These last few weeks I’ve been diving into audiobooks. I think I have listened to 8 or 9 books. Being a musician I leaned into that audio space to consume more content and it is working for me.
Here are a couple of tips if you want to get the most out of listening to audiobooks:
1. Take notes while listening
The best way to retain what you listen to is to take notes. That can be hard in the car while you are driving but I would find a way to take notes on your phone while you are listening to an audiobook.
2. Listen during commutes or exercise
The best time to listen to audiobooks is passively. If you are on the treadmill at the gym or if you are driving to work on the highway, these are times when you could be consuming audio content.
3. Use speed control to adjust playback speed
I was riding with my son and he was listening to an NPR podcast but the person was speaking really fast. I could understand them but I thought it was strange that they were talking at a high tempo. My son had the podcast set to 2X for the playback speed. He said I should try it. When I did I consumed 5 books in a week. Now I’m listening to everything at 1.5X playback speed.
4. Utilize bookmarks to mark important sections
You can set up bookmarks for different sections of the audiobook if I’m not mistaken. You can then go back to specific sections and listen to them as much as you want. Sometimes you might need to hear something again and again before you get it.
I’m so glad I learned to listen to my content in podcasts and audiobooks. Now it is time to go make a few.