Podcasts are pretty information-filled.
If you do anything that requires too much brain power while listening to one, you’re almost certain to miss something. (Or, alternately, not be paying enough attention to whatever else you’re doing.)
But podcasts also engage just one of your senses, which means they do leave some room for other things if you can find the right things to do.
The trick to multitasking while listening to a podcast is to find something that doesn’t require much brain power on its own, whether it’s because it’s a mindless activity, like cleaning, or because you’re really familiar with it, like knitting.
By choosing appropriate mindless activities while you listen to a podcast, your thinking power remains free to focus on what the podcaster is saying, even if your hands are super busy.
Top Things To Do While Listening To A Podcast
These are some of the best ways to invest your podcast time, according to us.
1 – Clean.
Let’s face it, you really don’t want to do it, so why not make it a little more pleasant?
Cleaning is a perfect, almost entirely mindless activity to do while doing something else.
By pairing it up with a podcast, you’ll also have the benefit of having something truly engaging to distract you from the fact you’re cleaning.
2 – Iron or do dishes.
Yes, it’s in the vein of cleaning, but it’s a little different, so we’re pulling it out and calling this category “chores.”
Mundane things like ironing, washing dishes, or folding laundry don’t take much thought.
And, again, listening to a podcast while you do them will make them less painful.
3 – Make food or eat.
While we obviously don’t know a lot about you, Dear Reader, we do feel safe in saying, with a fair amount of certainty, that you eat.
We’re also going to make the bold assumption that you do it every day.
Even if you don’t make much of your own food (we see you, Takeout Queen), you do still have to eat it.
So, if you’ve got podcasts you’ve been wanting to listen to, but have struggled to find the time in your day, listening at mealtimes may be a perfect solution.
4 – Commute.
We’re a little hesitant on this one, because podcasts can be pretty absorbing and we really don’t want to suggest anything that will distract your mind from the road.
That said, if you drive a fairly empty route on your daily routine, you may be able to listen to a podcast and pay enough attention to the road at the same time.
If you drive a busy rush hour route, we suggest saving your podcast listening for public transport.
And if you take public transport on a daily basis, go to town.
5 – Exercise.
If you’re one of the 80% of Americans who don’t get enough exercise (and if you’re reading this in the U.S., there’s an 80% chance you are), good news!
Listening to podcasts is a great time to get those active minutes in.
A good podcast exercise might be taking a walk outside (as long as you stay away from the road) or hitting the elliptical, any exercise that is mindless and repetitive.
Just stay away from activities where too much distraction can cause you to lose form and increase your risk of injury. Stick to the basics.
6 – Groom.
When was the last time you cut your nails? Painted them?
Exfoliated? Tended to your gnarly feet?
You get the idea.
7 – Take a bath.
Perhaps the most heavenly way to spend your podcast time, it IS all right to spend it simply relaxing.
If bubbles are involved, all the better.
More Stuff To Do While Listening To Podcasts
While we think any of the above are great ways to spend your podcast time, we do realize there are quite a few things on our list many people won’t want to do. (Dishes and exercise? No thank you very much.)
So, for our intents and purposes, we declare podcasts a pretty nerdy pursuit, best combined with other nerdy pursuits, and some of the best things to do while listening to podcasts are hobbies that rely more on your hands and eyes than on concentrated thinking.
A few examples include:
- Putting together a puzzle
- Putting together a model.
- Painting (or coloring) just for fun.
- Woodworking.
- Crocheting or knitting.
- Setting up a train set.
- Playing with a yoyo.
- Building with LEGOs.
- Setting up a domino trail.
- Working in your garden.
Well, that’s it for our ideas of what to do while listening to a podcast.
Do you have any great ideas for what to do while listening? If so, drop it in the comments.