I love reading but since having kids have struggled to find the time. Most hours of my day are packed with other priorities and so reading became a “nice to have” that fell by the wayside for a few years. That was, until I came across a great audiobooks app called Audible.
What’s Audible?
Audible is an audiobooks app where you can download pretty much any book to your phone. You can then listen to it when it suits you. I use my commute time getting to work (when the kids aren’t with me) to learn about business topics and grow my skills.
Commute time is often “dead time”, where you’re just waiting to get to work / home / school / childcare. I decided a while ago that I wanted to find something to fill that time. I wanted something that wouldn’t be too taxing on my brain but was still productive time. Audible has absolutely ticked the boxes for me.
So how does it work?
- Download the Audible audiobooks app onto your phone
- Search for books you want to “read”
- I have a subscription where I pay AUD $99 per year (I think it’s $14.99 a month). On the first of every month I get a reminder email that I have a new credit and can download a new book
- When I start my commute to work each morning, I simply listen to my next Audible book. You can also choose to listen to it being read in double speed if you want to get through it quicker! I personally like it being read at a typical talking pace so don’t do this, but it’s an option.
My summary
- This is the best way for me to fit learning in. I wish I read each night before bed, but I’m usually too tired to concentrate on a book then. Since buying this audiobooks app about 18 months ago I have “read” a business book a month
- It’s a great way to learn. I only listen to non-fiction and get to learn about a new topic each month
- It’s been a great way to catch up on business books I’ve heard about for years but never read. Note: my favourite classic has been Dale Carnegie’s “How to win friends and influence people”
- I’ve only found 2 downsides:
– Some of the narrators’ voices have really annoyed me. I even stopped listening to one of the books based on the narrator’s way-too-enthuastic-for-7am-voice
– If you know a book is heavy on charts or tables of data, I wouldn’t use Audible. It works best for books that are just plain text you can listen to
Overall, using the Audible audiobooks app is a key way for me to keep learning. Enjoy your “reading”!
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