7 Benefits of Listening to Audiobooks

Austin
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1
7 Benefits of Listening to Audiobooks

Audiobook Benefits in a Nutshell

Have you ever wondered if audiobooks have any benefits? What about what the benefits of audiobooks may be? If you answered yes to those questions I can tell you you’re in the right place. Sometimes it can be hard to sit down with a book for a half hour to an hour each day. One of the best ways to combat that is through the use of audiobooks. They are really a game changer when it comes getting your daily dose of book in.

Think about this for a minute, when was the last time you had a chance to read a book? When was the last time you asked someone what books they’ve been reading? The sad true is that we live in a time with access to information constantly but people don’t read as often as they could. You may be wondering what the real benefits of audiobooks are, I have found 7 that I think are most worthwhile.

1)  Audiobooks Are Easy To Listen To While Doing Other Tasks

This is pretty self explanatory but I’ll give you some examples. Audiobooks are great to use in place of music when you are doing things like driving, exercising, cleaning, cooking, or maybe even at work. You will be amazed at how many more books you can listen to when you start playing them all the time. This reason by itself makes audiobooks worth it. Imagine how nice it would be to listen to your favorite motivational book at the office or a thriller while you’re cleaning your house.

2) Audiobooks Are Great For Dyslexics

I came across this after talking with a few of my friends about books. I knew one of them was dyslexic but had never considered how it would affect how often they read. We were discussing how often someone should read and they complained about how difficult it was. I pointed out that audiobooks are a great alternative. They tried it out and became hooked on the idea of listening to audiobooks. The is also one of the benefits of audiobooks for students. I know people that struggled with textbooks because of dyslexia. Most schools offer software that will turn textbooks into audiobooks.

3) Listen To Them With Others

Listening to audiobooks with friends and coworkers has been a fun experience. It gives you a chance to hear other people’s opinions about a book. It is like going out to the movies. In the end everyone has the same ideas to talk about and it’s fun to dig into what could be going on in the background of the book’s universe. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was the first experience I had with how great audiobooks can be. After listening to that books with my coworkers we are all excited to go see the movie when it comes out. Fingers crossed that it will be a good one. 

4) Listening To Audiobooks While Reading The Book

This one sounds strange but it works out really well. Reading and listening to audiobooks at the same time gives you more things to remember. It ties into Edgar Dale’s cone of learning. That is an interesting topic that I can talk about another day. What you need to know is the more ways you do something and the more work it takes to do those things the easier it is to remember. I’ve used listening to the audiobook while reading the book to learn about stock options, real estate investing, stoicism, and starting a business. None of those topics are easy but I think listening to the audiobooks while I read helped me with retention. This is one of the biggest benefits to audiobooks.

5) More Simple Than Reading a Summary

Unless you are in a big rush to read through a summary for some reason audiobooks are a great option. It is painless to listen to a audiobook. On the other hand you could buy a summary which won’t give you all the details. An alternative would be to jump on Reddit. I know that great summaries can end up on Reddit but you have to be careful about what people are saying. It’s easy to leave out important details. If it were up to me when picking audiobooks vs reading Reddit, I’m going to go with an audiobook 9 times out of 10. There is a lot to be said about sticking with a community though and if you find the right one the users on Reddit will treat you right.

6) Audiobooks Are Great For Adults

The benefits of audiobooks for adults pretty much covers everything I’ve mentioned plus more. Adults are the largest group of people in the world. Many of them are limited on time. Not only that but as you get older your eyesight can decrease. Audiobooks counteract that because you can listen to them instead of reading them. Adults are also limited on time bringing back the benefits of listening while you do other things. It also ties into the last benefit I have to talk about.

7)  Adjustable Speed

One of the coolest benefits of audiobooks is that you can adjust the speed. I personally like to listen at anywhere from 1.5x to 2.5x speed. It all depends on how many times I’ve listened to the book, how the voice actors voice sounds sped up, and how hard to comprehend the books is. I usually recommend starting off at 1x to 1.5x and going from there when you are new to audiobooks. This is not the time to listen with your friends they will probably look at you weird when you start playing a chipmunk book at them.

