Trying To Find The Time

[smallhobbit]

A while ago I took out an Audible subscription, which means I can have a new audiobook every month, which is great.  Except that I don't seem to find time to listen to them, which is frustrating.  I'd like to find a regular time to spend say 15 minutes a day listening.  But it's just not happening.

In the car I listen to the radio and I'm currently enjoying audio CDs of Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Alleyn stories - I'm on the third of the stories read by Benedict Cumberbatch, and have two more lined up, this time read by Anton Lesser.  They're great because they don't require major amounts of concentration which is ideal for driving.

I have a regular time in the evening for doing my cross-stitch, and I'm still working on Duolingo German - I finished the basic level (yay! - see icon) but am continuing just because 10-15 minutes each day is good to help it stay lodged in my brain.  Counted cross-stitch requires too much concentration to listen to anything - I enjoy it partly because it totally absorbs my mind.

I can generally sit down and write, and have challenges/exchanges lined up to keep me going.  And I always read actual books in bed last thing at night.

There are times when I will listen to an audiobook, but nothing regular, and if I'm going to get the most out of my subscription this would be helpful.  Why must my brain be so unco-operative in this matter?

Comments

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Congrats with the German!

It is a bit of a problem for me, too. There are audiobooks that require full concentration and there are audiobooks that can be background. I, too, don't find a lot of time for the first kind and prefer mostly the second kind. I listen when I'm fixing dinner (I have the library app on my phone). Before bed is tricky because I am usually not in the mood for anything too serious and most of the ones I have right now are serious. It's tough. But you're finding time for a lot of things so adding one more might be too much at the moment. Maybe it's a weekend thing.

[solosundance]

My brain's not very cooperative with audible either. At the moment I use my subscription to listen to old favourites whose texts I already know, or to readers whose delivery I particularly like - it's become a comfort thing as it both takes my mind off stresses and sends me to sleep. I tend not to listen to new things - more annoying to conk out halfway through a chapter!

(On the downside I've discovered if I try and listen to audiobooks while driving I want to go to sleep then, too...)

[scfrankles]

Crikey, you do have an awful lot on the go ^^" I'm not surprised you're having such difficulty making the most of your Audible subscription too. It must be frustrating.

Congratulations on the German, and well done on keeping it going ^___^ Counted cross-stitch requires too much concentration to listen to anything - I enjoy it partly because it totally absorbs my mind. I feel exactly the same way about using Duolingo for Dutch - it's so lovely to be fully immersed in something.

[howsmyenglish]

Hi again! :)
Just wanted to share: I used to listen to audio books _a lot_ while doing things like cooking, cleaning, washing dishes etc. - stuff that has to be done regularly and does not require much concentration. (I would pause a book if I had to concentrate on how many spoons of oil I had to add to the dough...)

For me, listening to audio books was (and still is) a way to escape real life - whenever I'm tired, I don't want to deal with something and just want to turn off my head for some time.

Well, some time ago I just stopped being interested in audio books - I guess, I feel better in my skin now and do not feel the need to escape.

Why do you feel the need to listen to audio books?

[corvidology]

I've never had any luck with audiobooks. My brain just starts disputing the way they pronounce things, etc. The only Audible thing I own is Cabin Pressure... sorry, that's not very helpful.

I've been using Duolingo to keep my French up to snuff and spend 20 minutes with it every day.

[mafief]

I have no advice on finding the right time, but I'm sure you will figure it out. :)