Efficient Commuting – 10 Tips
We all spend a lot of time commuting. While it’s necessary, it’s just such a waste of time. Could it be spent getting something done?
It could be used to an advantage that you haven’t yet thought about.
Here are 10 ideas of ways to spend your commuting time.
1. If you like to read then listen to audiobooks I find it’s more compelling than listening to the radio.
2. If you want to learn something new then listen to podcasts. You might be able to catch an interview or a business lesson.
3. If music is your desire then try Pandora or the plain old radio.
4. If you like to be informed then listen to the news then you will be up on the latest happenings.
5. If you are stuck in traffic and sitting still then make some business calls. Be careful, this may not be legal in your area.
We all spend a lot of time commuting. While it's necessary, it's just such a waste of time. Could it be spent getting something done? Click To Tweet6. If you haven’t shown some love lately then call a loved one. They’d love to hear from you and you know you’ll get too busy once you get into the office or home.
7. If you are a planner then take this opportunity to plan out your day. I do my best thinking in the car, maybe you do too.
8. If you are carpooling then by all means get to know your passengers. If they are your kids this is a great opportunity to catch up with them.
9. If you just want to relax then simply take in the sights. As they say “enjoy the ride”.
10. If you just need to relax then do nothing. Just breathe and drive. A little downtime could do you good.
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Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
I tend to just put on the radio but I get tired of hearing the same old songs all the time. I really need to look into podcasts and how to listen to them in my car.
I love to listen to podcasts in my car. If your car has Bluetooth it’s easy. I bought a small pug in for my husband (since his car is old and doesn’t have the technology) that allows him to listen to Spotify through his car speakers.
I spend a lot of time in the car. Some of my clients are almost an hour away. I learned early on that Audiobooks put me to sleep. I don’t know why.. I tend to listen to music so I can sing along or the news. Sometimes, I will make phone calls (hands free). But, if I’m going somewhere new then I have to pay closer attention to the directions my car is giving me or I will get lost.
Yes! Me too.
I like silence when I travel by car. I often use the time to plan out next steps. If I am on my way to a client, I run through possible ideas for helping with the project.
Silence is good.
This is why I sometimes miss commuting via public transportation (I know, I’m probably a rare breed in that respect). I had no worries about concentrating on driving vs. something else, and when I was in grad school it was an excellent time to get reading and other work done!
When I do take the Metro I notice that almost everyone is multi-tasking – commuting and something else. Listening to something or reading something. It’s a great way to commute.
Years ago, I used to commute into New York City by train. I LOVED it! The ride was along the Hudson River. It was meditative to watch the scenery as the train chugged along. Sometimes I would read or plan…or sleep. When I started my organizing business, the commutes morphed from train to car time. I missed the train, but learned to enjoy the car rides. I would catch up with family and friends, listen to music, or enjoy the scenery. Now that I’m only doing virtual organizing from my home office, I have zero commute. I’m rarely in my car. Instead I use that ‘found’ time to walk, make calls, or write.
Your commute has changed over time, but it seems that you have adapted to make each situation work for you.
I tend to do a combination of many of these. I primarily listen to music in the car, so I switch around between my various favorite Sirius XM stations. Sometimes, if the trip is long, I’ll listen to an audiobook. I always have an audiobook running on my phone, normally for household chores where I’m not using my brain too much. If I don’t like the songs that are playing, I’ll switch over to the news, either network or even over to AM radio. Drive time can also be a good chance for me to pray and be thankful to God for beauty I am seeing or people he is bringing to mind.
My husband prays every morning when he gets into his car. His commute is short so I think he spends the whole time in prayer. It gets him ready for his day.
I love that you mentioned listening to Audible books while driving! I have been doing this for years, especially for trips longer than 1/2 hour. I found that podcasts shorter than a trip length were challenging to listen to because I may get distracted and want to change the podcast if I didn’t want to listen to several podcasts from the same person in a row.
I haven’t gotten into listening to audiobooks, except for a few that were delivered as a podcast. I’ll try it.
In my old (old) car, I had a CD player and spent most of the time listening to music I loved, preferring being my own DJ to being surprised by the radio station’s picks and having to suffer commercials. My new(ish) car does not have a CD player but does have CarPlay synced to my phone, so I can listen to my own music on Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, or my own digital music collection. I can also listen to podcasts, but for the most part, that’s only my jam when I walk, not drive.
But my true love for my occasional commute is via my SiriusXM radio. Sometimes I listen to music or news, but the majority of the time, I’m listening to the RadioClassics channel, which plays radio programming from the 1930s through early 1950s, particularly 1940s detective shows. And while I expected to mainly hear racist or sexist language, I’ve been surprised and delighted by how often the programs were trying to countermand those attitudes. In particular, Superman (but also other 1930s and 1040s superhero programs) use very pointed language to get across how wrong racism, bigotry, and general intolerance can be. When I’m in my car, I’m giggling with George Burns and Gracie Allen, following the noir-ish mysteries of Johnny Dollar and Broadway Is My Beat, and generally being impressed with how broadcasting was more deft and nuanced than I’d have guessed. By the time I arrive at my destination, I’m relaxed and in a great mood.
Oh, I love this. You’ve really made your commute your own. Isn’t it great that you found a way to brighten your day all for yourself.