The Benefits Are Real

As you can see there are many benefits to audiobooks. I’m sure if you sit there and think about it you can come up with a few more on your own. Now that you’re thinking about audiobooks you should check out Audible from Amazon. They seem to really know what they are doing. Once you started you’ll see that audiobooks are good for the brain. There aren’t too many other ways to have fun while you learn. It’s nice to know that you can listen with friends when you have a fun book or you can read along with a hard copy if it’s something more serious. Don’t forget how many audiobook benefits there are. Now get out there are start listening.

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5 Tricks That Will Improve Your Time Management

Austin
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0
5 Tricks That Will Improve Your Time Management

Time is a precious thing that no one wants to run out of. We all have things that we should be doing or would rather be doing. No matter what you choose to do with your time make sure it counts. Our time is short and we should be using it wisely that’s where time management comes in to save the day.

Time management is so important in life because in a way time is our greatest asset. It is the one thing that once it is spent we can never get back. We can sell it, leverage it or even waste it but we can’t buy or earn more. Make sure you value your time wisely and use it for what you want to use spend it on.

We know that time is important to you so we put together 5 ways to improve your time management.

1.) Be Positive About Your Time Management Skills

Time management is a skill that you have to build on. Being positive will help you think about how great life will be once you have mastered this new skill. Positive affirmation is a great way to train your brain to do more with less. If you tell yourself you are doing a good job enough eventually you will do more than a good job.

When you have mastered time management you will have plenty of time to relax and do the things you enjoy. You will be able to look back at all that you have accomplished and think “It’s amazing how much I can do!” Always look back at what you have learned and think positively about the experience.

2.) Create a Way to Visualize Your Time

Humans love to look at things. Our world is built around being able to see the things around us. Time on the other hand isn’t made for us to see. It can be hard to visualize what exactly time is or how we should be using it. Creating a way to visualize what our day looks like can make it easier to understand what needs to be done when.

There area few ways to visualize your day and you will have to find what works best for you. There are time management apps, calendars or even something simple like a spreadsheet that can help you see what you should be doing when.

I personally like using spreadsheets because I’m able to map out my days by the hour. I know which hours are for work, sleep, and personal. All these categories are color coded to make it easy. As you get more experience you can break down your map into smaller segments.

3.) Maximize Your Day with Priority Lists

A to do list is a great way to make a list of things that you don’t want to do. A priority list is a good way to make a list of things that have to be done.

Creating a priority list isn’t about adding everything to a list that you should be doing on any given day. A priority list is about finding the things that are most beneficial to your day and putting them at the top. Start from the top of your list and work your way down. Make sure to finish something you have started before moving to the next part of your list. These lists are not set in stone and should be updated as new priorities pop up.

Don’t make the list too long. The list should only be 3 to 5 tasks long. If you pass this limit move the least important task onto a to do list. Later on you can use this to do list as a reference for new priorities.

Remember that these priorities make the most of your time and will leave you the most satisfied when completed.

4.) Create Good Habits

Habits can be a hard thing to form it takes time and thought to do stuff regularly. Once a habit is formed it will be the easiest thing you can do. Do you ever think about brushing your teeth, driving a car or writing? No that’s because you have created a habit and now it is easy to do.

There are many views of how long it takes to create a habit. In my opinion you shouldn’t think about how much time it will take to create the habit. You want to do that task regularly so get out and do it. Once the habit is formed you can think about how much time you are saving by not thinking about the task all the time(don’t think like this too much or you’ll be back to square one)

5.) Find a Way to Make a Game That You Can Win

Have you ever won a game and still hated it? I can’t think of a time I have. When you find a way to make a game out of time management that you will win in the long run you will be more inclined to keep going. Don’t make the game too easy but make it something that you feel accomplished for winning.

One example of winning at your own game would be to cut small increments of time off of how long you do something. If it takes you 15 minutes to make lunch before going to work do it in 14. Win you are able to consistently make lunch in 14 minutes drop it down to 13. Keep improving and keep winning. You’ll be amazed how fast you can do something when you’re racing against your most challenging rival.

Time management isn’t something that you can be the best at from day one. It takes time to manage your time. If you learn what you can do better you will always improve. Those small improvements will allow you to spend more and more of your time on the things you enjoy. Don’t forget why you are working so hard on making your life better. Improving your life is the whole reason you’re here. Check out my post about the  pursuit of excellence which will help you find the reason why you need to focus on time management. 

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