Audio Renaissance: How to Become 10X More Effective at Consuming Information
There are unlimited amounts of information available on the web and time is the resource constraint forcing us to choose what we consume. While it’s been around for a long time, I’ve only recently discovered the power of Audiobooks and podcasts and it’s completely changed how I consume information.
Why Now?
I don’t think I’m the only one who has re-discovered the power of audio information. Poking around, I found that people like Chris Dixon and Kevin Roose among others are also noticing the renaissance of podcasts and audiobooks. Why is that?
- Improvements in mobile streaming
- Saturation of other forms of media content
I’ve always associated the word “podcast” with something outdated so imagine my surprise at how refreshing audio content was.
In the past 5 days, I’ve listened to on average 200 pages per day.
The moment when I finished my first audiobook was when it really hit me. Audio content is powerful. It’s efficient, it’s engaging, it’s different. For millenials like me who are born in the digital age, we’re much more accustomed to the UI/UX of webpages than the intonations of narrators and hosts for information.
So What Am I Doing?
People who know me know that I hate wasting time. I take exactly 12 minute naps, 15 minute meals, and exercise like crazy for 60 minutes. Like me, I think others have a good grasp on how to best manage their own time. Plus you can find articles everywhere about time management. But hours of unstructured time are wasted each day when you are commuting, cleaning and otherwise doing mundane tasks that still allow you to multi-task.
This is how I’m doing it. I have started listening to audiobooks and podcasts on 3x speed. It takes about 30 seconds each time you start to adjust for the speed but it’s very manageable. I’m looking for ways to bring that speed even higher(Please let me know if you know of any). Audible.com, Audiobooks.com and Scribd all have subscription based audiobooks that you can listen to.
You will be astonished at how much you get through. Books that have been on my reading list for months have been devoured within days.
Here are the top 3 books I want to revisit.
- Everything Robert Greene (The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War)
2. Thinking fast and Slow — Daniel Kahneman
3. How to win friends and influence people — Dale Carnegie
I’ve also started listening to
If you have cool suggestions, I would love to know!
