Do you know the feeling when you are at your kitchen table having breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a small snack? If you are like me you check your Instagram feed or your Facebook feed while eating, waiting, or drinking. I know that this is a bad habit as I could also use my phone to read a book, read the news, or watch some educational videos.
In reality, you usually open Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook.
Weekly Print Newspaper or Magazine
Around two weeks ago I ordered a free trial subscription for one month of the German newspaper DIE ZEIT. It is published once every week and it is really a fat newspaper. To read through all the interesting articles you really need at least a week. By putting the fat newspaper onto my kitchen table I always had something to read. Instead of grabbing my phone and scrolling through Facebook I am reading an article in the newspaper.
Newspaper versus Magazine
DIE ZEIT which I am receiving today is literally a big fat newspaper. What I don’t like about traditional print newspapers is their size. If you want to read the newspaper you need to spread it all over the kitchen table. And believe me: a normal daily or weekly newspaper needs a lot of space.
I will not continue the DIE ZEIT subscription basically because it is too large, fat, and it takes too much space to read it. I like more handy magazines like The Economist. Other magazines I regularly read are the Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Manager and €uro. I think magazines have a great format. They are usually in DIN A4 (or comparable) format. They are great to read, mark, and store. I even repurposed some old magazines as a mount for my display.
Don’t Underestimate the Time You Spend at your Kitchen Table
Every day I eat and drink at least an hour at the kitchen table. Time I before spend with Facebook and co. When you have an interesting magazine or newspaper lying on the table it is very likely that you will prefer reading and skim through them. I easily read 3 longer articles every day when I am eating a snack or drinking a tea. Try it out I think it is time worth spent.
Print Newspapers and other Alternatives
In the end, it is not about the specific newspaper or magazine. In the end, it is the fact that you spend the time reading something worthwhile instead of wasting the time on Instagram. Instead of opening the procrastination app of your choice try to open Audible, Kindle, Blinkist, or GetAbstract. All of these choices are better choices than scrolling through boring news feeds on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Or what about putting a book on the table? I bet you will finish one book a month by doing so.
I am seriously thinking about subscribing to a great magazine in the future. Do you have a recommendation for me? I was previously a subscriber of The Economist and I enjoyed it pretty much. The other magazine is €uro which is a great German finance and investing magazine. Leave your recommendations in the comments and I will enjoy having a look at them!
