Anthony Caruana* says with our time spent commuting on the increase, there are plenty of things we can do to make best use of the time spent getting to and from work.
Photo: Lily Banse
Commuting times are up as public transport systems get more congested, traffic on the roads is worse and people live further from central business districts in order to find affordable real estate.
So, what can you do to fill in the time?
A recent report discussed the rise of the mega-commuter — someone who spends several hours of each day simply getting to and from the office.
There are plenty of cases of people choosing to live further away from the office in order to afford a home, but they pay for it by spending upwards of three hours travelling each way.
And, even for those who live relatively close to a major city, traffic means short commutes of less than 20 km can take upwards of an hour.
So, what can you do?
#1 Read
There are so many great books out there that it’s easy to fill the time in with something that can entertain or educate.
When I was commuting, I found a good book made the time pass really quickly.
If you’re driving, audio books are just as good as the written word.
#2 Listen to podcasts
Podcasts can entertain or educate, letting you escape and relax.
And you don’t, usually, have to put up with inane radio personalities and lots of ads.
#3 Work
OK — so you’re on your way to work but by clearing your inbox and doing any reading you need for meetings or other activities, you can attack your office time well prepared, which should make you more efficient and, therefore, mean you can potentially get out at the other end of your day faster.
A few friends of mine negotiated shorter in-office hours in exchange for ensuring they used their commute time wisely.
#4 Professional development
There are hundreds of online courses and many universities offer correspondence courses.
Rather than nodding off on the train, you can add to your skills and, perhaps, find a job closer to home or embrace a life of self-employment.
#5 Catch up on your TV viewing
As well as being able to purchase almost any TV show you like, Netflix and other streaming services let you download episodes of shows for offline viewing.
Even if your data connection while commuting is limited, you can pull down the latest series of your favourite show and watch an episode or two while sitting on the train.
* Anthony Caruana is an Australian journalist. He tweets at @Anthony_Caruana and his website is run-and-lift.com.
This article first appeared at www.lifehacker.com.au.
