They are also great when you have to do household chores like ironing.
I always listen to books or podcasts while I cook, too.
Concerning the wandering concentration thing: for me it was a question of training and it took me a while to get used to audiobooks. I need to concentrate more when I listen to English books (which is about 90% of my listening), and it's a bit easier when I listen to books in German. So don't give up, it will get better.