The Art Of Switching Off & Reading Magazines With Readly

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Have you seen that meme that says ‘My brain has too many tabs open!’? I often feel like that – loads of us do – because we’re all trying to do so much. Remember to book that dentist appointment, buy that birthday card, reply to that WhatsApp message, meet that work deadline, phone the plumber about the leaky tap, return that library book…

Our brains are switching from one task to another – trying to keep everything going at once, like a game of keepy-uppy, where you need to keep the ball in the air and not let it fall to the ground. My default go-to way of switching off is having a scroll through social media – a mindless wander through other people’s Instagram pics or a look at what’s being said on Twitter. But sometimes my brain is so fried, by life, that it can’t even cope with that. I know, then, that it’s time to actually switch off.

My brain needs a little escape route, to somewhere that doesn’t feel like real life. So I have a little ritual that I follow. It’s not rocket science, but I have a bubble bath, then get all cosy in my bath robe, light a candle and do something that isn’t scrolling through social media. Often, my brain needs some nourishment so I’ll listen to a podcast or read a book. Sometimes it needs a bit of mindless fun, so I’ll read some magazines on the Readly app. The important thing is that I’m not scrolling through stuff that other people are posting online, so I don’t feel like my brain is computing stuff that’s going on in the real world.

Readly is my favourite way to read magazines – I’ve been a subscriber for a few years now, ever since I realised I was buying at least one magazine every week and it would be cheaper to subscribe to Readly for £7.99 a month, and I’d also be able to read loads of other magazines too (Readly has over 3000 magazines available). I love that I can flick through Red, Grazia, skip onto Psychologies and then have a look through Style At Home, depending on how I’m feeling, yet I don’t have to go out and physically buy them all. There’s no limit to how many magazines you can read each month and it’s environmentally friendly too – my paper recycling bin is a lot less full since I stopped buying as many magazines.

Readly is particularly useful at this time of year – it’s so much easier to pop your tablet into your bag for a train journey or if you’re going on holiday. In the past, I’ve downloaded a few issues of my favourite magazines before I leave home and then I know I can read them on the plane and on the beach. The eight-year-old is a fan too. She has Readly on her tablet (one account can be shared on five devices) and reads the Beano on it.

One of the things that convinced me to sign up to Readly is that you can cancel at any time – there’s nothing worse than being tied into a minimum contract with an app. So I know that if I realise I’m not reading as many magazines as I once was, I can cancel straight away.

If you like the sound of switching off from the real world and having a bit of escapism reading magazines on Readly, you can get two months of unlimited reading for just 99p. Find out more and sign up here.