Tuesday, June 22, 2021

The Learning Curve

For many of us, our primary job is not writing, even thought we wish it were so.

Many of us also spend time driving to/from work or driving the kids here and there. My primary job, for example, involves long stretches of “windshield time.” 

One great way to pass this time, yet make it more productive (enjoyable, educational, etc.), is to use your iPhone to stream music, listen to podcasts, or load up your favorite audio book. There are many, many options for each of these. Some are free, some are paid, and some have trial periods so you can test. I tend to stay with a particular platform (all Apple or all Amazon) to get the biggest tie in to suggestion-based listening (meaning the apps share info with each other to make educated suggestions based on your listening trend). 

As writers, many of these can be used as learning tools while we are driving...turning this type of time into valuable learning time.

Podcasts: (writing, publishing, etc.)

Apple Podcasts 

Stitcher

Spotify

Audio Books: (Fiction, Non-Fiction, Development, etc.)

Apple Books

Amazon

Audible

Google

Streaming Music: (the sky is the limit)

Apple Music

Amazon

Google

Spotify

Pandora

Youtube: 

  • You can stream just to listen.
  • I stream many youtube videos because I find the audio still useful.

A few things to remember:

  1. Stay hands free. Most of us have vehicles that have a way to port through the vehicle stereo system.
  2. Make sure you understand how to keep your eyes on the road and use the steering wheel controls to change volume, etc.
  3. Be careful you do not accidently sign yourself up for more than you want.
  4. Take the time to learn the apps. Do not just randomly push buttons.

The bottom line here, for those of us with limited writing time, is to turn unproductive time into writing productive learning!!!

-Darren Kehrer

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