As a lazy person(and a lazy programmer), my trick is to listen to audiobooks at 2X speed. Even when I'm taking a class on MVC or other concepts, fast forward helps tremendously and I don't have to watch them fiddle with the keyboard.

The main thing is focus. If your focus is high, you can grab concepts like a magnet. If focus is low, you can repeat the same clip again and again, and nothing retains.