50 Things To Do While Listening to Audiobooks

One major benefit of audiobooks, as compared to physical books and eBooks, is multitasking.

Listening to your favorite title can turn repetitive and boring chores into enjoyable tasks. Audiobooks provide a nice distraction while doing mentally taxing tasks.

While multitasking can help you accomplish more and increase your productivity, it is not for everyone.

There is nothing wrong with having dedicated listening sessions. You don’t always have to be doing something productive to have value. Some listeners like to relax and unwind while listening to a book.

Here are 5 important things to know about multitasking

1. Multitasking is an art; it takes your brain some time to get used to it.
2. It is easy to lose focus while multitasking. Choose mindless tasks where you are not required to focus or pay attention
3. Do not take up tasks that use the language center of your brain, especially when you want to retain information from an audiobook
4. If you have to focus more on the other task, pause the audiobook and resume again when you can pay attention to both tasks
5. You can experiment with narration speed if the narration is too fast/ slow for your liking and you are having hard time following the story.

Multitasking is a way to turn boring and repetitive work into enjoyable tasks like doing laundry and other house chores.

What to do while listening to an audiobook – 50 Ideas

I recently asked audiobook enthusiasts on Reddit what they do while listening to audiobooks and got an overwhelming response with over 100,000 views and 436 comments from multitaskers.

Here are some of the best ideas and activities if you wonder what to do while listening to an audiobook.

1. Play mobile games: Playing video games is one of the most popular activities among multi-taskers. The most mentioned games include Subway Surfers, Tetris, Minecraft, Candy Crush, Solitaire, Bubble Pop, and Connect Animals. Check our list of 60 games to play while listening to audiobooks.
2. Solve puzzles: Solving puzzles is an ideal activity to keep your brain sharp and stimulating. You can solve Sudoku, Jigsaw, Crosswords, Nanograms and other type of puzzles
3. Coloring: Use the coloring books or use apps like Happy Color and Zen Color
4. Drawing/ doodling
5. Build legos
6. Painting/ diamond painting
7. Cleaning
8. Cooking/ meal preps
9. Wash dishes
10. Fold laundry
11. Mowing the lawn
12. Driving and road trips
13. Walk: Go out for walking, jogging, or running. Listen to your favorite title while using your treadmill
14. Dog walking
15. Gym sessions: Yoga, stretching and other exercises
16. Hiking
17. Riding bike
18. Outdoor activities: Rock climbing, camping, fishing, fruit picking
19. Play with pets
20. Sew, knit, crochet
21. Embroidery
22. Getting ready: While doing makeup, nails or hair
23. Shaving, brushing teeth, or flossing
24. Shower
25. Swimming
26. Household Chores: Mop, sweep, clean, vacuum
27. Clear, wash, or detail your car
28. Gardening/ yard work/shoveling snow
29. Take up a new hobby: Photography, drawing, painting or knitting
30. Woodwork
31. Eating Meals
32. When on mobile: Using apps or browsing the web, etc
33. Home repair and renovation
34. Iron clothes
35. During repetitive jobs: Mail man, security officer, factory worker, sorting and packing jobs, driving, roofing, farming
36. Shopping
37. Baby-sitting/ supervising kids
38. Decorating or rearranging a room
39. Using social media/ checking emails
40. Waiting for public transport
41. Waiting at other places: Car dealership, doctor’s office, the airport, etc
42. Daily commute
43. Organizing/ sorting: Drawers, closets, working space, bookshelves, etc
44. Decluttering: Free up the space by getting rid of extra stuff. Donate, sell, or just throw away.
45. Read along: Immersion reading has many benefits. You can switch between reading and writing using Audible’s Whispersync for Voice feature.
46. Organize your computer: Clean digital clutter that takes a toll on your productivity, clear emails, organize files into appropriate folders, and delete unwanted files
47. Organize your mobile: Delete apps you do not use, delete photos/ videos to free up space, organize apps in folders
48. Take notes: It is not easy to retain information from books. If you are listening to a self-development or productivity book, take note of important information for later use.
49. Relax: With your favorite snack or drink or people watch at your favorite coffee shop with your favorite latte
50. While trying to sleep: Make sure to use the sleep timer in your audiobook app

Some listeners can easily lose focus when doing other things, while others prefer to relax and unwind while listening to an audiobook.

If multitasking is for you, pick anything from the above list to increase your productivity.