Mobile Mindfulness: Lessons learned from 500 audiobooks (listed) and 20+ Years of Audible

Daniel Lucas

Published in

Fostering Resilience

21 min readAug 2, 2020

com·mute

/kəˈmyo͞ot/

verb

1: “travel some distance between one's home and place of work on a regular basis” - Oxford Languages

There and Back again...

The idea of commuting to work was a natural transition to me. At the age of 16 I began driving my brother to school. It was roughly a half-hour each way. I never seemed to mind it as this was ‘my’ time. After a long day of following the rigid rules of my high school where I would sport the required uniform in white, navy or maroon, I was now the leader…..at least, until I put the car in park. I was in charge of my destiny. I could go and do whatever I pleased. Except that I had almost no options really. I generally had to drive straight home. I worked a job on most evenings after school and any time spent on homework was generally borrowed directly from my sleeping hours. Oh, and my parents did not allow me to listen to the radio (yes, I know. For a teenager this is like being commute-based-grounded). My younger brother had no issue whatsoever with catching up on sleep while I drove. I don’t think this was so much a sign of his trust in my driving skills as much as it was that he always enjoyed sleeping. He could never get enough of it. I can’t say I blame him as we lived deep in the south and the views on the way home were large blank hilltops and shells of thriving farmhouses. As you age, this type of view morphs into that of a bucolic nature, but in your teens, it’s quite dull. Also, this is a person who at the age of 10 chose to go to bed early instead of opening his Christmas gifts after dinner. One could argue that he knew the importance of rest before modern science made it a buzzword.

Fast forward 7 years and I’m 23. My commute is 50 minutes each way. I still don’t mind the time en route. I’ve become an audiobook junkie. A woman at the office named Linda lends me large grocery bags filled with books on cassette tapes and I go through about 1 per week. Mostly they are fiction. The one I recall most vividly was titled “Mayday”. A novel about a test missile that accidentally hits a commercial airplane full of passengers and does not detonate. Due to the cabin pressure changes, the result is a large number of fatalities including several dozen who are zombie-like in that they are pretty much brain dead with minimal body functions. There are a few survivors on board who have all their cognitive functions because they were in a pressurized environment (the bathroom) when the incident occurred and they try to salvage the situation. BTW, the antagonist is an insurance agent who realizes that his company will go bankrupt if they have to pay for life support for the survivors for an indefinite number of years. This is classic ‘made for weeknight TV in the 80’s’ material. I’d probably cast the late Robert Urich as the lead. I can feel a sense of nostalgia for the Mad Men / Norman Rockwell era of more traditional values where families spent the evening together listening to a story over the radio. Listening to the story allows the emphasis of narration while still allowing your imagination to conjure up its own sequence of how the events would appear. In some ways, it frees your imagination up to focus on such visuals.

Technology = > Selection

Once the internet married audiobooks it had babies in the form of MP3’s. This allowed me to actually choose and purchase from a much larger selection of books and relative topics. I could now browse various authors in memoirs and self-development as opposed to the small shelf on display in my local Cracker barrel shop which offered mostly ‘PG’ drama and fiction.

So how many audiobooks have I consumed? The math is pretty simple. At least two books a month for just over the last 22 years = just over 500 audiobooks. I’m not even going to weigh into the classic argument of whether listening to books counts as having read them as this debate is a waste of everyone’s time. What I will say is that listening to audiobooks seemed to add a sense of purpose and fulfillment to my otherwise uneventful commute. Sure, I make phone calls and listen to music regularly, but I generally stayed on my quota of at least two books per month.

I would estimate the average length of each book is about 10 hours as I never opt for an abridged version of an audiobook. The easy math there states that I have listened to about 5000 hours of books. It’s also a safe assumption to say that at roughly half of these titles were some form of self-development with maybe 20% being bio / memoir.

The odd thing about audiobooks for me is that even if several years have passed, I can still recall where I was driving at key points in the story. The stop sign on my backroads where Bill Bryson described his frustration with hiking the AT. There's a particular trail I was running the day that Martin Short read the chapter of his book about his wife’s final moments alive. When I pass that spot in the years that followed, I think of how those last moments must have felt for him. Then there was the rain that poured on me as Professor Greenburg described the influences of Beethoven’s masterful 7th symphony (specifically the 2nd movement). That piece remains one of my favorite classical pieces.

