Nobody has time to read. We’re a fast-paced, overscheduled, digitally-connected culture incapable of giving our attention to anything more than 140 characters. Perhaps a short blog post or text. Maybe an actual newspaper or magazine article, but only if we can find it on our smartphone quickly.

A book? Well, only if it’s short. And only if it can be read on the phone.

I don’t buy that. Not for a minute. Nor should you.

It’s never been easier to find the time to read. Stephen King, the prolific thriller author whose best book, ironically, might be his autobiography/writing advice book On Writing, says the key is to read in sips rather than gulps. If you wait for a long stretch of time to read, it probably won’t happen, though we recommend using the last 30 minutes before turning off the light at night to read.

But we agree with King that there are numerous 10-to-15 minute windows to read during the day. How about while parked – parked, not moving or at a stoplight- in a car line waiting to pick up kids? Or standing in line at Chipotle? Or waiting for the doctor or dentist? Or while waiting for food to cook or laundry to wash? Or while waiting for the kids’ practice to end? Or for the mechanic to finish with the car? How about while waiting for your co-workers to inevitably arrive late for the meeting? If you watch televised sports, how about during the endless commercials?

How about at the airport, a series of waits to check bags, board (inevitably late), take off (delayed again), while in the air, and later sitting on the runway waiting forever for a gate to open. King, a huge baseball fan, takes a book to the ballpark and reads between innings. Why not? What else are you going to do?

Most of us spend more time in the car than we’d like. Why not listen to books on CD or digital download? It beats talk radio, morning zoo deejay nonsense, and listening to the same tunes over and over. Plus it’s a lot less safer than using a smartphone in the car.

You no doubt have at least some of those opportunities above. It’s easy to fall into the habit of spending that time mindlessly reaching for the phone, checking social media and email, or watching whatever nonsense there is on TV, especially now that televisions have been mounted anywhere people wait: doctor’s offices, the mechanic’s wait room, restaurants, etc.

I attend several book festivals, sometimes as a presenting author myself, and it’s always amazing to see people standing in a long line with a book they just purchased, waiting for the author to sign it, and yet they’re either standing around bored or, more likely, scrolling through a smartphone. Just a thought: Why not start reading the book you just paid for and are waiting to get signed? Or some other book? You’re at a freakin’ book festival!

Here are just a few reasons to read:

 It sets a good example: If you want your kids to read, shut off television and digital media and read yourself. Set aside family reading time. Read books together. The young adult genre is the strongest segment of literature because the books appeal to kids and adults. You’ve no doubt seen the Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Divergent movies. Why not read the books with your kids? There are plenty of other similar series our family has read together, including Gregor the Overlander and The Unwanteds. Go back further and try The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia, to name just two. If you read, the kids will read, learn, thrive in school and establish a lifelong habit of learning. What a wonderful gift.

 You might, um, learn something: As a writer, I talk to high school and college students that aspire to write. When I ask what they like to read, I get puzzled looks. They don’t have time to read. They might keep up with the news via social media. Such a shame. The only way to build vocabulary and writing ability is by reading. Aspiring to be a writer without being a voracious reader is like wanting to be a singer or musician but not listening to music.

It’s mostly free: As someone who has made a good chunk of my living writing books, I’m hesitant to admit this. But I rarely buy books. That’s because the public library is America’s best bargain. You can check out virtually any book for at least two weeks. And if you’re not done with it, you usually can renew it for another two weeks. If it’s not a new release, you can get another two weeks. How cool is that? Not only that, you don’t have to search for the books. Get a library card, go online, and see if the book you want is available at your local library. If not, they’ll track it down from a neighboring one, have it brought over, and send you an email when it arrives, giving you at least three days to pick it up.

Not only does this save money, it keeps you from accumulating clutter. Books are heavy and take up space. Rarely do you read anything twice. For those occasions, just retrieve the book from the library. I once had a massive home library, but I donated or sold 90 percent of it since I could retrieve the books from the library or the information online.

Sure, you might have to wait for a new best-seller to become available at the library since many others have discovered America’s best bargain. But there are hundreds of thousands of terrific older books to read in the meantime.

