How To Make The Most of Your Commute to Work and Be Productive
“If you win the morning, you win the day.” — Tim Ferriss
I spend 3 hours of my day travelling to and fro from work. Which makes it 15 hours a week and 66 hours a month.
For a millennial who wants to get ahead and make the best of every waking hour, in my first few months of travelling, this definitely felt like a colossal waste of time. I mean, I would wake up, shower and be out of the house in a jiffy and then spend 90 minutes just navigating my way through rush hour and watch the world go by.
No structure, haphazard routine and super draining — when I got to work I was in no way ready to begin the day.
After months of missing the mark, finding ways to keep myself energized and researching how the great leaders of our times tackle this situation, I now come to you with 4 super-effective ideas to make the most out of your morning commute.
These ideas do not include refreshing your Instagram feed over and over again or making small talk with co-passengers or dozing off. (Guilty!)
Let’s go 👇
#1 — Catch up on trends and current happenings.
As a Social Media Manager, staying up to date with news is super important. It’s a great way to keep yourself posted and be on top of #WhatsTrending.
Use your commute time to wake your brain up and feel inspired. Inspiration can strike in many ways and there’s a high chance reading something about the industry you’re in can give you an idea for a super engaging, relevant social media post.
This will help you hit the ground running when you get to work instead of feeling drowsy and tired from the travel.
Irrespective of where you get your news from, you can always add the website to Crowdfire’s RSS feed and share links directly from your favourite sites.
Crowdfire will pull in all the latest stories from whichever sites you choose, and you can decide which content you wish to share with your followers on social media.
You’ll get access to fresh, daily content from your chosen blogs and websites at the click of a button.
#2 — Learn something
Knowledge will not find you. You’ve got to find and grasp it.
No matter what job you’re in, part of your role will always entail learning. Learning aids innovation and teams love to have an innovator amidst them.
A lot of us struggle to make time for learning something new everyday, but what better time than the morning commute to get this going? If you use public transport to commute, spend your time reading, listening or watching something. If you’re driving and cannot read from your device, listen to a podcast.
Not only will these activities add to your knowledge but you will be surprised at how quickly the time will pass.
Here are some Podcast recommendations for those who want to try:
✰ Being Boss with Emily Thompson and Kathleen Shannon
✰ The School of Greatness Podcast by Lewis Howes
✰ The James Altucher Show by James Alturcher
From self-help to personal development to industry-related news, Podcasts are a fantastic way of learning.
Incase you aren’t into Podcasts just yet, get your dose of news from Fast Company or Buzzfeed or Mashable and incase none of these appeal to you, simply read a book or listen to one.
#3 — Plan your day
I do this everyday.
Planning my day in advance and creating a time-table helps me step into work feeling more organized and ready to go! It increases the chances of me diving straight into work rather than procrastinating or spending time to find out all that needs to be done.
If you can’t plan your entire day, at the least make sure what you’re going to do as soon as you get to work. It’ll help you prioritise your tasks and be more productive.
#4 — Relax
We all need a little bit of “me time”, don’t we?
Away from our laptops, our devices and away from the hustle and bustle.
While commuting in itself might not be very relaxing, you can always create your own space and tune out.
I love listening to my favourite tunes and watching videos on Youtube while commuting and lately, I’ve started dedicating some time to meditation too. Yep, public transport isn’t exactly the best place to meditate, which is exactly where products like Headspace and Calm come into play.
You can simply wear your earphones, listen to the guided meditation and take some time to focus inwards. Nope, it won’t make you sleepy. In fact, it’ll make you more aware and give you the perfect positive start to your day.
Considering how on-the-go we are through the rest of the day, relaxing helps us be more calm and lends clarity to our decision making process.
Starting Your Day Right
Regardless of how long or how little your commute time is, it’s important you use the time to set the right tone for your day. Sure, a longer commute time can sometimes test your patience, but if you’re keeping yourself busy and engaged in the right way, not only will the time feel lesser, but you won’t feel as if you’re wasting time.
What are some ways that you use to pass the time in your daily commute? Let’s discuss in the comments 👇 😁