Mobile Mindfulness

I think the difference between 20 years of progressing through books vs mindlessly listening to the radio was simple; Intention. If I intended to just daydream and relax, I put music on that would help me do so. If I was in an otherwise normal frame of mind, I'd at least start with a book, then stop it if I was too distracted. One could argue the case for what I will now define as ‘mobile mindfulness’. This is the act of starting your commute with intention and respecting the delta that should occur if it develops into cognitive entropy.

These days I’m not sure whether I should be proud or ashamed to have gone through so many books. The first reaction from people is confusion as to why someone would focus so much time on various forms of learning / self-development. I feel this is synonymous with the stigma of seeking professional therapy for one’s marriage 20 years ago. I choose to believe that by constantly consuming the wisdom, insights and opinions of others I am provided with a ‘choice’ of complacency. That is, I know I can stop learning or choose growth. Either way, the world is subject to the laws of inflation in that some level (depending on your aspirations) of adaptation is always en route. Before I pat myself on the back, let’s not confuse learning new things with trying new things. Only a small fraction of the many unarguable benefits of truth have made their way into my beliefs and actions. Had I been a bit more disciplined and wrote a few paragraphs about my thoughts on each title, I’d probably be getting paid for writing this article, and I’d probably have enough wealth accumulated that I would decline said compensation because I didn’t need it…….financial irony seated in roots of procrastination.

Here’s the nutshell of going through so many of these books. To paraphrase Bruce Lee, you take what works from one source, disregard the rest, then continue to research new sources. The idea is that you are constantly looking at candidates that are vying to be part of your mindset, habits, routine, etc. There is also an implication that you are challenging your existing mindset and asking yourself ‘Does this still serve me?’. This is a powerful concept because the ‘timeliness’ of learning a principle is often the biggest factor in whether you decide to remember or rarer still, apply said principle. There are principles in classics such as “The 7 Habits of Highly effective People” that I simply glossed over because I didn’t truly understand the implications. Yet, 10 years later I re-read the same book and think, “Do I really put first things first?....really… Or do I just repeat the saying like a memorized mantra?

Disenchantment with the Shuffle

Definition #2 for the word commute.

“reduce (a judicial sentence, especially a sentence of death) to one less severe.”

- Oxford Languages

Things changed as I got older. It was no longer just me driving on my commute. Kids don’t tend to appreciate scientific conundrums or existential rants. Eventually, my children were with me about half the time. I went through a few kid friendly audiobooks with my children and my reaction to them was generally the same….. ‘I can’t believe I paid for that’?! There were a few exceptions. E.g. Have you ever noticed that Winnie the Pooh speaks in buddist-monk like riddles? ““The main problem with this great obsession for saving time is very simple: you can't save time.“ - Pooh Bear. Harry Potter was also a solid listen that lived up to the hype.

After about 15 years of this daily commute it began to wear on me. My back would get tight just thinking about sitting in the driver's seat. Another issue I noticed was that I was almost always fatigued and a bit grumpy when I got out of the car after a long day at work, especially so if I experienced traffic on the ride home. For the first few minutes I would have to fight the urge to go crash on the couch and relax the rest of the evening. One way I battled this lethargic impulse was to make commitments for the time immediately following my commute. I would tell the kids or a friend that I would be taking a walk once I got home and before I cooked dinner. By announcing it or committing to meet at a given time, I was leveraging my integrity and mitigating the absence of willpower which so frequently accompanied my post-commute persona.

Com-‘Mute’ - Trading Up

About 3 years ago I began working from home two days a week. A year ago I managed to get a third day from home. There were regular exceptions, but I was generally having to commute an average of 2.5 days a week. In Charles Duhig’s insightful book ‘the Power of Habit’, one tip he offers is to try swapping out a habit vs trying to eliminate it (cold turkey-style). E.g. If you want to start skipping your post dinner sweet, try sipping some mint tea in its place. I swapped my morning commute for a run. I was already a runner, but now I was simply committing to the time in which it occurred. The first thing in the morning. I found that I enjoyed starting my days with motion and peace and yes…..sometimes a book as well. For me, whether or not I listen to a book while running is entirely based on what I want from the run. If I am performing relaxing / easy miles, yes, I can get through a few chapters of a title while I run. If I have a hard day of intervals or uphill repeats, books don’t tend to compliment this effort.

