Throughout high school and college, I’ve always kept a trick in my back pocket for when I get extra overloaded with work. Sometimes there’s just too much going on and you don’t have time to sit down and read a few chapters of the book you just got assigned. My solution? Audiobooks.
Hear me out. Even if it’s not your typical style, audiobooks can save a lot of time. You can be getting your work done while going about a typical day, listening to the book while you shower, or go for a run, or even just play a mindless game to relax a little.
Personally, I like to speed up the audiobooks as well to save even more time. This can be done while you listen to it in the background or even while you’re reading the book. I find that listening to a text while following along allows me to read faster and ensure that my mind doesn’t wander off while my eyes routinely follow the words on the page.
However, when it comes to audiobooks, like most things, I’m not a fan of paying full price, so if this idea interests you, here’s some ways to listen for free so you can save money while you’re saving time.
Search for the book on YouTube.
A lot of books, especially classics or books that are often assigned in classroom settings, have free audiobooks on YouTube. Sometimes it’s a professional upload and sometimes it’s just someone reading the book in their living room. Either way, it’s free and YouTube does have the option to speed up or even slow down a video so you can listen at whatever pace is right for you.
Ask your library!
Most libraries have a system to allow their users to check out audiobooks on their phone for free. Your school’s library may not have this but just head over to the local public library, get a library card if you don’t have one already, and ask about their audiobook policy. My library, the Boston Public Library, uses the app RBdigital which I’ve found to be a super helpful resource that has a lot of the books I’m looking for.
Use a PDF.
If you’re able to find a PDF or other digital version of the text, whether that’s through Google or your school’s textbook store, most phones have the ability to read text out loud. It’s usually more of a robotic voice but in a pinch you can always use it to listen to text on the go. If you’re using a digital copy of the book through a textbook app such as Yuzu or a digital library app such as Kindle, there may be a built-in speech option to listen to the book out loud. However, here’s how to let your iPhone speak any text out loud you can find. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > Speak Selection > On. Then just select the text you want to hear and hit speak.
Next time you’re feeling overwhelmed with your assigned readings, try listening to the book to see if it helps you get through the text faster. You got this!