Books are excellent sources for picking up new skills beneficial to your life and career. For example, you can learn insider tips on buying a house or the best hiring practices used by the world’s most successful companies. Our post “Self Development for Reading: Why Not?” adds that you can especially trust the authenticity of what you’re learning if you read from well-known authors, making books a great way to expand your knowledge.
Yet although reading is great, you may not have time or energy to finish a physical book. That doesn’t mean you need to forego these benefits, though. Instead, why not listen to audiobooks? Discover Magazine’s 2019 article “Audiobooks or Reading? To Our Brains, It Doesn’t Matter” reveals that just like reading books, listening to audiobooks stimulates the same cognitive and emotional areas of the brain. That’s not to mention they can offer even more benefits for your life and career. Here are some of them:
The benefits of listening to audiobooks for your life and career
It allows you to learn while multitasking
Some people don’t read books because they don’t have the time. Take author Brooke Hauser’s piece, “I had no time to read for myself when my kids were babies. Now that’s changed, and bedtime will never be the same.” Now that her kids are older Hauser’s devouring more books than ever. But what if you’re still in a phase where you can’t read more often? Audiobooks may hold the answer
Publishers Weekly lauds audiobooks as a revolutionary format for a compelling reason: they’re the ultimate tool for multitasking. The first audiobook publishers even encouraged consumers to listen to them while doing tasks like driving and cooking. It’s exceedingly simple to pick one up and learn more about parenting or work skills like programming, all while keeping your hands busy. That way, you don’t have to give up improving your life or career in favor of your responsibilities.
Audiobooks are easier to consume
Audiobooks typically last between 8 to 12 hours. That means you may consume them faster than physical books or eBooks, especially when you’re busy—and that can encourage you to listen to even more titles.
For instance, instead of setting aside a few minutes every day to physically read a book on leadership, you can passively listen to it in audiobook format while doing something else and finish it faster. Once you realize it’s that easy, you might just find yourself searching for more audiobooks to listen to.
It can broaden your creativity
Audiobooks don’t contain visual elements like text or photos, meaning you have to focus on what you hear. You’ll need to imagine what’s being narrated—whether it be fictional characters and settings or anecdotes from self-help authors—and that can help hone creative thinking.
These improved creative skills can enhance your problem-solving abilities. It might be easier to develop innovative ways to retain your clients or market a new product. Stuck on a strict budget for groceries? You might find you’re getting better at creating dishes that use cheap ingredients.
Tips for listening to audiobooks that can help with your life and career
Where to find audiobooks
Depending on their length, you can get your first audiobooks online for around $7-$25. If you find that listening is more conducive than reading to help you learn, you can then get more bang for your buck with a digital library. A subscription to Everand gives you access to thousands of audiobooks for just over $2 a month. These span various genres, including self-improvement, finance and money management, and wellness. You can even listen to them offline, perfect for commutes and working around the house. This accessibility means you can easily start learning about effective ways to improve your life and career, so be sure to acquire audiobooks in a way that best suits your needs and preferences.
The best times to listen to audiobooks
It’s best to listen to audiobooks when you have idle time, like while commuting or when doing menial tasks like tending your garden. That way, you can better focus on their contents and absorb the information better. If you’re always on the go, you can use apps to help you carve time out of your day to build a reading habit. Making a Bookly account enables you to keep track of the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to and provides real-time data on your reading status. You can even add daily reminders to listen to a book at certain times so you don’t forget to pick an audiobook up during your commute or when you’re cleaning up after dinner.
Audiobooks can help you gain the necessary knowledge and skills to enhance your life and career. For more educational content, browse our other posts here at Opportunity Desk.
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