24-Hour Readathon Tips and Takeaways: Mistakes To Avoid
Are you ready to embark on a reading challenge? Before you dive in, read these 3 readathon tips that will make it a better experience. I ventured on a 24-hour readathon and there are some things I wish I knew before reading; below is a list of five takeaways I’m imparting so you don’t make the same mistakes.
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3 Readathon Tips
Protect your eyes.
Read over the weekend.
Set boundaries.
1. Protect your eyes.
I’m a contact/glasses wearer and I didn’t take the proper care for my eyes before this reading challenge. So my biggest piece of advice is this: ensure you’re taking the proper precautions for your eye health. My eyes hurt for two days after this challenge. And because of the horrendous eye strain, I was drained, and slept for hours after it was over. Closing my eyes was a relief.
Although my eye pain was mostly from improper eyeglass wear while reading, I still feel like reading for long stretches isn’t the healthiest for you, and it’s best to take breaks. Reading small text is simply hard on your eyes; it’s similar to staring at a screen for 24 hours— it’s going to hurt. My next point explains how you should approach a readathon.
2. Read over the weekend.
As with any activity, you will get burnt out if you read for an entire day and night—every second of every day. This doesn’t make you a failure or a bad reader. It’s natural. Sadly, it’s unrealistic to read for 24-hours straight, and honestly I don’t think it’s healthy for your eyes. So, I suggest stretching your readathon over an entire weekend. (Unless you work over the weekend, in which case, I recommend any two-day stretch you have.)
Two days allows you to achieve the 24-hour reading goal since there are 48 hours in a weekend. Yes, you are spending half of your weekend reading, but isn’t that exciting? And isn’t it less draining than crunching in desperation, just to say you did it? I’m conducting another readathon and will use this method— I’ll share my experience! Stay tuned.
Since my first 24-hour readathon attempt was a bust, you need to know that I successfully got through eight hours of reading in 24-hours. This didn’t feel great and I felt like I failed, but a lot of this was due to various factors that I’m outlining here for you. Also the realization that I learned a lot about myself as a reader while pursuing this challenge.
Another major part of the lack in hours was the timing of this readathon, which brings me to the next point.
3. Set Boundaries.
Setting is a major component of a successful readathon. Ensure you’re not scheduling around a major holiday such as Christmas (like I did), unless you have all of your shopping completed (which I did not).
Also, make the people around you aware that you’re embarking in a reading challenge, that you need the time and space to read— uninterrupted. When you’re pulled out of a story, it takes you time to immerse yourself back in.
During my first readathon, I spent time with my boyfriend and his family—it was the holiday season. It may have benefitted me to be in solitude for the readathon—I don’t ever regret shared time with loved ones—but this meant less reading time. You must find a balance.
Remember you are doing a readathon because you love reading— don't make it a chore.
I hope these 3 Readathon Tips are helpful as you venture into your next reading adventure!
5 Takeaways From My First Readathon
I hosted my first 24-hour readathon in December of 2022. I've seen a lot of bloggers/vloggers share their experiences, but I feel slightly robbed of reality; I wasn't exposed to the truth. Needless to say, there were some roadblocks during my readathon, which made it a trying experience. But first, let me tell you the five takeaways I learned after my first 24-hour readathon that will help you with yours.
Host/conduct over an entire weekend
You will experience burnout
Don't have expectations
Reading sprints
Genre variety
1. Host/Conduct your readathon over an entire weekend.
This is important and the first piece of advice because you need sleep. It’s not wise to try and pull an “all-nighter” because that will kill your eyes and mind. You will rob yourself of a fun experience and turn it into work. Gluing your eyes to text for 24-hours will fatigue them; don't do that.
I don’t know about any of you, but I wear glasses and contacts. So, I needed a plan to safeguard my eyes before I sat down with my books that cold winter day. The plan was to wear glasses. My intuition guided me towards the frames because I thought my eyes would wear down faster with the contacts, and maybe that is still true, but I definitely failed my eyes. I’m nearsighted and kept my glasses on; this was an idiotic oversight.
Whether or not you wear glasses, you will strain your eyes by looking at text for so long. My eyes were fatigued for TWO DAYS after this event, and I didn't uphold reading for an entire 24 hours. I can't imagine what might have happened to them if I had.
2. You will experience burnout
Here are three reasons why it’s not a good idea to read for 24 hours straight, and I don’t believe they need further explanation:
1. Burnout - you are engaging with one activity, and you will become weary of the task. Don't crucify yourself. Instead, take a break from reading if you start to feel your mind wandering.
2. Eye strain - Staring at the same tiny text for long periods of time will exhaust your eyes.
3. Life happens around you - You have loved ones who want a little bit of your attention; don't be so rigid when they interrupt. Instead, set boundaries for yourself and those around you. What I mean is, ensure they understand how important it is for you to read, but allow yourself the flexibility to be interrupted at times. It won't hurt, and you may need the interruption.
3. Don't have expectations
Having expectations for how much you should read by the end of the readathon will stress you out and kill the reasons you love reading. You are conducting a readathon so you can spend time with stories. Period.
Again, you will be interrupted, so don't be uptight when life throws you a curveball.
4. Reading sprints
Read in sprints. I suggest sitting to read for max three hours at a time. Take a break from a story to bake, go for a walk, or talk to another human. You don't have to take a long break; I suggest a minimum of 30 minutes. It will enrich your experience and make you eager to get back to reading.
Your eyes will strain. So, once a sprint is over, look at anything else in reality. Stay away from your phone or computer screens; TV screens aren't too damaging due to the distance between you and the box. But abandon all objects that tend to strain our eyes. I recommend looking outside.
5. Genre variety
Do not try to tackle the same genres. Break up the flow of your stories; bring a fiction, non-fiction, graphic novel, memoir, or short story. All genres are welcome. Restricting yourself to one genre will ensure your burnout. And you MUST have at least one graphic novel. They make the readathon exciting and enjoyable since the artwork breaks up the words. Your eyes will be grateful, trust me.
December 24-Hour Readathon
I hosted the readathon on December 10-11, 2022 from 9 AM - 9 AM.
Books I attempted to complete during the readathon:
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Batman: Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb
The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
I completed Batman and got through half of A Farewell to Arms. Like I mentioned, I learned a lot, and now know how to move forward next time. Honestly, I would love to conduct a 24-hour readathon once a month.
Now that you know the five takeaways from my first 24-hour readathon, I hope you can take them to yours.
Good luck with your 24-hour readathon and stay tuned for the three big mistakes I made and why I read so little. Don’t forget to let me know when you are hosting yours because I would love to join.
If you've completed one, comment below and tell me what your experience was, and let me know if you can relate to any of these five lessons.
24-Hour readathon — are you up for the challenge?
Leave a comment below and tell me if these tips helped your reading challenge or any other advice you have.
