Has reading slipped out of your daily schedule? Does reading suddenly feel like an activity you have no time for? Reading is brain-food, and gobbling knowledge is a very important task that promotes and maintains intellect.

And with social media designed to steal our attention, reading often takes a certain amount of discipline and concentration that our new phone-addicted brains struggle to handle.

As writers and readers of poetry, we know the value of work moves us to tears, and it’s a high we should never let go of for too long. Still, the hustle and bustle of daily life often finds a way to deprive us of our favorite pastime.

Luckily, your reading habits can be replenished. Here are three unconventional tips for breaking free of a reading dry spell:

1. Imagine a Prominent Poet is Holding You Accountable

This exercise works with any poet whose collection you’re currently reading. If you’re reading numerous collections at once, buckle up because rather than starting a new collection because it’s shiny, unpurchased, and in a bookstore, remember how many books you have neglected at home.

Imagine walking into your home to find Danez Smith’s Homie sitting on your bookshelf weeping dust and praying to be opened. If they knocked on your door and asked you why you opened up the collection of some other book you just bought because it was on sale, what would you have to say for yourself? Not much, I can say that with certainty.

Do you want that second cookie from the cookie jar without finishing your first? How would Aria Aber feel if you didn’t read a poem from Hard Damage first? Read her poem so you can eat that cookie and have tears running down your newly salted face.

2. Tack Onto Another Essential Activity

Do you brush your teeth in the morning? I sure hope so! Good oral hygiene is just one of the many activities you can tack reading onto. Maybe you meditate in the mornings right before work--set your alarm to wake up 20 minutes earlier for some much-needed reading time.

Or tack reading onto a more leisurely behavior like going out to the bars. Just tell your friends you’re getting changed when you’re actually sneaking in a few gems from Natalie Diaz’s Post Colonial Love Poem.

3. Set Reminders in Unconventional Spaces

Scribble titles of collections you need to read on post-it notes and stick them everywhere. If you want to take this tip a step further, I recommend putting a positive review of your current book as your computer screensaver to remind yourself what you’re missing out on when sending your RSVP to your aunt’s birthday bash or working at your day job.

Maybe even print out a poet’s headshot and stick it somewhere you’ll have to go throughout the day, like above your toilet or taped onto your dairy and alternative milk products. Imagine reaching for your oat milk to find Ted Kooser smiling at you by a barn. Now that’s farm fresh!