How to listen to podcasts if you hate podcasts: annie.micro.blog
@Annie This is great! I'm very much a text person, and strongly dislike audiobooks & podcasts. I find it discouraging that so much 'content' is moving from text to audio, but I suppose that's what The People want. I'll remember this approach next time.
@timapple this might be a helpful trick when you want to revisit w/o listening to the whole thing again. I find when I listen to podcasts/audiobooks I will lose concentration on what I'm doing b/c I am focusing so hard on parsing the audio. I'm sure there's some absorption but it tends to just distract/annoy me.
@JMaxB Yes I feel the same. I understand the preference for audio (listening while you do other things is very appealing) but it doesn't work for me at all... quite the opposite... I tried walking and listening to podcasts and would end up going slower and slower as I "listened harder" lol
@annahavron Oh let me know if you try that and how it goes! I find them frustrating too and 9/10 will click away if I get sent to an informational video instead of text.
@Annie It's so interesting how brains process differently. I struggle mightily with reading because it takes so much more of my concentration to absorb and understand disembodied text. However, if it’s a book by an author I’ve heard or one they’ve made into a film, I can speed through like a normal person because I “hear” all the characters.
@gregmoore For me it's partly a matter of time: I can read a transcript of a 1/2-hour podcast, and highlight the main points, in 10 minutes or less. I think this is true of most people, who deal with it by doing something else while listening. But when I listen to audio I usually can only do that with concentration. Not a multitasker!
@JMaxB Makes total sense. I didn't realize that my brain processed slightly different until I started paying attention to how quickly most people casually read through books and long articles.
@Annie joe does one hate podcasts? That’s like saying I hate the the thing I’m passionate about or interested in.
@josephaleo Well for me it's about not enjoying the format (audio) in which the content I'm passionate about or interested in is presented. So I want a way to get to the content in a different format.
@gregmoore When my daughter was in middle school, she came to me in tears over a printout with a complicated assignment. Somehow I got the brain wave to read it out loud to her, and she totally got it. She's an auditory learner. It was so fascinating to me to see her comprehension get supercharged once we read something out loud.
@annahavron This is true for me, as well. My husband is a programmer and years ago told me about "rubber ducking", where when you're stuck on a problem, you say the problem out loud to a rubber duck, and in hearing yourself, you hear the problem and can solve it. I will often read through instructions in the same way, just to hear it said out loud. I always catch more if I do that. I've used this trick so many times now, and it really helps (I don't have a rubber duck but the small succulent plant on my desk is a very good listener).
@annahavron I’ve noticed this with my youngest child. She’s much better w verbal instructions. Easier for her to process and she can focus on the meaning rather than stumble over format. (For me it’s the opposite!)
@hollie I want you to know your remarks here inspired me to buy a finger puppet I did not need, so I could talk out some writing problems and see if it works for me.
@annahavron Hahaha, I love that idea! :) Let me know how it works. Maybe I'll upgrade the desk plant.
@annahavron @hollie this is hilarious. I talk to my cats… they get to hear a lot of very rough drafts
@annahavron yes! Just today my son was reminding me of a conversation that I’m sure we had and I have zero memory of… 🤷♀️