I only recently started listening to audiobooks, less than a year ago, but I’ve listened to a ton in 2018 already. To be exact, I’ve listened to 44 audiobooks this year alone!

Some of the best audiobooks I’ve enjoyed this year include all of Kasie West’s books, an American Marriage by Tayari Jones, Autoboyography by Christina Lauren, pretty much anything narrated by David Sedaris, and Lincoln’s Last Trial by Dan Abrams.

I get a lot of questions, especially from people who don’t listen to audiobooks, about how I listen to so many. They ask what I do while I listen to them, as if I might actually just be sitting still and listening while my eyes closed or something. So here’s three times of the day (and they occur almost daily) where I listen to the audiobooks I always have geared up on my phone!

On My Commute to Work

Last summer my commute was a thirty minute walk and reading a book in my hands was not possible. So I dived into audiobooks when I ran out of podcasts and I never turned back. Now, I have about a seven minute walk to the metro and then a fifteen-twenty minute metro ride to my office. Sure, I could sit down and read during that ride but it’s rush hour in Washington DC and sometimes there is barely room to breathe let alone sit down and open a book. Plus, with a transfer it can be difficult. So audiobooks are the perfect fit! I can pop in my headphones when I leave my building and it keeps strangers from talking to me.

While I Get Ready in the Morning and at Night

I have a pretty short routine when I brush my teeth, do my makeup, fix my hair, etc, but it’s still enough time to get a few minutes of audiobook in. I don’t like to listen to audiobooks while I’m in the shower because the words can get muddled, but it works well when I’m just toiling in front of the mirror.

While I Cook

I don’t cook a lot,to be honest, but if I’m going to be standing in front of the stove for awhile and my roommates aren’t around to chat, I like to turn on my audiobooks. It helps the time go faster and I don’t have to worry about dripping ingredients all over my hardcover book.

When do you listen to audiobooks? Is there a trick you’ve learned that lets you get through them faster?