31 Things To Do While Listening To An Audiobook

Find the best things to do while listening to an audiobook.

Are you tired of staring at the wall while listening to audiobooks? Listening to a book is a great way to enjoy a story, but you can get bored and lose interest in the narration. So here are 31 productive things to do while listening to your favorite audiobook. From doing exercise and knitting to hiking and grocery shopping. There are many fun activities to help you multitask while listening to an audiobook. Get ready to make the most out of your audiobook listening time.

Get Ready For The Day 

The thing I love the most in the early hours is preparing for the day while listening to a good book. Sometimes I like to spend a good few minutes doing my morning skincare, so I make sure to listen to a fun and lighthearted audiobook. The best part is that doing my skincare has actually made me feel like it’s one of the more productive things to do while listening to an audiobook. 

Read a Physical Book 

Reading along while listening to an audiobook is particularly fun for classic books because classic novels tend to have long sentences. I am not always able to concentrate well while reading, so I prefer listening and reading at the same time. Years ago, I discovered the website Lit2go, which allows you to listen and read. You can have access to a vast collection of classic novels for FREE! Read this post for more FREE audiobook suggestions.

Do Exercise

If you love doing yoga, pilates, or any other form of exercise, listening to a good book can help you get the most out of your workout. Especially if you’re listening to an immersive story, you will most likely forget the intensity of the workout moves you’re doing. And who knows, maybe you end up exercising much longer than usual. 

Go for a Long Walk 

If you ask me, going for a leisurely stroll while listening to a book is a match made in heaven. I have been listening to many self-help audiobooks while I take a relaxed walk around the neighborhood. And it turns out to be one of the most relaxing, yet productive activities for me. Not only do I end up feeling good after a slow-paced stroll, but I also learned something new. A quick tip to consider before choosing an audiobook for walks. Look for audiobook narrators with soft- and gentle voices. Audiobooks narrated by Julia Whelan and Erin Mallon are my recent favorites! 

Scrapbooking 

If you want to engage in creative activities while listening to audiobooks, try scrapbooking. This artistic hobby doesn’t require much mental focus, but it’s a fun project to make you multitask with audiobooks. If you’re new to scrapbooking, check out this simple tutorial.

Go For a Run

Whether you want to get into running or you are a regular runner, it’s an enjoyable outdoor activity to do while listening to an audiobook. I highly recommend choosing full cast audiobooks for a more immersive and engaging listening experience while you run.  Also check out these recommendations for audiobooks for runners.

Do a Meal Prep 

Another productive thing you can do while listening to a book is to cook meals. If you are into doing weekly meal prep, including an audiobook listening to the chore is worth a try. Listening to an audiobook while chopping veggies and preparing ingredients can transform a monotonous task like cooking. In fact, I was listening to Amy Odell’s Anna: The Biography, while preparing my lunch today. It’s a fascinating account of Anna Wintour’s story which isn’t too distracting to listen to while making food. I also think having a good pair of headphones can be a game-changer while you’re listening and cooking at the same time. I love using my AirPods-pro because the noise-canceling feature allows you to listen even if there is a sound of sizzling or chopping. 

Organize your Wardrobe 

I am constantly putting off tidying up my closet. It’s one of the most boring chores in my opinion. So I paired this boring task of sorting clothes with my favorite task of listening to audiobooks. I prefer listening to sweet romantic comedies while organizing. Another day, I was listening to Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series while decluttering clothes, and funny enough, I couldn’t relate to the main character more!  

Go Hiking

Listening to an audiobook while doing a scenic hike is a fun and productive idea. Not only can it improve the overall listening experience, it’s great for your mental and physical health. So make sure to check my list of the best long audiobooks to listen to while planning your next hike. 

Do Grocery Shopping

You can actually make the whole food shopping enjoyable by listening to a binge-worthy audiobook. You will be absorbed in the story and incredible narrations while exploring the store aisles. And before you know it, you would be out of the store, ready for the next task of the day.

Gardening

Working in the garden is another best thing to do while listening to a good book. Make the most out of your audiobook while combining it with a therapeutic activity like growing plants. 

Declutter Pantry 

By now you know I am not a fan of decluttering and sorting stuff. So arranging the pantry is another daunting task I somehow end up enjoying because of audiobooks. Mostly I choose a romance audiobook to go along with because I really want to get into the story real quick. 

Water Plants

I have a lot of plants. While I love nurturing them, it takes well above twenty minutes for me to water all of them. So I  pop my AirPods Pro in and escape to a compelling book. These days caring for plants is the most fun thing to do while listening to audiobooks, for me. 

