If you’re a hard-working professional that’s always looking to find more time in your weekdays, one of the best ways to do so is to improve your productivity during your commute to and from your place of work.
According to Time Magazine, the average American commuter spends at least an hour a day travelling to and from work. This is an average figure too, with many people spending two, if not more hours a day commuting. These are precious minutes that are being lost that could improve your overall work-life balance.
In fact, your daily commute actually offers a tremendous opportunity for you to start and end your working day in the right way. Let’s consider five ways you could maximize your commuting time, putting it towards tasks that could aid your working day or enhance your personal interests.
Immerse yourself in the world of audiobooks
If you can’t remember the last time you had the opportunity to sit and read a book, don’t be ashamed. Most professional millennials are unlikely to have the head space to read and enjoy some downtime. However, thanks to the advent of audiobooks, you can sit on your train, bus or car and escape to new worlds with fictional tales or even listen to something more educational, like an industry seminar or podcast. You’ll be amazed at how much audiobooks can broaden your horizons and speed up your journey time, too.
Learn a new hobby
If you spend an hour every day on the subway to work, why not try and learn a new skill or game? Card games such as Texas Hold’em poker have become increasingly accessible thanks to mobile poker apps that allow you to play with other amateurs on the move, whatever smartphone operating system you use. Playing poker is proven to be good for the brain too, as it can help to hardwire your brain. The more brain-based strategic experiences we get, the more neural pathways our brain creates. This increases the thickness of the myelin sheath that “protects and nourishes” our brain’s nerve cells.
Broaden your linguistic horizons
If you work in an industry that could take you overseas in the future, why not consider learning a new language? If there’s a language you’ve been meaning to learn or grasp, spending time listening to and working through an audio course could be a great use of your commuting time. Not only will it program your brain and condition it ready for the day ahead, it can also help you to add another string to your professional bow.
Prepare a to-do list
There’s no two ways about it, we are far more productive at our office desks when we know what’s expected of ourselves. Before you even reach the office, take your commuting time to pencil a to-do list for the day ahead. It can be hugely satisfying at the end of the day seeing all of your to-dos ticked off. Alternatively, you could consider creating a to-do list for when you’ve finished work. Whether it’s household chores or social dates with friends, it’s a good idea to use your commuting time to keep your social diary up-to-date using an app like Google Calendar. You know what they say about all work and no play!
Combine your daily commute with daily exercise
If you live in close proximity to your place of work, but the daily commute takes a long time by car due to traffic, consider using a road bike to cycle to work. Not only will this cut the levels of frustration felt by traffic congestion, you’ll be getting daily exercise on two wheels, helping you to burn calories and enhance your positive mental attitude.
What do you do to make the most of your daily commute? Give our readers the inspiration to maximize their commuting time by letting us know!