Before the Pandemic, I would never have described myself as a ‘podcast person.’ I love books and crave moments of silence where I would get lost in them. However, silence was a luxury during the first month of the nation-wide lockdown. I was in my parents’ house with four siblings and a cat. I lost a lot of reading time. Watching TV wasn’t an option because I found the news reports quite upsetting.
Boredom was a big issue for me because I am very activity-driven. Waking up each day without having a to-do list was very unsettling. I was almost at my wits’ end when a friend encouraged me to listen to an episode of her favourite podcast. I am glad I got past my initial skepticism and downloaded the podcast app.
A day hardly goes by without me wondering why I never listened to podcasts before the lockdown! Last week, I was speaking to a friend about podcasts. At the end of the conversation, I was able to identify two ways listening to podcasts has had a big impact on my personal and professional growth.
- Improved listening skills
Though I had purely set out to listen to podcasts as a form of entertainment, I realized that in between the jokes and laughter, my listening skills had improved. I have a renewed interest and patience for following through on conversations and understanding arguments and divergent opinions.
- New subjects and novel ideas
Believe it or not, I have learnt a great deal about creating content strategy while cooking and jogging over the past six months. I think of listening to podcasts as a win-win strategy as it allows me to complete mindless activities and gain new insights about different subject matters.
Listening to podcasts is now part of my daily routine. I look forward to listening to the hilarious, educative, and insightful conversations with child-like anticipation.