That just isn’t going to happen.
In the true spirit of an extreme Type A – I have been rebelling against listening to podcasts. Ironic given I’ve just launched one of my own but I figure somebody out there must be a Type B. Somebody must believe it’s ok to just sit and listen to a podcast without doing three other things at the same time. Right? Well if you most of you are Type A’s like me but want to get the value out of a podcast, then I’ve got my top suggestions for how to use podcasts as a backdrop to getting sh*t done.
COLORING
Yup. This Type A (which if I shorten to TA is just a hop away from TnA and this isn’t that type of blog) loves to color. But in typical Type A fashion, I can’t just color because then we’re right back to the sitting and doing one thing conundrum. So I grab my coloring book and make the magic while listening to a podcast.
DRIVING
This one should seem quite obvious for those of you who have bluetooth in your vehicle but for those of us who are slightly less technologically advanced in our vehicles, playing a podcast while driving can be challenging. But if you are lucky enough to have bluetooth and unlucky enough to have a long commute by car or are heading out for a road trip, why not cue up your fave podcast? I currently use cd’s in place of podcasts BUT my car is a rolling university because of it, so give it a thought.
COOKING
Now once again I’m tech challenged for this one because you’d need a decent little speaker dock but I love the idea of baking or cooking and having a podcast going. I listen to Drinks At Six and it would be like getting my cook on with some girlfriends in the kitchen. I get to learn, laugh and get dinner ready all at the same time. Talk about the ultimate multi-tasker!
COMMUTING
A friend recently told me that she got shushed on the quiet zone level of the train. Quite frankly I probably would have turned it in to a shushing war but she’s more professional than I. Having said that, the train early in the morning seems to be one long train car after another of quiet zone. Nobody looks at each other. Most people take a nap (I always wait for the string of drool). And there is definitely no chatting. So if you have to be quiet anyway, why not turn it in to a learning opportunity? Or go sit in the quiet zone and put on a comedy podcast. That should get the shushing started early 😉
EXERCISING
Now I’m not talking about when you are knocking out a PX90 or a NikeKillMeNow workout. You need to get your music jam going for that. I tend to walk. Because I was trapped inside all last summer building up one of my businesses, I didn’t get to walk a lot. This summer that business is no longer a concern so I plan to soak up sunshine like a dehydrated sponge. And while I’m doing that? I’ll have a ton of podcasts cued up on my phone ready to give my brain a workout too.
LUNCH
I don’t know about you but when I’m eating lunch, I like to be entertained. Could be by the person across from me but usually it’s by a good book. Sometimes, such as a last minute, unplanned lunch run during work the book doesn’t make it to the table. But my phone? Well that’s always with me. So lately I’ve been considering getting my podcast one while eating. Leaves my hands free to eat and if I’ve wisely stashed some small earphones in my purse and hooked up to someone’s wi-fi, then I’m good to go. I’ll let you know about that one.
Now this blog post isn’t completely self-serving (shameless plug for you to listen to my podcast on small business owners and small business services. It’s honestly entertaining.) because I truly believe that learning can take place any time and anywhere. Podcasts also address people with different learning styles who might find reading a challenge but are still up for broadening the brain pan. You can also turn a Ted Talk in to a podcast as long as you don’t mind missing the video. Walking and watching a Ted Talk is probably not a good idea.
Interested in some podcast ideas? Great!
http://bookriot.com/category/reading-lives/
http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/working.html
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/01/05/best-podcasts-2015
https://gimletmedia.com/show/startup/
I hope you’ll give listening to a podcast a try but if you just want to color, that’s ok too 😉
Yours across the desk.