I travel quite a bit with work - either by plane or train. So that's generally available time for my iPod. I am away from home working, some, too. So that's more listening time - keeps me out the pub, up to a point.

I don't watch much TV - (just football, a bit of news, and HIGNFY). So that's more listening time.

Once I have ripped the new Word CDs to iTtunes, I put them in the car so Senora Malo can hear them too - on the rare occasions I am in the car, driving the girls to dance classes or swimming classes that's more listening time.

Similar problem to you, Paintyface. Most days I cycle to work but occasionally take the bus, which gives me just over 20 minutes of listening time on the iPod (headphones while cycling too dangerous)either way. Occasionally on the iPod during my lunch break. Sometimes a CD while cooking dinner, or Radcliffe and Maconie if it's gone 8pm. And then from about 10.30pm on the PC. I tell myself I will only be on for a few minutes and before I know it I've been on here, iTunes, Spotify, YouTube etc and I can almost hear the milkman.

When they no longer need you to bath them, help them with their homework or keep them entertained you'll have more time.

Also you need to learn to be a little selfish. Having a full time job, helping to look after kids as well as doing chores around the house/garden entitles you to be so. In our house, 9.30pm till bedtime was MY time. Whether I wanted to chat to my wife, watch tv, read, play guitar or listen to music was up to ME. I rarely watched tv though and most of the chat happened at the dinner table.

So, to your original question - I've been listening to the free cds for a couple of weeks now in the car en route to work or whilst taking kids to swimming club or music lessons. Since the better weather has come, I've started going for a walk on my own just before dinner, which takes around 45 mins and allows me to listen to my latest purchases and covers project on my little mp3 player. Big mp3 player comes out at the weekend when the time consuming, laborious garden jobs get done.

I enjoy my time with my GLW at about 8.30pm most nights after all the kids have finally been bathed, read to and tucked in. Generally we have a chat, watch telly, drink tea and have a couple of biscuits each.

Music is listened to in the car and is most enjoyable when I have to go on longish work-related car journeys on my own. I feel a bit of a fraud when my working day is a two hour stint at a factory in Tauranga bookended by two gloriously uninterrupted 3 hour sessions of loud music and off-key caterwauling.

I think I'd struggle too if it wasn't for my ipod, as it is, I'm able to listen to more than I ever did (except when I worked at home and listened all day long or when I was a student). I reckon I'll usually listen to 5 or 6 albums a day at work then at weekends there's music on all around the house pretty much all the time whether it's the radio or iTunes or Spotify playlists. Same thing in all the rooms and in the garden by using an FM transmitter connected to the hi-fi and any old radio that happnes to be handy. Oh.. and I listen to about an hour of radio in the morning from when I get up to when I get to the car park at work.

40-60 minutes twice a day, Lichfield to Brum gives me ample time to listen to some new. There is always a pile of discs awaiting aural delectation: I've been listening to Janis Joplin, someone I've never "got" today, and , by cracky, she's rather good, even if the instrumental version of the Pearl is the best track. Also in residence in the side pockets, awaiting filing at home, the free download by ex-Wilco deceased Jay Bennett, excellent and very low key, some Mose Allison, unexpected pleasure, a Slaid Cleaves, fabulous- why is he not better celebrated and my w/e charity shop purchase of Eric Bibb. O, and a Charlie Musselwhite LP that had me thinking that if he played at an outdoor festival this summer, he would blow away the competition. Seriously good mouth harp led electric blues boogie.

To and from work about 40 minutes each way unless there is some important news such as the potential uprising in Iran in which case i switch to 5Live. Every few weeks I have to do a tour of other offices of the company I work for - this week it is Manchester, next week Dartford and the week after Bristol - usually with an overnight stop. I always take my Ipod and generally go for an early dinner and make my excuses to go back to my room early as I prefer the company of my IPOD to that of my work colleagues and I mean that with no detriment to them. My time listening to music is rather precious. Later in the year I will have a 2 week business trip to the USA and that will really give me lots of time. Currently on the car stereo new cd's by Costello, Madness and PJ Harvey plus Yardbirds compilation, Peggy Suicide and Fleetfoxes which I am listening to again ahead of next weeks gig in Wolverhampton.

I commute. I have about an hours train ride each way so I read or listen to the ipod. I'm lucky enough to live just far enough out that I always get a seat, so in truth my journeys in and out are normally quite pleasurable. And as part of my job I sometimes have to travel here and there, so that means even more time riding the rails.

Also, in the evenings, my wife and I share the dull house tidying bits. Normally I'll spend a while in the kitchen washing up or squaring off, again with the 'pod on or the radio. Once we've spent time with Shorty and got her settled in bed we'll relax. If there's something we both want to see on the telly we'll watch it (obviously) Or we'll fire up a movie. If not we'll just keep it turned off and either listen to music and or/read.

Having said that it still isn't enough time.

... I get to listen to odds & sods on the daily commute to work. If Saturday/Sunday morning is to be a lazy day - I'll pop out to get a paper then come back and have a cup of coffee & a bacon sandwich while have music on in the background.

Having just put up the garden furniture, the fine weather at the weekend allowed me to sit outside and have music playing and activly listen to it.

The time I do listen to music has decreased markedly over the past few months now I'm in a relationship - the single life allowed me to be wired for sound almost permanently.

I'd love to get up at 8 on a weekday wouldn't you?

I can listen in the car and to the iPOD for 30 minutes each way on the train, plus, being in IT, I can listen to the iPOD at work for much of the day. Which is nice. Some of my company's open plan offices are so full of cretins bellowing down the phone that earphones are essential, even if you don't turn the player on! Sadly Spotify doesn't work at work; probably banned.

Other than that, with the GLW having different taste to mine and our two girls (12 and 8) who don't appreciate my taste either, I'm stuck with waiting for them all to go out (which is rare)before I can play any vinyl. At current rates of play, I'm not expecting to play more than 10% of my vinyl collection again before I die, and I'm only 52.

Before I got married, I used to listen to music whilst watching tv with subtitles on!

Not as good as it might sound I work in an open plan office so we need to take in the taste of everyone so we take turns selecting. That means I hear a lot of Sarah Brightman and an incredible amount of Pink, "This used to be a Funhouse, now it's full of evil clowns."

Good old U2 get a bashing as well but unfortunately not the type they get here. My more esoteric picks are hidden up the back and I only play them when I'm alone, which thankfully is everyday since I start so early. Every time I get a new cd I make a copy and bring it in.

to allow you this luxury.

Plane, train and automobiles. Thankfully, every day involves at least an hours drive each way. No time at home in a terraced house with two young 'uns......

I work predominantly on my own in the office here and am often travelling around the country so I manage to fit in quite a bit of music throughout the day. With 2 kids there's no time in the mornings, evenings or weekends unless its a bbq in the daytime or friends over for dinner. That said the oldest one who is 6 this year is starting to nag me to play some music and seems quite keen to experience pretty much anything in my collection.

This is why Spotify is so great for me as it allows me to indulge more or less any musical whim that takes my fancy during the day while at work. Checking out the blog here has introduced to so many artists, old and new or made me go back and listen to stuff long neglected or overlooked.

I'm quite lucky really.

Though it does mean an album often takes two sittings, as it takes me roughly 6 songs to drive to work. I do listen to music at home, but there is no regular pattern to it.