Catching up on your reading: the workplace edition

“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader”
Margaret Fuller 

I love to read. When I didn’t work so much I read a lot. Recently I’ve been pulled back into working full-time and like most working drones I’m too tired to read at night plus there are so many chores and tasks that it is hard to find the time.

The solution is to become a professional reader. Now I’m not talking about reading as a profession – like a proof reader or something like that. I’m talking about reading books while being paid to be work. Reading while working is like a stolen kiss. All the sweeter.

Here are 6 thought starters…ways to steal a few pages or chapters while you are on the company clock:

1. Pickup pocket sized books and read them in the loo.

2. Print out a few pages of an ebook and just read it at your desk. I find it helps if you stop occasionally, look thoughtful or do a few calculations on a calculator every so often. It all helps to create the illusion that you are engrossed in a serious business text.

3. Take lunch at 11 am and read for your break. The office canteen will be empty. So will local cafes if you feel like luxury coffee. I find this works really well for office productivity too. The quietest time at the office is between 12-2 pm when everyone takes lunch. If you have a break at 11 am you will have good quiet time to get massive amounts of work done. This leaves the rest of the afternoon free for reading 🙂 .

4. Travel reading. If your job involves travel you can read in airports, hotels and between meetings. Don’t feel the need to do any prep reading before meetings. Instead enjoy your recreational reading and then just turn up mentally refreshed and wing it at the meeting like everyone else.

5. Meeting reading. Find a despicable colleague (mine is code-sign ‘exciting new product’) and invite them to reading meetings. We already have 4 in our frat club. My dream is that one day my whole team (11) will become involved. My fantasy is that one day even the team leader, who is also just a job slob like us, might join in. God knows he needs some perspective.

6. Get a screen guard (under the guise of avoiding eyestrain).  Screen guards block people’s ability to see your monitor unless they are directly behind you. Once you have the screen guard fitted just bring in a bunch of ebooks on a usb drive and read until you strain your eyes for real. Best not read directly off the internet. Most companies employ spy monkeys who watch your internet usage.

Got any other tips? Click the comment bubble underneath the title and share!


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