I rarely do any book reading online or on a device, unless it’s an e-book not available as a physical product. That’s because it’s too easy to get sucked into the Internet or social media rabbit holes. Plus, reading on an electronic device at night affects sleep, making your mind believe it’s still light outside. Physical books and magazines are preferable.

The key is to take a book or magazine wherever you go to take advantage of the opportunities to focus your attention on what you want, not the tired magazines in waiting rooms, the nonsense chatter on TV, or searching for something on your phone.

By limiting your screen time, you’ll discover a dozen 10-minute windows a day — two hours — to read. Combine that with 30 minutes of reading before going to bed and you’ll be one of the most avid readers in America. Your knowledge and focus will expand, your productivity will soar, and you’ll live lean.

 

 

 

You’re stopped at a traffic light, perhaps three or four cars back. The light turns green. Three seconds pass, then four, then five.

Finally you blast the horn, alerting the drivers in front of you who have been staring at their smart phones. If you’re lucky, they respond quickly enough so that you make it through the light, a not unreasonable expectation for someone only three or four cars back.

This happens to me at least twice a day, every day. It wasn’t that long ago that we rarely used our car horns and then only to avoid a collision. As a young adult in Virginia, I’d dutifully take my car in for an annual state inspection, part of which included honking the horn. Since, until recently, most of used our horns only a few times a year, it made sense to test the horn to prove it was in working order.

We don’t have state inspections here in Florida. Heck, we know our horns work since we use them every day to wake up other drivers so addicted to their phones that they must send a text or check email or social media at every stoplight.

If anything, we’re wearing out our horns.

This isn’t about being considerate and not wasting other people’s time. This is about safety. When your eyes are focused on anything else but traffic, even while stopped at a light, you’re a distracted driver. You’re not scanning oncoming traffic for people running red lights. You’re not noticing animals that have wandered into the street. You’re not aware of runners, cyclists, and pedestrians, a group that’s increasingly dangerous themselves since they move about distracted by their own smart phones and ear buds.

No, you’re a distracted driver, one who is going to jerk forward as soon as you hear that horn and realize you’re holding up traffic. Hopefully there’s no cyclist, runner, pedestrian, or animal nearby because you won’t see them.

Some might think using those idle moments at a stoplight to catch up on things via the phone is a wise use of time. Heck, you’re living lean, making the most of every second!

Actually, that’s not the case. Much like frequent checking of email or social media at work or at home distracts you from the task at hand and requires you to re-focus, it’s also true when behind the wheel. It also reinforces a mindset that you must be doing something and have outside stimulation at all times.

Because of smart phones, many drivers are completely unfocused while stopped at lights. I used to be one of those people. I’d save certain phone calls for when I was in the car. At least that way I wasn’t wasting time. I checked my smart phone at lights constantly. By golly, I was making the most of my time.

Then I realized I wasn’t more productive. If anything, I felt less efficient, more frazzled. That’s because I was compounding the stress of traffic with that of trying to do work. I also was setting a horrible example for our children. I couldn’t very well limit their screen time and preach the value of living in the moment, in real time rather than online, if I spent so much time on the phone – especially in the dangerous environment of driving. We’ll have a teenage driver in our home in a few years, a scary prospect in the world of distracted driving, and he is learning from me right now.

So about four years ago I put the phone away. I turned it to silent and placed it in the console between the seats. This was about the time texting became ubiquitous. Since the phone rarely rings, I no longer have to worry about missing a call. There’s no text or email that can’t wait until I’ve arrived at my destination.

Once I eliminated phone use from the car, I found myself cutting back on the radio. I’ve adopted a low-information diet, eliminating as much useless chatter from my life as possible. So there’s no need for sports talk, news talk, no morning zoo deejay nonsense or rambling traffic and weather updates, and certainly no satellite radio, which we canceled in both cars. (Sirius XM gives it away for free for a week every month or two, which seems to always coincide nicely with our long road trips.)