Organize your phone

I don’t know about you but I have a lot of pictures and screenshots on my phone. And I don’t always have the patience to clear them out. So listening to an audiobook is the right solution. I find a fast-paced thriller audiobook to be perfect for this task. Recently, I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook narration of The Last Thing He Told Me while decluttering my photo library.

Relax on the Beach

Sitting at the beach is a relaxing thing to do while listening to an audiobook. Enjoy the warm weather and fun atmosphere. Take a look at this list of great beach reads to get some ideas for audiobooks. 

Enjoy a Day at a Cafe

If you’re looking for a leisure activity, other than house chores to do while listening to an audiobook, spend the day at a coffee shop. You can watch people, sip coffee AND listen to a good story, it’s a perfect set up. 

Knit

Knitting is another way to be productive while listening to an audiobook. By the time you have finished listening to a long audiobook like Project Hail Mary, you might have a brand new scarf! How fabulous is that!! 

Do Window shopping

I can spend a whole day listening to a great book while strolling through the city browsing the displays of the stores. So add this fun activity to the list of enjoyable things to do while listening to audiobooks.

Take a Bubble Bath 

Pampering yourself with a bubble bath is a productive and cheerful thing to do while you listen to a captivating story. As bubble baths allow you to de-stress and relax your muscles, audiobooks make you get transported into a thrilling story. I would suggest listening to a soothing fantasy audiobook that can draw you into the world of magic and mythical creatures. The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin is a great audiobook to listen while enjoying a bubble bath spa session.

If you want to find creative ways to indulge in a bubble bath, find great ideas in this post -> best ways to take a bubble bath 

Complete a Jigsaw puzzle

Playing puzzles is a great way to indulge in something while listening to a book. You can do the Jigsaw puzzle with your entire family while listening to an audiobook. I would suggest listening to the dramatised audiobook Allergic while you solve the puzzle. This coming-of-age tale of pets, friendships and family is a fun book for the whole family while doing the puzzle. If you want some inspiration, check out this list of literary jigsaw puzzles for book lovers.

Create an Audiobook Book List 

I am always in search of new audiobooks to listen to add to my collection. So while listening to one I am always busy putting together an audiobook playlist, such as popular audiobooks to listen to or best historical romance audiobooks etc. It saves me a lot of time and I love doing it, so it’s a win-win situation. 

Take a Road Trip 

You can listen to audiobooks while doing household chores, but listening to an audiobook while enjoying an epic road trip is a whole new experience. Whether you’re planning a road trip with your family or friends, or just a long solo drive, find the best audiobook suggestions for a road trip.  

Play With Your Pet 

If your dog is extra clingy and can’t stop cuddling with you, then listening to the latest audiobook is an amazing idea. And perhaps you can listen to the book while taking your dog for walks. 

Cozy Up by the Fire 

One of the many cozy things to do while listening to an audiobook during the cold season is to cuddle up near the fire. Whether it’s a Christmas murder mystery or winter themed novel, listening to the story while warming up by the hearth is truly a magical experience. 

Get Creative with a Coloring Book 

Coloring a book is a creative activity you can do while listening to an audiobook. Bookworms have been loving The Secret Garden coloring book. I also find the Harry Potter Coloring book an excellent book to colour. 

Play Game 

If you want to know the enjoyable things to do when listening to an audiobook, I would definitely recommend playing some games. Games like minecraft or candy crush saga are great choices. 

Do Origami 

If you’re someone who finds it better to concentrate on  audiobooks while engaging in an activity, try origami. The Japanese paper folding has been a game-changer for many. Plus it gives you something to do while listening. 

Design Wall Art 

The next exciting activity to do while listening to audiobooks is to create something of your own. There are many online tools available that will help you make a bookish wall decor or even a book quote bookmark. I have been using Canva for creating designs. It’s a FREE tool and perfect for beginners. You can grab my bookmark templates to start your productive designing routine while listening to a book. 

Work on Your Wishlist 

Whether you’re doing online food or clothes shopping, browsing can feel like an endless chore. So why not make use of the time and download and listen to an audiobook. So by the time you’ve a wish list you might have learned something new. 

Give Yourself a Face Massage 

Treat yourself with a relaxing face or body massage while listening to an audiobook. I would say it’s a really nice combination, face, body massage AND a good book.

Fall asleep

You know sometimes the best thing to do while listening to audiobooks is to fall asleep. If I find myself having too many thoughts and unable to sleep, I just put on an audiobook. A calming audio story can make you just relax and get out of the stress from the day. So next time you’re unable to sleep, tune into an audiobook just in time to bed.

There you’ve the best things to do while you listen an audiobook.

Let me know in the comments, what are your favorite activities from the list.

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