The Insanely Simple Way To Turn Your Commute Into One of Your Most Productive Times of Day
How to get smarter everyday on your commute…
Like many Los Angelenos, I spend a lot of time in my car. Morning and night, lunches, weekend trips, you name it — I am logging some serious hours in the car.
I must admit I used to see commuting as a negative thing, thinking it is such a waste of my already precious time. I would view my time in car as lost time, like every article on driving wants to you believe. However, like many other “obstacles’ in life, I knew there was a way to turn the seemingly arduous task of driving somewhere into an advantage.
That’s when I discovered the beauty of audio books, which my road-tripping parents had sworn by for so many years. I activated my Audible subscription through Amazon (I now also listen to Scribed as well) and it changed … everything.
Before I knew it, I had powered through like 10 books that have been on my list of books to read for over 10 years! All I had to do was turn on my audible when I take an extended drive somewhere. It seems so simple. This should be obvious, right? I keep thinking: why isn’t everyone doing this? Why is this not something everyone talks about doing with all that time they spend on the road? Why are they instead complaining about their commute when it can be such an amazing amount of time to learn new things?
Just imagine if all those hours on the road people spend commuting were also spent helping people become more worldly, knowledgeable, and wiser. Our world’s collective intelligence would rise drastically, for one.
Now, nearly every single day, I listen to great books. Books I’ve been wanting to get to for years. Books I never made time for because I am “too busy” to read. I now have the luxury of listening to books about history, philosophy, great biographies, self-improvement, business, process, science, language lessons… and I am just getting started! I actually look forward to getting in my car each day to get back to a great book I am listening to.
Audible is my provider of choice: they have great titles, recommendations, a simple mobile app, integrates with my Alexa, and as a bonus many Audible books come bundled with Kindle book purchases. Now, with audio books to listen to on extended commutes, I’ve been getting through about one book every week or two — the ENTIRE book, not just the cheat version of it.
Listening to the same subject matter can get tedious, so I keep three to four new books active at a time, and choose which one to listen to based on my mood. For example, right now I have a few active: a Hamilton biography for when I am craving some history, a philosophy book for when I need some perspective, a book on writing for when I feel I need some applied knowledge, and various language lessons for when I am preparing for a trip abroad. This mix changes week to week but you get the idea.
Don’t know where to start or what might be fun to listen to in the car? Here are some of my favorite eBooks I’ve listened to so far. Start with those.
The next time you get depressed about your commute, or have a hard time getting in the car in the morning, just think of how beneficial your commute time can be. I promise you, you will learn to actually love your commute. It can be one of the most beneficial times of your day if you use it to READ BOOKS… I guarantee it.
