Reading is the best way to pass the time while traveling

 What is the best way to pass the time while in airports, airplanes, and trains? it is reading!

I've always loved reading, but I recently rediscovered the pleasure of reading, and I try to read as much as I can.

I truly feel the benefits of reading regularly: I'm more relaxed, more concentrated, more patient, and everyday a little more knowledgeable.

I found out that reading while I travel is the best way to recover from the traveling day. It can be because I've walked around a lot, or because I spent the day at the beach and I want to relax further, or just because I'm in transit in an airplane or in a train (I'm not able to read in buses though...).

But it is not easy to keep a regular reading schedule.

How do I create the habit of reading?

Reading is hard! Especially when you compare it to watching TV, YouTube, or using any social network.

The problem most of the times is that it is difficult to start reading a book and very easy to stop reading it.

So how do we overcome the difficulty in starting and how fast we abandon a book after 30 pages...

I've noticed that having a rule to myself to read at least 2 pages everyday works wonders in terms of creating a habit. 

Sometimes I read just 2 pages, but most of the times I go further beyond the minimum I set for myself.

So, in my opinion, the secret to read a lot is to read everyday. 

That's when the small habits come into play. You should define an objective that is so easy that you cannot fail (like my 2 pages minimum). If you do so, and commit to reading that minimum limit everyday, at the end of the year you'll have read a significant number of books.

You can also think about minutes of reading: define a target like 15 minutes of reading everyday (you can find 15 minutes, right?). 

Let's say you can read more or less 10 pages in 15 minutes. After one year, you will have read 3,650 pages. If we consider that a book has on average 300 pages, you'll read 12 books in one year, with just 15 minutes everyday.

Thinking like this completely changed my reading habits. I'm reading a lot more now.

Reading while traveling

I love reading in airports, airplanes, and trains.

We have nothings to do in airports, and what we can do doesn't add a lot of value in our lives: do we really need to buy more chocolates or perfumes in the 2 hours we have left before your flight?

In airplanes, I usually have nothing to do, so I usually watch some movies and read.

Reading in airplanes or in trains truly makes me relaxed, particularly because I know that when I arrive, I've done something useful with my time, and I will also be more relaxed.

What to take on a trip: books, tablet, or e-reader?

Books are the best.

There's nothing like paper: the touch, the smell, the printed letters, holding it,etc.

However, bringing 3 books with me just takes a lot of space in my bag and makes it a lot heavier. Therefore, I decided I would try and read in a tablet or in an e-reader.

It was the best decision I made. 

I got myself an obsolete cheap iPad, loaded it with some e-books and now I take it everywhere I go. I can bring the same 3 (or more) books, without taking extra weight or taking up a lot of space inside my bag.

An e-reader would also work perfectly for this. It would be even better, to be honest. I just opted for an old iPad because I could get hold of an unused one very cheaply.

What I wasn't expecting is that I now take the iPad everywhere and use it only as an e-reader. This has actually made me read a lot more since I can read anywhere and without needing any light.

Conclusion

I love reading, and I truly feel the benefits of reading regularly: I'm more relaxed, more concentrated, more patient, and everyday a little more knowledgeable.

Also, I know that when I arrive at my travel destination, I will have done something useful with my time.

I always take a cheap iPad with me during my travels and read everywhere: airports, airplanes, and trains. 

I can't recommend enough having a tablet or an e-reader. The ease of use is just amazing, and there is no extra weight added.