I can get all the news I need each morning with 30 focused minutes online and with newspapers – yes, I still read physical newspapers.

Instead of driving being stressful, it’s become relatively enjoyable. I use it as time to chat with the kids or my wife – no devices in the car – and to actually think in quiet when I’m alone.

About two years after I adopted the no-phone, low-information drive time, I was in the first car accident of my life. A careless woman, speeding in a 25 MPH zone, blew through a stop sign and T-boned me, totaling our van and leaving me with injuries I likely will deal with for life. (Thankfully I was driving alone). She was uninjured but no doubt distracted, though we’ll never know for sure since she died of unrelated causes seven months later.

Was she using a phone? Or was she like many people who have become so stressed and rushed because they must fill every waking second with some sort of digital stimulation, giving up any focus to their lives?

I’ve forgiven this woman. Dead or alive, it makes no sense to spend energy on someone who has done you wrong. But I think of her daily when I see people behind the wheel with their eyes focused downward.

Whether the car is moving or at a stoplight, it’s hazardous to all of us.

And no way to live lean.

I set my alarm for 5:07 a.m., though I usually wake up a few minutes before the ringer sounds.

I could go with 5:00 or 5:15, but 5:07 is the perfect middle ground to get me to the gym by 5:45, where I either take a class or meet a training partner.

I wasn’t always a morning person. But I’ve found that the only way to remain dedicated to a training program is to get it done first thing in the morning. If you plan it for later, someone inevitably will steal that time away.

Training in the morning has been life changing. It provides an endorphin rush that carries me through the late morning hours, making it the most productive part of my day. It also gives me a feeling of accomplishment. No matter how crazy the rest of the day becomes, I know I at least nailed that workout.

Getting up at 5:07 a.m. is easy only if you get to bed at a consistent time, which for me is 10 p.m. That means lights out at 10. To be in position to fall asleep immediately thereafter requires a sleep ritual to wind the body down. That means no screens for the previous hour – no phone, tablet, laptop or television.

If that sounds like a Spartan existence, I won’t disagree. But I’ve found that if I can control the bookends to my day, it’s a lot easier to be productive for the 17 hours I’m awake. By getting quality, consistent sleep and working out daily at the same time, I have more energy and focus and require less caffeine.

Perhaps you work nights. I did, too, for a number of years and this schedule would not have fit. But judging by the vast array of occupations represented at my gym in the hours before 7 a.m., most people can make an early-morning workout fit into their schedule.

The U.S. Army once had a memorable ad campaign featuring soldiers hard at work or training in the pre-dawn darkness and then again as the sun came up. The tagline? We get more done before noon than most people get done all day.

When you get up early and train early, you can’t help but feel like you’re getting a head start on everyone else who is still sleeping. When you go to bed early, you’re getting a jump on those still watching television or living online.

This schedule isn’t for everyone, though it can work for most. If you’re struggling to find the time to train, however, it might be the solution.

 

 

It’s difficult to find a quiet place anymore. Retail stores feature pulsing club music. There are televisions in every waiting room – doctor, dentist, even auto mechanic – and even screens in taxis and elevators.

There’s no escaping the noise, not even in church. Church used to be a place of quiet, mindful reflection. Those arriving at church early knew to be quiet. It was understood that some were praying or at least engaging in the type of solemn reflection that probably drew them to a house of worship in the first place.

Not today. Enter a church 10 or 15 minutes before a service begins and it feels like you’re waiting for a concert or theater production to begin. There’s non-stop chatter. People are scrolling through their phones, checking social media, perhaps sending a few texts.

Before mass begins, a lector will make a few announcements, including a plea to silence all electronic devices. This never works. Inevitably during the mass someone’s phone will go off, usually during one of the most solemn points of the service and usually with the loudest, most obnoxious ring tone. And it’s often a phone belonging to a woman, who must scramble to retrieve the phone from the depths of her bag to silence it. Thus, the phone rings five or six times before it’s turned off.

Is there nowhere we can escape digital disruption? A Catholic mass, like the ones I attend, lasts roughly an hour, usually 50 minutes or so. Are we so digitally addicted that we can’t leave the phone in the car? Unless you’re an on-call physician, is there any possible emergency that can’t wait an hour?

