Podcasts, albums and how to find time to read?

[ToughTimeLately]

Self indulgent moment alert - I’ve had a hard time lately. My new thought is “everyone wants a piece of me”. I’ve now 2 p/t jobs, I’ve just finished studying a long and intense course, elderly parent is sick, got a home to manage/ cooking/ kids/ dog to walk.

It’s my 1 day off today (I work weekends) and so far I’ve dropped off DC to school, dropped off dog for groom, raced back to let in workman, been the post office, cleaned up the house and done 2 laundry loads and dealt with elderly relative.

My life is going to be really busy for the next 2 years but I need to make sure that I am OK too. Last week I got overwhelmed with it all, and I was sick and couldn’t sleep.

I need some ME time. I also need to turn off the radio interference as I don’t have the bandwidth for extra stress. So, the news, the radio, crap TV has got to go.

I spend a lot of time in my car (at least 1 hour a day), so please recommend me some great podcasts. Funny, history or whatever.

Recommend me some old TV series to watch. I’m rewatching Downton Abbey from the start and loving it all over again.

Some albums to listen to. I hate that we just randomly sample songs now. We are just about to buy a record player, so recommend away please.

Finally, I love reading, but it’s been bumped to the bottom of the list. I’ve got lots of books to read, but how do you carve out time to read?

Now off to tackle mountain of admin that I’ve not touched for a month and make a massive to do list 😞

You know those times you pick up your phone? Replace it with a book. Even reading in the toilet if you are okay with that! Since doing this I’ve read loads. Between this and audiobooks I’m at 100 books finished for the year!

I listen to audio books when I'm travelling/ driving / cooking etc.

Yes, try audio books of the books you want to read - from your list of the day, I’d be listening to audio books for the entire hour of driving, the house cleaning and all the laundry stuff. And any walking around by myself. Not everyone gets on with them but I love them and can focus fully (and just rewind a bit if I missed something!). Whatever books are in your “to read” pile, there’s probably an audiobook of it.

Yes definitely audiobooks I love reading but find the only time I can is when I’m doing the housework or when travelling to and from work.

Podcasts - I LOVE dish, happy place, dans snows history hit, dig it and binge.

old tv series - Gilmore girls, friends, castle to name a few. I’m going through a chewing gum phase in that regard but also love things like outlander and the prequel blood of my blood. I have just finished a place to call home which I got really into to. It’s very easy watching.

What made a difference to my reading was deleting most social media aps, turning my phone onto DND at home in the evenings and never taking my phone in the bedroom - I read before I sleep.

As a pp said - pick up a book rather than your phone. We all make choices; read or Mumsnet. I have time for both but you sound much busier!

Oh and stopping watching crap tv. Such a waste of life for me personally. I watch films instead. Means I'm watching better stuff, don't feel I'm wasting time on trash and I watch one film not six episodes of mind numbing telly. Leaving me more time to do other things.

Podcasts that I listen to consistently are Off Air with Jane and Fi, Dish, Table Manners, The History Podcast and Desert Island Discs.

Podcasts I like are Dish, Comfort Eating with Grace Dent on Spotify. Infinite Monkey Cage (comedy science programme with Prof Brian Cox) and Sliced Bread (a different thing is investigated each episode and the host asks the experts if it's as good as sliced bread or marketing BS) on BBC Sounds.
I've listed to a good few albums from my youth (90s indie or dance, mostly), not lot of anything new.

Ive just finished reading away with the penguins. Hazel Prior Quirky lightehwarted read.
We have a record player and my mum just bought new rolling stones album. I love sire straits, robbie williams album, chris de burgh.