The key point here is that I took what worked about the commutes, and chose to incorporate it into my life. Learning via listening is not contingent on my driving hours. In fact, I now spend far more time listening to books while I walk than when I drive. Our current environment has caused us to re-think the necessity and experience of brick and mortar offices. I am simply making the best of what alternatives are at my disposal. There is a dark side to this equation. As a health enthusiast I’m confused as to why so many people have become unhealthy during this Covid pandemic. Most of us were given an allotment of time that would have normally been allocated for preparing, traveling or returning from our place of work. The fact that gyms have closed should not prevent us from spending a few moments outside to start, break up or complete our day. However, if you need extra motivation, use your walk as a time where you can listen to a novel or author that inspires you. If the book is a proverbial ‘page turner’, then starting your walk will seem like a privilege, and starting is by far the hardest part of exercising.

A Few Time Tested Principles to enhance your learning experience from Audiobooks

1: Practice Mobile Mindfulness

Begin with both intention and scrutiny. Ask yourself why you got the book and state what you intend to learn. I have finished a great many books just because I paid for them and because I had made it to chapter x,y, or z. If it’s that boring or bad, kill it and move on. Life is short. BTW… Audible allows you to return or exchange titles that you don’t enjoy.

2: If you are daydreaming and not listening, rewind the book or just stop listening.

Respect that some days you are not in the mode to absorb information. Allowing narration to be the background is a recipe for missing out on the key message that authors worked so hard to construct. If you have had to rewind 3 times for the same section and keep losing focus, stop the book.

3: If something is profound, take the time to add a bookmark and a few keywords.

Ask yourself, “Is this point / topic worth reviewing”? If it is, make it a rule to add a bookmark and a note. Just the act of doing so helps plant a seed in your long term memory.

On several occasions I have gone back through books by simply reviewing my bookmarks and I feel that I get a good refresher of the theme and principles of a given book. Think about it. Six bookmarks that are roughly 3 to 5 minutes a piece can refresh your knowledge of a book in 25 minutes. That's the equivalent of a personalized cliff notes version of a book.

4: Not all books are a good fit for audio.

When it comes to Self dev of Entrepreneurship, I generally opt for books read by the author because they have a genuine enthusiasm for the content that may provide more value than say…. a thicker or more sexy accent. E.g. Mel Robbins ‘take control of your Life.

Outside of Michael Pollen (and two of the Anthony Bourdain titles), cooking themed books don’t work as well with audiobooks. Exceptions are memoir- based foodie titles.

Business books that rely heavily on charts and diagrams can be vague / confusing.

5: Take what works from one source, disregard the rest, then continue to research new sources.

Be like Bruce Lee, ‘be like water’. Ebb and flow your learning experience. Don’t beat yourself up if half the content from a given book just didn’t appeal to you.

6: Commit 5 to 10 minutes after completing each book to document your biggest takeaways.

This is when it’s fresh. Food critics take notes while they eat. Roger Ebert used to say that watching a movie for review purposes was a great deal of effort. This is because you have to use your analytical processes while being present, not passive. Don’t finish a book then move on to the next thing without taking a pause to reflect…...Even if it’s a terrible read, state why it was not valuable to you.

The List

I’m attaching a list of my books listened to through Audible. These are in alphabetical order. Please feel free to comment or ask about any given title. To be clear, this does not represent all of the audiobooks I have consumed. I regularly get them from my library via the Libby app. I also tried to include author info and a link to the book, but Mediums story format did not allow it.

