Habits Productivity

How to make best use of commute time

Lucky are those who don’t have to commute daily. But for a few of us it in indispensable.
Pain in inevitable. But suffering is optional.
It is no fun to spend time commuting. You can either complain that it is time wasted or make use of that time in doing things which you otherwise don’t.

Here are a few ideas for it:


A) Meditation: 

My friend meditates while she commutes. She goes to office with a fresh mind. She focuses better. Her productivity levels are high. It is one of the best ways to make use of productive time because you might not be ready to spend time on meditation otherwise.
B) Visualization: 

Who does not day dream? To state the facts, controlled day dreaming is not really bad. Research on brain patterns shows that when you practice visualization, it produces the same effect as when you practice in real. Many athletes practice visualization for the best shots. If you want to be the best chess player, even if you don’t have time to play in real, practice the game in the head. It will have activate the same part of the brain which is activated during actual playing. Visualization alone doesn’t take you to places but it will definitely take you a step closer to your dream. 

C) Reading: 

Disclaimer: It is not good for eyes to read in a moving vehicle.

There is always a compensatory exercise for the damage done. So I do eye exercises for the bad habit of reading while commuting. I read nearly 40 books in the past few months while commuting. If you are against reading in a moving vehicle, go for audio books. A few applications like UB Reader say the text loud for you.
D) Writing: 

My writing habit started during commute. I go to office around 20 days a month. At the end of first month, I had 20 articles. Wonderful way to make a hobby, isn’t it?

E) Journal: 

In the evenings, I write my diary. I dump all my office tensions in that before I reach home. A wonderful way to de-stress.
F) Learn foreign language: 

Duolingo, memrise and Google translate teach me new languages. It just takes a few minutes every day. In a year, you will be able to talk to the locals of the language. I can understand a little of French. My Tamil friends are surprised when I speak to them in Tamil. Thanks for the commute time.


G) Play games:

Not candy crush. I don’t have any hatred towards it. But I don’t think it is that great a strategy game. Instead play brain games – Unblocked, Crosswords, Sudoku. They push your brain to think more.
H) Mental Math: 

Once an MBA aspirant told me that he uses his commute time in doing mental math. That helped him increase his calculation speed and he landed in a top B-school. All he did was revise tables, multiply and add numbers he came across on the boards on the road. Isn’t it simple?
I) Talk to copassenger: 

I have been doing this for around 60 days now. I sit with a different person everyday so that I can make a new friend. It helped me break my inertia. I talk to strangers easily now.

Traditional ways to spend time

 
J) Sleep: 

I envy those who can fall asleep as soon as they get on to a moving vehicle. That is the best thing to do while commuting.
K) Listen to songs: 

This is another common routine. But don’t do this if you are not actively listening to songs. Don’t use songs as a way to shut your mind from outside.
What do you during your commute time? Let me know in the comments section. I am waiting to hear them out.

Happy making better use of commute time!

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