Dad Hack: Just listen to it!
I have always tried to read on a daily basis.
Whether it was in grad school when I had to read or when I was starting a new job when I wanted to read but had long days and had trouble finding the time I have also always found it hard to find the time to read and digest information.
It was in Business school when I found a solution that has served me to this day: Just listen to it.
Just about everything that is written, whether it is a book, article, or case study, is turned into an audio file. If it is not an audio file that you can easily be found, it can be turned into an audio file with any number of free tools online.
Podcasts are amazing tools to digest news (AKA Infotainment) and other information that can be very family friendly.
A few tools:
Audible (App and Service): Audible, owned by Amazon.com is a web based platform to find, buy and download audiobooks. Audible has over 425k books, and for $14.95/month, members can download 1 book a month and have the ability to purchase discounted credits to buy more. The mobile app is user friendly and works great for family road trips.
Your local library: public libraries now offer free access to audiobooks through a variety of different apps and platforms. Visit your local brand today and ask about how you can listen to materials for free.
Overcast (podcast website and App): Overcast is a podcast player that can help improve the listening experience of even the best pod cast. The website or app can be used to play playlists, adjust the voice and playback speed and find new material that you might find interesting.
Online tools (ex: naturalreaders.com): if you google “text to speech” there are many free and low cost tools online to turn text into spoken word.
Your computer: Most computers have accessibility settings that will allow you to have a portion or page of text read aloud. Check out this website for some info on how to have a Mac read to you https://support.apple.com/kb/PH25639?locale=en_US
Your phone: just like a computer, your mobile device can read to you as well. Check out this post from Life Hacker for more details https://lifehacker.com/5870185/make-your-iphone-ready-any-text-aloud-with-just-a-few-taps
Protip: speed up the audio
What hacks do you have for reading? Hit me up on twitter @dadhacksblog
