As the semester nears and end, I look forward to two big events. 1. My graduation from law school (if I finish this horrid paper) and 2. Dewey's 24 hour readathon. I'm so excited because this is my third time participating in this event and I cannot possibly explain how much I've had. Granted, I've never made it to the finish line, but I've learned from each participation and I hope to do even better this time around.
So let's recap...
I first participated last April. I had a lot of fun, and fell asleep well before the end of the challenge. Learning from that experience, I wrote a post last October explaining what NOT to do and all those things still stand. You can find that post here.
This past October, I participated again. I had even more fun, got my mom and blogger friends to participate with me, socialized too much, and fell asleep before the end of the challenge. My mom outlasted me. Grr... BUT I learned even more so I'm hear again to impart some helpful tips for this event.
1. Pick quick, fun, and easy to read books
Reading for a long period of time is easy. Reading for 24 hours is hard and I found my eyes getting pretty tired. Even though I picked the types of books I typically like, it is so much easier to read for such a long time if the reading is extra exciting. I'm not reading for class during this time (not fun) and I'm probably going to try to stick to paperback reads (my eyes get more tired when I'm reading an ereader).
2. Don't eat all your snacks at once (or have more snacks available)
First, have snacks. Don't underestimate the importance of snacks (see previous post about this here). When you have snacks, don't eat them all within the first 8 hours of the readathon. It's really tempting. I mean, I had had some great snacks and snacks are definitely one of the best parts of the readathon. But if you do what I did you get full. And if you get full, you get sleepy. And if you get sleepy, you take a nap. And if you take a nap, you have to wake up when your mom calls and pretend that you weren't napping.
3. Prepare a template for your updates and challenges ahead of time
Each hour, you'll want to update everyone on your progress or participate in a new challenge for the chance to win prizes. But when I wasn't careful, I'd use the first 15-20 minutes of each hour providing updates and more if I wanted to participate in a challenge. This time around, I'll prep my template ahead of time and I'll stagger my internet activities. I'll update every other hour, stagger my twitter love & check-ins with friends, and do multiple challenges at once.
Let's face it, I spent more time socializing online than I did reading. There I said it. But it was soooo fun. I'm going to do better on the reading thing but I'm not giving up on twitter and check-ins with my friends.
4. Send the Hubby/Significant Other Away!
I said it last time and I'll say this again. Say away from those pesky guys. I called myself doing this. I even placed myself in a separate city. But somehow I found myself on google chat with my husband looking at youtube videos that weren't funny (of course he found them funny). I also found myself answering the phone when my lovely husband called to ask me what I was doing. He's going to be banned. Again.
If you haven't signed up yet, you need to do this RIGHT NOW!! It is sooo much fun and I can't wait to participate with all my blogger friends. Head on over to 24hourreadathon.com and sign up for the challenge today :)
Don't want to do it alone? There will be tons of us participating but don't feel afraid to ask people to do it. You'd be surprised. I contact friends personally and ask them to participate with me. Last time my mom participated and this time my grandmother has signed on too! Yay!!
