CONFIGURE A WORKABLE TIMELINE
Set a workable timeline and you're one step closer to success! Set it for the end of that week, that month, or that year, and watch as it gets easier to follow by the day! Plan a small purchase at the end, if that's what you need to make it work, but it's better to reward yourself with something else if you're wanting to get out of the habit. I'm personally on a book buying ban til the beginning of next year and I'm planning to pick a couple of books off of my wishlist to see myself into 2018 with. I do have, however, a small stash of bookish gift cards to use up so I may use those before the year is through.
CREATE A TBR PILE OR SHELF
Gather together the books that you own but haven't read yet. Curate a small pile, or shelf, of the ones that you're most excited to read. Pop them on your nightstand. Keep them close. Enjoy reaching for one before bed and you'll soon find your focus turns to reading rather than buying books.
TURN IT INTO A READATHON!
Who's to say you can't do a Mary Poppins and turn the job into a game?! Turn your book buying ban into a 'read your shelves' type of readathon and you'll find it a whole lot easier to stay motivated. With each book read, you're closer to completing your readathon.
DO IT WITH SOMEONE
You could, of course, encourage others to join your readathon too! Set up a group chat, on Goodreads or Whatsapp or a Twitter hashtag, for those of you that are getting involved and motivate one another to stay on track and away from the tills.
PUT YOUR SAVED MONEY INTO SAVINGS
Reap the rewards of your ban by popping the money you've saved into your savings account. It'll probably make you feel less bitter about the whole sorry thing.
SET SOME READING GOALS
Focus on reading instead of buying and set yourself some goals for the rest of your ban. Read through an entire shelf, or read all the books you've bought in the past six months, or you could even aim to read every unread book that you own. Set yourself a challenge and you'll have too much on your hands to even worry about adding to your bookshelves.
WISHLIST INSTEAD OF PURCHASE
Set up a book wishlist online, or on paper, to make it less tempting to make purchases. That way you can still look at a list of books you're interested in without the temptation. Come the end of the ban, if you've decided to treat yourself, you could pick a few books off the list to reward yourself with for all your hard work.
KNOW YOUR WEAKNESS
Know what encourages your book buying habits and look at ways of minimizing the temptation. End up buying a book every time you watch your favourite booktuber? Maybe pool their videos together and watch them at a later date. Got your favourite bookshops pinned to your browser? Consider unpinning them for a while so you aren't tempted to follow through with a sneaky purchase.
HEAD TO THE LIBRARY OR BORROW FROM FRIENDS
Utilize your local library, if it still exists, or raid the bookshelves of your loved ones. Books bans don't have to be entirely miserable! You never know, you may find some of the books that are tempting you on their shelves.
SET A RULE
If you can't or don't want to go on a complete ban, you could set yourself a specific rule to follow that slows your purchases down a little. For example, you could read 5 books before you buy. That way you're still getting through more books than you are buying them!
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Aaaaand those my 10 tips for how to survive a book buying ban. I'm hoping to hold out until the start of 2018 with regards to books bought out of my own pocket. We'll see how that goes!
Are you currently on a book buying ban? Good luck, pals! If you're after some more book-related posts, you can find a ton in my archives!
Are you currently on a book buying ban? Good luck, pals! If you're after some more book-related posts, you can find a ton in my archives!
