With my 100 Books list to conquer in two years (one book every week), I’ve re-structured my use of “free” time to make more time for reading. It’s not a perfect system — I’m still tweaking it — but it seems to be working so far.

Like myself, it seems a lot of adults are struggling after high school/college to find the time to read. The problem of finding time for anything beyond work, cleaning, cooking, etc. etc. etc. is a socially universal problem, really. I don’t have the qualifications or time to try to find a solution to the constant lack of time for everything we need/want to get done in a day. But I do have a few ideas of how to make more time for books, at least.

Make a short(ish) list

Give yourself direction and prevent both decision fatigue and the paradox of choice by making a list. Yours doesn’t have to be 100. It could be the ten books you want to read this year, or five classics you’ve never read, or the seven books all your friends have recommended. Just keep in mind that if it’s a long list (10 or more), you’ll want to diversify the genres and content so you don’t get bored or burnt out. (See my 100 Books list for inspiration.)

Set goals

If goals make reading feel too much like a chore or give you anxiety and undue pressure, skip this one. For me, setting goals helps me be more aware of how much reading I’m actually spending time on. My goal is to read one book every week. Yours could be reading 30 minutes every day, finishing two books every month, reading two hours every week — find what works for you.

Track your time

Outside of reading, I mean (though you can track that, too). As a personal experiment, for about two weeks I kept a log of everything I did every day and the times I spent on it. Besides learning that cooking takes way more hours each week than I’d predicted, I discovered that the time I spent on social media and entertainment (Netflix and YouTube, mostly) ate up insane numbers of hours in a week. Since that experiment, I’ve become much more aware of what times and how long I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, streaming, and so on. Maintaining that awareness and setting limits for myself frees up enough time to actually reach my reading goals, and just enjoy life more as a result.

Change your mentality

A baffling number of people seem to view the act of reading itself as a chore, a drudgery, something to get through because they need to in order to say they’ve read the classics or teach themselves something new. If that’s you, it’s possible you need to change your perspective on reading from something you have to do to something you choose to do, and then choose to make time for it. After all, nobody really needs to read all the classics, and YouTube has plenty of informational and educational videos. I watch a lot more informational YouTube videos than I read nonfiction books. Only read if that’s what you choose to do.

On the other end of the spectrum are people like me: people who have loved reading so much our whole lives that it became our primary recreational activity, our favorite hobby, our guilty pleasure. That mindset isn’t any more helpful to making reading time. If reading is only a fun thing to do, like watching television, and you’re as productivity-focused as the rest of American society, then you’ll put it at the end of every to-do list and never actually have time to get to it. Reading, including novels, is productive, enriching, and positive. It builds intelligence and empathy. It expands your worldview and, depending on what you read, exposes you to ideas and cultures you wouldn’t have encountered otherwise. Reading is a constructive, beneficial activity worth your time!

Track your progress

There are plenty of ways to track your reading progress, the way we did as kids to get prizes for the summer reading program. (Although now the prizes are personal satisfaction and potentially bragging rights.) I made separate GoodReads shelves for my 100 Books list of to-be-read titles and completed titles. I also write a lot of book reviews, when I feel like it. If you’re a less outgoing or outspoken reader, you could record your opinions in a journal instead. Maybe you’ll even find a book club to join, or just post reading progress on the GoodReads feed. Pick something that feels fun and rewarding.

Set a schedule

I’ve heard this one a lot, and it doesn’t always work for everyone. But if you have a regular daily schedule, it may be helpful to add reading to that timetable. You could get up a little early or read at breakfast if you’re a morning person. For night people, or people working to put more space between screen time and bedtime (guilty as charged), read before bed. When I worked in an office, I often packed my lunch and a book and read at my desk during my break. Don’t limit yourself to these time windows — I also read on days off, weekends, day trips, while traveling — but for day-to-day reading time, having a schedule in mind may be helpful.

All of these may not work for you.

Lists, goals, progress tracking, schedules — these things aren’t for everyone. They’re just tricks I’ve found useful for myself this year. Pick a few of my tips, or come up with your own, and find out what fits your life best.