Back when those hideous Bluetooth earpieces were fashionable – thankfully we moved away that – I knew a guy who would wear one in church. I always wondered if he planned to take calls during the service. I’ve sat next to people who text and scroll through social media feeds during mass.

Look, church isn’t for everyone. I’ve gone through periods, especially in recent years, where my attendance has been sporadic. But if you’re going to make the commitment to go, shouldn’t it be a time of prayerful reflection, a time to pause from the chaos of daily life and be mindful?

When 24/7 digital use became an issue a decade or so ago, priests used to address it. A few even called out the offenders. But now, like so much rude behavior involving phones – phones used at restaurants, movies, on airplanes, etc. – priests have resigned themselves to having disruptions in mass. I know they must do a slow burn at the altar, pausing while someone digs the phone out.

No doubt the priests are praying that people can somehow become more mindful – at least for the one hour they’re in church.

I’ve made one change in recent years that’s had a dramatic effect on my productivity, sleep, mood, focus, and concentration.

For at least one hour after waking up and at least one hour before turning off the lights and going to sleep I do not look at a screen of any sort. That includes everything: television, laptop, tablet, and phone.

There is numerous research showing that staring at a screen around bedtime impacts sleep since looking at a lighted device makes your body think it’s still light out. Plus electronics keep your brain busy and distracted at a time when it should be winding down. Remove all electronic devices from your bedroom and see how your sleep (and sex life) improves.

If you use a smartphone as an alarm clock, get a traditional alarm clock. Yes, this seems against the Live Lean philosophy. After all, a smartphone allows us to eliminate a number of gadgets. But having a smartphone in the bedroom makes it more tempting to use it. Plus, no matter how diligent you are about shutting off the device’s alerts and beeps, you’ll inevitably forget and be awoken by an unimportant midnight text by a night owl friend.

For most people, the challenge here is to eliminate television, social media, texts, and email from the evening. But the best way to get adequate sleep and better sleep while clearing time for more important stuff (like sex in the evening or working out in the morning) is to undergo this digital blackout.

If you’re lacking time for sleep, sex, exercise, or reading, you can reclaim it by ignoring screens for at least an hour before bed and an hour upon waking up.

Reading is the best way to wind down before turning off the lights. It’s not a good idea to read a thriller or mystery novel that will keep the mind racing and inspire you to stay up until the exciting conclusion. But set aside a few magazine articles or, better yet, some boring stuff you need to read for work that’s not pressing. It will help you sleep better and might even put you to sleep with the lights on.

If you think you’re too busy or popular to adopt this blackout, think again. A while back I was staying with a friend and his wife. This friend is the owner of several companies, with more than 3,000 employees. He is a speaker, consultant, and expert sought after by prominent athletes and business people. And yet whenever I stayed at his home, I never saw him look at his phone, tablet, or laptop in the evening. He didn’t even keep his phone nearby, even though he deals regularly with these prominent folks.

Early in the smartphone era, my friend saw me checking my email frequently well into the evening. “You know,” he said matter of factly. “All of that will be waiting for you in the morning.”

That’s so true. I figured if he could let the digital distraction go for an hour or two at night, then so could I.

The same is true with the morning. If you look at a screen, especially a phone, within an hour of waking up, you’re immediately distracted by the needs and wants of others. If you wake up early – and you will wake up early by eliminating screens at night and getting better sleep – you’ll have plenty of time to train, stretch, meditate, and fuel your body properly for the day. That first hour should be yours alone.

The only exception I make is for a quick glance at my phone for texts that might have come from my morning training partners or folks we carpool with who might have a change of plans. But that’s all. I don’t glance at other texts – there usually aren’t any – and I certainly don’t fall down the rabbit hole of social media, news, and email.

By implementing these one-hour digital blackouts as bookends to my day, I’ve carved out that time for myself and set the tone for both the day and the following day. I’m more focused, energized, productive, and calm, and the agenda I set is thus my own.