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8 Tips I use to More Effectively Learn from Podcasts

I recently wrote 20+ Podcasts Product Managers should Listen to. After writing it, I realised that how I listen to podcasts has changed over the last few years. I’ve developed an approach to try and get more from the amazing content available.

There was a point earlier in my career when I associated the number of books I read or podcasts I listened to directly to my professional development. This doesn’t work. To use a familiar expression in Product Management — this was the output, not the outcome. I was recently reminded of this while reading the Weekly Hagakure:

I read a lot of books, to the extent of sometimes impressing people with how “well read” I am. But is that what I am going for? Am I really learning anything? Or am I just pretending to be?

Find the Right Time

The first thing you should do is find the time that works for you to listen. I try to find times where I’m doing something else that isn’t mentally taxing. This works well for me because I feel like I’m being extra productive.

He looks cute here — but sometimes his walks can take a while... The perfect time to work through some podcasts.

There are four main situations when I will listen to podcasts: when walking our…