I’ll try to make this a regular thing but also we’ll see.
In the morning I:
- take my dog for a walk
- work out at the gym
Aka: lots of time listening
Do audiobooks count as reading?
- No, if you’re doing some X books a year reading challenge
- Yes, if you’re doing some other X books a year reading challenge
Can you actually learn from audiobooks?
Now, I remember the first time I read about CrossFit and someone was describing it from an aesthetics standpoint.
Their model was something like
- Bodybuilder split (aka bro split) + steroids = Best results
- CrossFit with steroids
- CrossFit without steroids
- Bodybuilder split without steroids
The point being: if you want results naturally then CrossFit is a good route.
I then probably did LL Cool J’a 60-day workout plan for 4 days.
You didn’t answer the question at all
Okay so here’s what it has to do with reading.
The model I have in my head is (from best learning to worst)
- Print book with notes
- Audiobook with notes
- Print book without notes
- Audiobook without notes
- Audiobook at 3X without notes to fulfill some X books a year challenge
(Notes here includes highlights)
The idea that you can’t learn from listening at all is dumb, otherwise we wouldn’t ever talk.
But I’ve listened to my fair share of audiobooks too fast while doing too much other stuff that I didn’t listen. Which is a worse kind of dumb, because it’s disguised as doing a smart thing.
So with all the listening I do, I’ll try to make writing notes a when-then habit:
- When I do cardio
- Then I’ll journal
- Then I’ll write a public listen log
These are supposed to actually log what I’m listening to with some notes, but instead I’ve just written notes on writing notes.
Quick log without thoughts:
- Bill Simmons w Ryen Russilo talking about Mayweather and Logan Paul: People care about storylines, especially in sports when it’s not the top competition. The best of the best is a good storyline in itself. Below that you need narratives. This had a couple underdogs in some sense. Logan has no experience. Mayweather weighed 40 lbs less and was 20 years older. Formula 1 is much more interesting to watch if you have the Netflix show as spark notes for who to care about.
- Wanting by Luke Burgis: This will shape my thinking for the next month and I think for the rest of my life. Why do I want to write the notes I’m writing now? Some of it to learn, some of it to share with the world that I’m someone who learns, some of it to share the ideas with the world.
- Talk Therapy with Alex Lieberman: I definitely listened to this through a wanting lens. Alex talks through selling The Morning Brew, which is a general career outcome plenty of other people want. BUT then seeing that he still wants other things. You can always, always compare up. And you’ll always, always compare just a little bit up or laterally.
Shaan Puri talked about something similar: it’s easier to feel good about friends’ successes when they’re not in the same field as you.)
Far less wanting that way.