Does Your Commute Have to be a Waste of Time?
Millions of us do it every day. Billions. We commute to work. And most of us don’t particularly like it, either. We make the best out of it by listening to music or talking on the phone.
But what if we could turn that “down time” into productive, light-your-life-on-fire-and-kick-ass-now time? What if that time became sacred. Treasured. Cherished for it’s benefits?
2 Ways to Transform Your Commute
Time is Our Most Precious Resource
If you transform your commute from boring labor to an opportunity to be productive, I think you may find extra time in your day. One of the most popular reasons people give for not achieving their goals, such as working out, losing weight, reading that book, or any number of other personal or professional goals is that they don’t have enough time.
Time is the only thing in the world that is distributed evenly for all of us. So if we don’t have enough time we just aren’t using it wisely or making the time we need to accomplish our goals.
Where can we find some time throughout the day? I found some in my commute and perhaps you can transform your commute, too.
The average American spends 51 minutes traveling to and from work (Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey for 2011). That equals 4.25 hours during a five-day work week. No matter how you get to work, whether you drive, take the bus, subway, or any combination of transit options, you can find hours a week. You can use those hours to apply the techniques below to transform your commute into an opportunity to accomplish goals and gain momentum toward your success.
LISTEN TO AUDIOBOOKS, PODCASTS
When I first turned off the radio and started listening to books it was like a revelation. As each day passed and I learned something new every day, I realized what I had been missing. There are more hours of books to read in the world than there are hours in our lives.
One way in which we can close that gap is to maximize the hours we do have by listening to as many books, podcasts, or recorded lessons of any kind while we travel to and from work. You love your music. I get it. Me too. But listening to music never taught me something that could increase my income, or launch a new business, or help me improve my communication skills or any other practical skill necessary to achieve positive results.
Try it for 30 days. Check out an audio book from the library, search for free audio books online, or find a podcast that fits your information needs and listen while you commute. This has transformed my commute and I hope it helps do the same for you.
RECORD YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever had a great idea while driving? If so you are probably like me and didn’t want to risk a car accident to write it down. But every idea we have can lead to more ideas or become something important by itself.
Most everything we see in the world started out as an idea. Is it so hard to believe that we let great ideas go every day because we don’t record them?
Start carrying an audio recorder with you while you travel. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, you have the time and the capability to hit a button and speak into the mic. I was surprised that once I began to speak my ideas they either grew and became better or I realized that it sounded better in my head.
Record your thoughts and review them weekly. Write the good ones down and see where they lead you. I recommend the Evernote App if you want to use your phone to record voice messages, take pictures to compliment your notes, or just type out notes when you aren’t driving. Start creating a library of ideas – YOUR ideas – and use them to propel you forward.
Do these two things and you can transform your commute in order to transform your future. Don’t do them and you could be left standing still.