Title

10 Days to a Sharper Memory

101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions

101 Theory Drive

12 Rules for Life

18 Minutes

1984

21 Days of Meditation

21 Dog Years

50/50

A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash

A Brief History of Time

A Christmas Carol: A Signature Performance by Tim Curry

A Grief Observed

A Grown-Up Guide to Dinosaurs

A Life Without Limits

A Life in Parts

A More Beautiful Question

A Polaroid Guy in a Snapchat World

A Salty Piece of Land

A Short History of Nearly Everything

A Walk in the Woods

A Whole New Mind

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail

Aesop’s Fables

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander the Great’s Art of Strategy

Algorithms to Live By

Alibaba’s World

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son

Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior

Anything You Want

As You Wish

At Home: Advance First Chapter

Atlas Shrugged

Attempting Normal

Bach and the High Baroque

Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales

Bel Canto

Benjamin Franklin: The Original American [Portable Professor]

Better Than Before

Beyond Band of Brothers

Big Magic

Bigger Leaner Stronger

Bill Bryson Collector’s Edition

Bird by Bird

Blink

Blue Like Jazz

Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest , Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients

Boomerang

Born Standing Up

Born to Run

Brain Maker

Brain Rules

Brain Trust

Break Shot: My First 21 Years

Breath

Breathe into Rejuvenation

Buffettology

Business Stripped Bare

Caffeine

Calypso

Can’t Hurt Me

Catch Me If You Can

Choose Yourself!

Cinderella Man

Clapton

Clark’s Big Book of Bargains

Climbing with Mollie

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Company

Concert Masterworks

Conductor’s Guide to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons

Contagious

Cooked

Creative Calling

Crushing It!

Dad Is Fat

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

Dave Barry Is from Mars and Venus

Dave Barry’s History of the Millenium (So Far)

David Copperfield [Trout Lake Media]

Deep Survival

Delivered From Distraction

Dog Years

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and It’s All Small Stuff

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

Drive

Drop Dead Healthy

Dry

Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness

Emotional Intelligence

Enchantment

Ender’s Game

Endurance

Endure

Entanglement

Ep. 1: Andy Kindler

Equanimity

Esther Perel’s Where Should We Begin?: The Arc of Love

Everybody, Always

Everyday Meditation

Evolve Your Brain

Execution

Executive Briefing: The Power of Persuasion

FLIP

FREE: Crackanory Seasons 1, 2 and 3

Failure Is an Option

Far and Wide

Finding Ultra

Finding Your Way in a Wild New World

Fitness Confidential

Flanaganâ€™s Run

Flash Boys

Flowers for Algernon

Food: A Cultural Culinary History

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Free: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Fry’s English Delight: The Complete Series

Gates of Fire

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Get Up!

Getting More

Getting Things Done

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

Ghost Rider

Girl, Wash Your Face

Go the F — k to Sleep

God’s Equation

Going Wireless

Good Business

Gut

Half Marathon Training Part 1: Build Up Your Pace + Endurance: 6 week training plan with 22 audio-guided runs

Hannibal

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Book 1

Harvard Business Review Web Article

Harvard Management Update

Holidays on Ice

How Chefs Holiday

How Music Works

How Not to Die

How Will You Measure Your Life?

How to Build Meaningful Relationships Through Conversation

How to Get Back Up

How to Get What You Really, Really, Really, Really Want — Free Excerpt

How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition

How to Publish Your Book

How to Stay Motivated

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci

How to Win Friends & Influence People

Hughes: The Private Diaries, Memos and Letters

Human Touch: A Story in Real Time

Humble Pi

I Must Say

I Will Teach You to Be Rich

I’m Feeling Lucky

I’m Here to Win

I’m from the Sun

Infinite Possibilities

Influence

Irrational Exuberance

Jack

Jane Austen — The Complete Novels

Jony Ive

Jukebox Joyride

Kid Normal

Kiplinger’s Buying a Home

Kitchen Confidential

Laugh and Live

Laurel Canyon

Leadership Success

Lean Thinking

Leap First

Less Is More

Let Your Mind Run

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

Life Matters

Life, the Universe, and Everything: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Book 3

Light in August Free Bonus: Faulkner in 5 Minutes!

Linchpin

Lincoln on Leadership

Lipstick Jungle

Lives of the Musicians

Living History: Experiencing Great Events of the Ancient and Medieval Worlds

Look Me in the Eye

Love Letters of Great Men

Made to Stick

Magical Thinking

Make It Stick

Make the Most of Your Mind

Man Seeks God

Man’s Search for Meaning

Management Challenges for the 21st Century

Mark Twain. The Complete Novels

Marley and Me

Matterhorn

Me Talk Pretty One Day

Medium Raw

Mere Christianity

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Mind Wide Open

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Misbehaving

Models

Moneyball