Back-to-school season is here. And if you’re a student in higher education, the need to nurture and stimulate your academic mind never truly goes away. Even during vacation. Audiobooks are an efficient way for students to consume the knowledge of books while engaging in other mundane duties such as cooking, cleaning, or commuting. For students, time is everything. That’s why we’ve curated an excellent list of audiobooks for students to feed the academic mind. These books focus on organization, time management, prioritization, dealing with anxiety, controled slacking, and boosting overall productivity.
If you want a cost-effective way to listen to audiobooks, Audible is the best way. You get credits each month which you can spend on the Audiobook of your choice. They currently have an offer for $0.99 for the first 3 months. Visit the following links to claim: (Audible US / Audible UK)
Alternatively, Students can also get 3 months of Audible for free if they take up a Prime student subscription here.
Automatic Habits by James Clear (Audible US / Audible UK)
This is the bestselling book that has helped readers to transform their life by urging them to make tiny little changes to their routine. It’s one of those books where you must enter with the right state of mind to really benefit. If you want to work towards developing new habits in the longterm then this book has all the best advice for plugging these new habits into your life, gradually making them become a part of your everyday routine. Students often have to go through phases of adjustment as they discover new things about themselves. When you’re an academic, you’re always forming new ideas and interests. That’s why this book will be useful for figuring out how to balance new habits and hobbies while staying on top of studies.
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Audible US / Audible UK)
A New Earth is a philosophical book that helps you develop a new way of thinking that will ease some of the anxiety and tension in your life. The book is structured like a traditional narrative that offers many anecdotes and philosophies centered around the idea of dis-attaching yourself from “ego”. The book explains that our attachment to the ego creates dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness. And with that, it urges you to develop a new state of consciousness that will uplift your spirits and allow you to focus on the things in life that matter most. It’s a very powerful philosophy for students as it will equip them to deal with the many pressures that present themselves in their social and professional life.
Deep Work by Cal Newport (Audible US / Audible UK)
This book examines the idea that “Deep Work” is the way to produce successful results in our professional careers. Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. But where this book earns points, is that it looks at this idea in an objective manner. It also breaks down why having a good balance between a deep work state and a state of procrastination can be healthy. Hyperfocus is an important skill to have as an academic, but it’s also important to strike the perfect mean between deep working and slacking for peace of mind. This book might focus heavily on work productivity, but there are many lessons (and parallels) in this book that pertain to student life.
Improve Your People Skills by Patrick King (Audible US / Audible UK)
When I entered higher education, the social experience was overwhelming for me. I’d been around my classmates at primary and secondary school for years, but then I found myself stepping into a campus where I knew almost no one. Overcoming the social hurdle of entering college is not easy for everyone. Some of us are more reserved than others. But whether you’re an introvert or not, there will be a need to connect with your peers. And you must do so in a cordial manner that is the best representation of who you are as a person. That’s why this book, Improving Your People Skills is ideal for those entering the world of academia.
Organised Chaos by Elizabeth Filips (Available on Gumroad)
When I found Elizabeth Filip’s YouTube channel, I felt like she completely understood how my mind works. She speaks a lot about the chaos of the mind. In one video, she speaks about setting aside time to work on something specific, only to then lack the motivation to go through with the intended session. This is something I find myself continuously struggling with. And a workaround that I found is to figure out a motivating factor for the work I am trying to get done. Elizabeth Filips speaks a lot about this in her brand new book project Organised Chaos. It is a divergent approach to our culture’s assumptions around work, productivity, and living a successful life. She also explains how she uses Notion as her second brain to help organise her thoughts in a constructive way. Elizabeth herself has lived the academic life of a med student, and so, her rationale comes directly from the experience of functioning within an academic framework.
Organized Chaos comes bundled with both the PDF and audiobook in one download.
Educated by Tara Westover (Audible US / Audible UK)
Educated is the story of Tara Westover, who didn’t step into a classroom until the age of 17. She was born into a Momon survivalist family. Her parents were suspicious of doctors, hospitals, public schools, and the federal government. As a teenager, Westover began to want to enter the larger world and attend college and this led to her being awarded an admission to Brigham Young University. As you can imagine, she was extremely behind in her education. But today, Tara Westover is a famed memoirist, essayist, and historian. This memoir covers her journey, and it’s one that is inspiring for anyone who is experiencing the academic cycle.
