Three Step Process to Get More Out of Podcasts

Passive listening is an effective way to learn. Using this simple three step process you can get more out of your podcast listening, with less than a 10 minute investment. 

I listen to a lot of podcasts. My favorites are Stratechary, IO, and All In. 

A good podcast is entertaining and educational. 

Unfortunately, using podcasts to learn is not easy. Passive listening is a terrible way to retain information. 

I might pick up a nugget or two here or there but the lessons are unlikely to stick with me, unless I make more of a learning investment. 

Here is my three step process to learn more from podcasts in less than 10 minutes: 

Step #1 - Take a few notes while listening 

I open an Apple Note for the podcast I’m listening to and jot down a couple things worth remembering. These are unstructured, mostly scratch notes. 

Taking notes isn’t an effective way to learn, but it will spark things I want to remember when I move to Step #2. 

Step #2 - Take 5 minutes after the podcast to reflect

I open my learning journal and try to remember everything I want to learn in the podcast. Let your brain struggle. I’ll sit for a few minutes just trying to recall. 

This is learning! This is like lifting weights and having to struggle to get the bar up. 

I’ll reference my scratch notes to help me if I can’t recall. 

As a final help (and I only do this for the podcasts I’m very invested in remembering), I’ll pull up the transcript for reference. 

Step #3 - Set a reminder one week later to quiz yourself

A lightweight spaced repetition system, key learning tactic, is a simple reminder to review what you learned in one week’s time. 

Take 5 minutes and try and recall the learnings from the podcast. Don’t check your reflection notes until you have exhausted your ability to recall. 

Conclusion

There you have it! A three step process that will take you less than 10 minutes. 

Obviously this process isn’t needed for every single podcast you listen to. These steps will work for the podcast episodes you want to remember.

#HappyLearning