Sometimes I think I have some kind of self destructive mentality where I give myself things to stress about! My dad was telling me last night that he gets concerned the way I stress myself about my reading and I know he's right. I worry about TBR numbers on a regular basis though I try not to, I always feel I should be reading instead of doing something else I want to do, I worry about not reading as much as I can to reduce the books on my physical bookshelves and I set targets each month that are too high and never meet them. I know I do all this and I'm trying to stop! I don't want to lose my love of reading but at times I feel too stressed to read a book because of it. Do you guys get like this?
Take last month. I set out targets in three categories and was so focused on the books that I didn't get a single shark film watched. It was clear that from a time point of view I wasn't going to get everything done, so what did I do for this month? Yes I increased the number of books and films to deal with. I mean, what's up with that! I have tons of films to watch and all these great sounding dvd box sets that I can't find time to watch so why do I overload myself with books! Something needs to change and I have a new plan. I've seen a few of you guys do this kind of thing for monthly reads and I'm going to try it. I intend to pick out ten books that are my must reads for the month's theme and explain why they make that list. My second ten will be the 'if I have time' list. If I read anything extra, it can be added to the list leaving room for rereads as well if I want to. That's the plan! That lets me watch stuff on TV when I feel like it and watch films and things too without getting stressed. I hope!
The other task I need to take on is re-doing my star ratings on Goodreads and my blog. I know how long that nightmare is going to take and I'm not looking forward to it. I also have a few new Goodreads shelves which I need to sort books into and that will be time consuming too. I need to transfer my finished reviews to Amazon as well though that is lower priority. Plus I'm still slowly deleting the stuff I no longer need off the computer. *groans* and I'd like to go back and tidy up those really bad blog posts from early in my blogging career. I hate doing all this kind of stuff but I want and need to do it at some point! A plan for winter perhaps...
We've done more sorting and tidying this week. I swear we're finding more stuff in corners and cupboards that needs to be dealt with than we thought possible. We're getting there though and I HOPE to swap the dreaded bookcases next week!
Sounds like you need to set goals that are easily reachable instead of pushing the boundaries.
ReplyDeleteOverall, what do these "targets" do for you? Are they worth it? I used to deal with the annual numbers thing but the last 2 years I simply haven't bothered. My reading hasn't suffered and my stress level has been reduced. A win-win :-)
Hope you can figure out something that works for you. Reading and reviewing definitely shouldn't be that stressful...
You're totally right. The targets are 'supposed' to keep me motivated but are having the opposite effect I think so I need to scale way back. I seem to get things sorted for a while and then gradually targets and stress creep back in! Need to stop the creeping!
DeleteMy reading is purely for pleasure, so I don't set any real long term goals. In fact, I didn't even stick to my weekly TBR, but I am ok with that. I do love tidying my GR shelves though. I so wish I had the insight I now have, when I first organized my shelves.
ReplyDeleteMy main issue is having too many books...that's what leads to the stress over TBRs and so on. I hope to tackle that by reducing the amounts I buy-haven't quite hit a solution yet!
DeleteI think your idea sounds like a good one. That's kind of what I do. The past two months I've found I've been picking up books randomly and you know what, I have been enjoying it. Now I DO have some arcs I need to get to because I'm neglecting them but it's been nice to go to the library, bring a book home and start one immediately. It's a different kind of feeling. I'm thinking of switching up my must and mights to a "Monthly Contenders" list. I need to find a cute little boxer dog with boxing gloves to make it work though. Hope you reduce your stress and hey, if you feel like watching tv and not reading - DO IT!
ReplyDeleteI've reduced my must read pile down to 12 for next month so that should be easier to deal with. The rest have been reduced to mights which takes the pressure off. Hopefully I'll watch more films and tackle the dvd box sets! I'm also looking at a book limitation scheme (calling it a book ban makes it too harsh!) for the winter but whether I can control the buying is another thing!
DeleteI’ve mostly given up on my reading challenges because my reading has been hopeless this year. Reading should be fun, so I’m just going to read what I like and not worry about numbers or challenges. When my TBR shelf starts overflowing, I cut back on book buying. I’m less stressed when all of my TBR books fit on the shelf and aren’t stacked everywhere. I don’t like chaos and clutter in my life.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I do need to stop buying! Trouble is, every time I go on a book ban, I last a couple of weeks then explode in a mad splurge! It's frustrating that I can't seem to control the buying. I'm 'hoping' for a sort of book ban over the winter but there will need to be exceptions like Game of Thrones!
DeleteI think you have set too many big tasks for yourself. I'd recommend only focusing on one. But who am I to talk? I do the damn thing and then I stress because it's taking me forever to finish review books :(
ReplyDeletePriority is sorting out the house...the computer tasks will need to wait! On the book side of things, I need to limit my buying over the winter so I can make a dent in the paperbacks. Trouble is when you follow Indie series, the books come thick and fast compared to mainstream authors which doesn't help and sometimes their books can go out of print so I tend to grab them quickly!
DeleteDon't be so hard on yourself. You get credit for trying. And if you didn't make your goal entirely, at least you were heading in the right direction. :)
ReplyDeleteI always put too much pressure on myself and I know I'm being a bit daft getting stressed about books of all things!
DeleteI put pressure on myself too, but I do backoff at times so I can get to those pesky things that sit in the back of my mind, like cleaning up the computer and organizing things better. Not enough hours in the day. And summer is meant for enjoyment. My favorite time of year and I won't sacrifice pool time. :-)
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
There aren't enough hours in the day, I totally agree! Wish I could get a time turner from the Ministry of Magic! This winter I am determined to relax and enjoy some TV, films, dvd box sets and just chill!
DeleteI've had this open in a tab for ages meaning to reply, because I totally do the same thing with stressing myself about my TBR -- despite everything I say on my blog about the important thing being that I'm having fun! People keep having to talk me round again periodically after I've fallen back into it, heh. Here's hoping your new method works!
ReplyDeleteIt's so easy to get stressed about reading isn't it! I just badly want to get a dent in the TBR but it won't happen unless I stop buying more books!
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