Good morning, everyone!
It’s me, the other videographer at JetPens!
This week, I’ll be trying out our CEO Shu’s reading routine.
When I heard she can read 100 books a year, I was shocked.
I love reading, and hopefully this challenge will improve my reading stats.
Let’s go over her routine and stats as I make breakfast.
She also gave me 6 tips that I’ll share with you as I try her routine.
Feel free to make some tea and join in the reading session!
Breakfast oatmeal and tea are ready to go!
I can pretend I’m at a cafe.
Since breakfast is too warm to eat, I will plan my reading for the month first.
Tip 1. Use a planner to track your reading habits and plan monthly reads.
The Jibun Techo has a Gantt chart, which is perfect for tracking reading.
The paper is also designed for “erasable” pens like this Pilot FriXion Multi Pen.
In the left column, I write down a shortened version of the book title.
Some books I started already. I’ll write down the page number I stopped at.
Here are the books I’m working on this month!
Have you read any of them already?
What books are you reading now?
Tip 2. Use a bookmark that sticks out (like this Galison one) to set a reading goal
and entice yourself to hit the target based on the reading speed of 2 min/page.
I’m reading Six of Crows this month — it’s pretty popular lately!
I’ll probably stop around here after this session today.
If I am reading a large book while eating, I use the Raymay Kenko book stand.
It’s easier and more comfortable to multitask this way!
Breakfast time: read a fiction book for 30 min to get those creative juices flowing.
Done! Time to clean up and pack for work.
Tip 3. Bring a book with you on the go, so it's ready when you want to take a reading break.
In this Lihit Lab bag-in-bag, I keep my work planner/book tracker and a smaller book for breaks.
Also, my phone with audiobooks and my planning supplies.
Off to work!
Writing down my top tasks for today. Black is for miscellaneous tasks.
Blue is for event items.
Red is for my main projects.
I also like to make a key for the books I’m working on this week.
The Iconic 2Way Marker Pen tips fit perfectly in the small Jibun Techo grid.
This task probably won’t take too long today.
For listening to audiobooks, Shu recommends using this Lihit Lab Carrying Pouch.
It’s spacious enough to put a large phone, earphones, and other everyday carry essentials.
Tip 4. Listen to an easy audiobook while you do “mindless” tasks.
Building IKEA furniture and props can’t be that hard... can it?
Shu likes to wear the bag around her waist like this.
Here we go!
Okay, that was a struggle to build, so I didn’t have more footage of me making it...
This rack will hold all the clothes we wear for videos.
We’re putting it in front of Josh’s desk, so it’s kind of like a privacy screen.
Do you recognize some of these clothes?
Clean up time! Glad I also got some “reading” done.
Working on a video release next. Maybe you’ve already watched it by now?
This task is text-heavy, so I can’t listen to my audiobook here.
Reviewing video for mistakes I might have missed.
Making the thumbnail. Trying some ideas.
Tweaking captions.
Now my favorite time of day.
Eating time!
Ah yes, our microwave is haunted.
For audiobooks, setting a timer also tells me when my lunch break is over.
I am enjoying the stories in this memoir so far!
Lunch time: listen to an autobiography audiobook for 30 min.
It’s definitely a relaxing way to spend mealtimes!
Back to work after I clean the table.
Shooting our next video all about the Kokuyo Campus lineup.
I can’t listen to audiobooks sometimes when shooting
maybe because my brain is figuring out how to stage or film scenes.
This flatlay will be a transition scene in the video.
Now I will film all the different types of notebooks like this
then make them animated graphics.
I filmed a chunk of the Kokuyo video, so now I’ll take a short reading break.
Afternoon break: read a “slow” book for 20 min.
Tip 5. Use a page marker to color code quotes, references, questions, etc
to give you a sense of accomplishment as you read!
These Sun-Star Sralit page markers are handy for marking passages to remember.
I also use this dog Hisago Embroidered bookmark to go with the theme of this book.
John Steinbeck was a great writer, so I like to mark my favorite parts in this book.
Back to work!
Video... all day, every day.
I forgot to mention, but the camera is mounted to the stand.
When I’m ready to film, I press the connected wired remote.
Tidying up near the end of the day, so my workspace is ready to go tomorrow!
Updating my planner to see how much I need to do tomorrow.
Going home now!
Dinnertime: listen to an autobiography audiobook for 30 min.
I feel like I’m making good progress on this book by listening to it a few times a day.
The audiobook app has a bookmark feature, so I can save sections to return to later.
After dinner, I’ll update my book tracker with my progress.
For audiobooks, I write the number of minutes listened to so far.
For ebooks and paper books, I just write the current page number.
Now to finish some chores and prepare for bed.
I’ll use these to take notes for my bedtime reading session.
Very excited to read this book after I finished her first one!
Bedtime: read a nonfiction book for 60-90 min because the chapters are shorter
or more distinct making it easier to put down when you’re ready to sleep.
For notetaking, I use the Pilot FriXion, Sun-Star Sralit, and this Midori MD sticky memo.
The grid is helpful for writing neat notes!
I put these on my headboard to make it easy to grab as I read.
Marie Kondo says to keep things that spark joy.
This pretty Toyo bookmark sparks joy for me!
I’m trying to better apply her technique to my life and possessions,
so I will summarize sections that are helpful.
Adding page markers to find my notes faster.
Since I tend to make mistakes when taking notes,
the Pilot FriXion is great because it won’t leave eraser crumbs on my bed when I “erase.”
Lots of information to digest as I sleep.
Good night!
Hi again! It’s me after a week of trying Shu’s 100 Books reading routine.
Shu recommends creating a To Be Read (TBR) list, so I’m working on that now.
Tip 6. Keep a long To Be Read list and organize them into categories
to make it easier to find the perfect book to read when the mood strikes.
I decided to add a color-coded priority list to mark which books to read sooner.
Now I’ll do a weekly review to check my progress.
I got this far in Six of Crows.
I didn’t make a lot of progress in Travels with Charley.
I got to part 2 in Spark Joy.
I drew a line here to show when I started the monthly reading batch.
I finished Smoke Gets in Your Eyes this week, so I drew a red line through it.
It was easy to read a book during my meals.
Same for Six of Crows in the morning.
Travels with Charley and Spark Joy were harder to keep up with
maybe because I was busy or more tired near the end of the day.
Since I finished one audiobook, I get to listen to this one next!
I heard good things about it.
I will keep working on these.
Do you have other reading tips to share?
Let us know in the comments!
Good luck on your reading journey!