whole thing feel like a reward instead of a task.
We have a patio this year, something I haven’t had in a long time, and sitting outside with a book while my boys play has quickly become one of my favorite parts of the day. A chapter in the fresh air. The sound of them in the background. No agenda, no notifications.
The real version sometimes looks like three pages before someone needs a snack. Even three pages counts. Progress doesn’t have to be perfect to be real.
The Simple Habit We’re Building as a Family
Here’s what our reading routine actually looks like.
Fifteen minutes a day, side by side, each of us with our own book.
My boys picked out their books at the library, books they actually wanted to read. That part matters more than people think. When a kid chooses the book herself, reading stops feeling like a chore and starts feeling like something she gets to do.
Same goes for us, honestly.
If you’re building a reading routine and you don’t know where to start, start there. One library trip. Let yourself wander. Pick something you actually want to read, not something you feel like you should.
Then find fifteen minutes. Same time every day if you can. Morning coffee, lunch break, after school pickup, before bed. Wherever the quiet lives in your day.
That’s enough. That’s everything, actually.
A Few Things That Help It Stick
Keep one book in your bag at all times. Not your phone, your book. Waiting rooms, pickup lines, and five quiet minutes at the park all count.
Read what you actually want to read. This is not the time for books you feel like you should get through. Pick the one that sounds fun.
Let yourself read more than one book at once. One for the nightstand, one for the bag, one for the porch. Different moods call for different reads.
Tell someone what you’re reading. A friend, a book club group chat, an email list you love. Saying it out loud makes it more real.
Let a book fail. If it isn’t working after fifty pages, put it down without guilt. A slump is very often one unfinished obligation sitting on a nightstand, and setting it down ends the slump immediately.
One Small Thing That Makes It Easier
Here’s something I’ve learned as both a reader and someone who makes magnetic bookmarks: the little details matter more than we give them credit for.
A regular bookmark falls out. You set your book down, someone bumps the table, a little hand gets curious, and suddenly you’re flipping through pages trying to find your spot. It’s a small frustration. But small frustrations have a way of adding up when you’re trying to protect a fragile new habit.
A magnetic bookmark stays put. The pages close around it, it holds, and when you come back your place is exactly where you left it. One less thing standing between you and the story you were in.
It matters most in the seasons that are hardest on a book. Sand and water in the summer, a bag that eats everything inside it year round, a house with kids in it always. A magnetic bookmark quietly does its job so you can focus on the book.
That’s exactly why I make them.
Ready to Start?
You don’t need a perfect reading nook or a whole hour carved out. You need a book you actually want to read and a few minutes that are yours.
Maybe it’s the patio after drop-off. Maybe it’s lunch, a real lunch, with a few chapters and no phone. Maybe it’s fifteen minutes before the house wakes up or after it finally quiets down.
And maybe, like me and my boys, it’s just making a small promise to yourself and starting today.
If you want something pretty to mark your place while you’re at it, the magnetic bookmark duos in my shop are $10 and come in pairs. Cozy reader themes, encouraging quotes, seasonal collections. Pretty enough to make you smile every time you pick up your book. Sturdy enough to stay put through the chaos.
With gratitude, Cindy 💜
P.S. I’d love to know, are you trying to get back into reading too? What finally pulled you back in? Hit reply and tell me.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get back into reading when I’ve lost the habit?
Start smaller than you think you need to. Five or ten minutes a day with a book you genuinely want to read is enough to begin rebuilding the habit. The key is replacing the doomscrolling reflex with something in the same moment, whether that’s bedtime, lunch, or morning coffee, so reading starts to feel automatic again.
Finding an author who hooks you helps more than any schedule. If the first book doesn’t pull you in after fifty pages, put it down and try another. A slump is very often one unfinished obligation sitting on a nightstand rather than a lost ability to read.
How do I build a reading ritual that actually sticks?
Attach it to a sensory cue and a fixed spot rather than a time slot. A ritual is just a small habit with something pleasant wrapped around it: a warm drink, a blanket, a lamp instead of the overhead light. That cue is what your brain starts looking forward to.
Keep your book where you actually sit rather than where you intend to sit, since a book buried under the mail costs you the ten minutes you had. And keep your place reliably, because hunting for your page is how a short reading window gets spent without any reading in it.
What is a good reading routine for busy moms?
The most sustainable routine is one that fits into time you already have. A chapter at lunch, fifteen minutes on the porch while the kids play, or a few pages before bed are all enough.
Keeping your book somewhere visible helps too. The easier you make it to pick up, the more often you will. Carrying one in your bag turns waiting rooms and pickup lines into reading time you didn’t have to schedule.
How do I get my kids into a reading habit?
Let them choose their own books. A library trip where they pick whatever calls to them is more effective than assigned reading.
Sitting together and reading at the same time, each with your own book, also helps normalize it as something the whole family does rather than something kids have to do alone.
Why do magnetic bookmarks help with a reading habit?
They remove a small but real friction point. When you know exactly where you left off and can pick up your book without hunting for your page, it’s easier to read in short windows throughout the day.
That matters most when a book gets moved around: tossed in a bag, carried across the house, or handled by curious hands. A magnetic bookmark closes inside the pages and stays put, so coming back to your book is a little easier every time.
How long does it take to rebuild a reading habit?
Most habit research points to somewhere between three and eight weeks for a new routine to feel automatic, but the honest answer is that it depends on how much you enjoy what you’re reading. Finding the right book speeds everything up.
Give yourself grace in the first couple of weeks. The habit is forming even when it doesn’t feel like it yet.
If you’re ready for a bookmark that actually stays where you left it, the A Reader Lives Here Duo and Reading Past My Bedtime Duo are good places to start.
And when you’re ready for something to read, here are a few books worth staying up late for.
If the hardest part is protecting the time itself, The 5-Minute Reading Reset is free. A short story most reading moms recognize, a simple seven-step reset, and a tracker for your first three sessions.